Welches concentrates standardized?

I dunno; but I do know that I've been making wine with them forever and a day, and never had problem one.

Interesting question...I would assume they have some quality controls and some standards. Having made 3-4 batches of some of the frozen concentrates, I seem to get a wine that I recognize as something I made before. During a couple of my wine-tastings, I did bring a wine out, which my friends had had before, and it was interesting when one of them said, "Haven't I had this before?". It ended up being one of the frozen concentrates. I'm at that point, after 3-4 batches, which I know what I like, that I would like to make the same wine, and I have a set recipe now (which seems to give me the same wine).

I was thinking they must have some sort of quality controls too, or people would be buying different tasting juices everytime which presumably would be undesirable from a business standpoint. I'm sending them an email to ask, dunno if they'll answer though. Hopefully they would given that it isn't exactly a secret to anyone with an acid test kit and ph meter anyway.

Good-luck and let us know. I'd be interested in hearing what they tell you. I will tell you that the frozen concentrates seem to come out very balanced. I don't think there is one that I have made wine out of which I or my friends have not liked. Darlene

concentrates,

Darlene, Have you found that you cannot make the wine with full strength juice? It is just overpowering. One guy called a white concord "death by grape"! Bob<

-- "I can't stand water because of the things fish do in it. Once, whilst traversing the Himalayas, we lost our corkscrew, and were compelled to live on food and water... for several days."

-W C Fields-

Let us know what answer you get; I'm sure they are aware we are doing this with their products! :-) I've a photo of their juicing equipment somewhere; very impressive: stainless steel pipes of hard mesh with a flexible rubber hose running down through the middle of the grapes. They fill the columns, hit the air compressor, the hose expands and juice cascades out of the mesh.

Bob, I've only used the frozen concentrates, and then I have only used 2 containers per gallon. I've never used more, but I can imagine it might be too much. Darlene

Evilpaul,

I don't know a thing about if they are standardized or not. But I will tell you this.

Welch's does have a fine product and quality standards are very high (no offense jack, not pirated from your recipe, my lady works there!) They take brix measurements of every truckload of grapes/juice that comes into the plant. This year, i haven't heard of any grapes being refused, but last year may local growers were disappointed when the grapes weren't sweet enough for juice/concentrates/etc.

I have yet to make concord (red) but have had mixed success with the niagara. My failures were my process I believe. The wines were not bad, spoiled, or ruined, just didn't ferment dry.

I have experienced with many other types of concentrate, all 100% juice of course, with high success. I really liked the white grape raspberry and have a 5 gallon batch of that ready to rack to secondary this week, I hope.

Try Jack's website for a very good welch's concentrate recipe, I follow that for ALL my welches products and try to adjust SG to 1.09 or so. I mix between lalvin lv-1118 and montrachet for these and am trying comparisons to see which yeast I ike better. the concentrates are not use full strength, they are reconstituted to about 2/3 strength and requires sugar water be added, surely this would be because of the overbearing grape juice flavor.

Whoever said the comment about white concord.... I don't know if there is such a thing. I thought their white grape juice concentrates were explicitly niagara. It doesn't make sense for them to skin their grapes this way to just make juice.

Let us know about the email reply if you get one. Believe me, I can't get you those answers, my contact is just a bottler/packer/labeler, and random final checks.

greg

erie, pa.

You are doing the same thing I'm doing. Since the death by grape comment I've cut back to about 11-13 depending on size of primary carboy. Bottoms up! Bob<

"Hoss" wrote

My mistake; upon checking the label it =does= say Niagara. Learn something new every day! (Today, I learned to read! LOL!!)

-- "Oh Doctor, I know I'm getting better; the voices in my head said so!" Actual quote from a schizophrenic patient