Seconds Concord Grape Wine (December 3, 2013)

[jeskremer]

Day One
Saved the remaining must left over in the primary from the Dessert Wine that had just been moved into the primary.

Added:
4 c (2#) granulated sugar
1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
1/8 tsp tannin
2 tsp acid blend

I stirred to make a really thick slurry.

I boiled 2 gallons plus 1 cup of water for 5 minutes and let it cool to 80 degrees before adding it to the slurry. I then added the used batch of grapes (originally 16# for dessert wine). No yeast was added.

Here is the original recipe from Jack Keller:

Concord Grape Wine (Second Fermentation)

pulp from 6-10 lbs Concord grapes
1 gallon (minus one cup) water
8-10 oz red grape concentrate or Concord grape juice
2 lb granulated sugar
2 tsp acid blend or juice from 1 lemon and 2 thin slices of winesap apple
1/8 tsp tannin or 1 used teabag
1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
wine yeast

Begin this wine as soon as practical after pulp is removed from previous use, as you will be using the yeast already present in the pulp (do not allow pulp to dry out). Mix all ingredients except pulp in primary, stir well to dissolve sugar, then add pulp still in nylon bag. S.G. may be lower than expected because of alcohol still trapped in pulp. Cover and ferment, stirring and squeezing bag daily, until S.G. drops to 1.010. Siphon liquor into secondary. Squeeze bag well to extract all juice possible. Add juice to secondary and fit airlock. Rack after 30 days, then every 2 months until wine is clear and no more yeast deposits form after 10 days. Stabilize, sweeten if desired, and siphon into bottles. Taste after two years. [Author's recipe]

[jeskremer]

Approximately 4-5 Days Later After Adding Yeast
Very rapid ferment again. 1.010 - lower than I had desired. Placed under lock and put remaining two cups in a sanitized plastic container in the refrigerator to use at next racking.

[jeskremer]

10 Months Later
Racked. Not much flavor. Fizzy and tart though. Added 1 cup cold tap water.

[jeskremer]

A Week Later
Very tart, but good flavor. Drew out a 1/4 cup of wine and mixed with 3.4 grams (1 tsp) cream of tartar. Stirred aggressively and placed outside to start cold stabilization (35-40 degree nights right now) which should help reduce the acid also.

[jeskremer]

Three Weeks Later
Racked. Still acidic. Ordered Potassium Bicorbonate to hopefully reduce some of the acid. Not a whole ton of flavor - a bit watery. Added 1 cup of cold tap water and will use some Super Kleer right now and use the Postassium Bicorbonate next week.

May think about adding some more red grape concentrate.

[jeskremer]

One Week Later
Added 1/2 cup red grape concentrate to some of the wine that had been drawn into a plastic, sanitized cup, 1 tsp potassium bicarbonate, and 1 1/2 cups water. Added this mixture to the wine after racking again. Poured back into original re-sanitized carboy so that it would be well mixed and instead of vigorously stirring, would remove some of the CO2 at the same time.

Placed outside to cold stabilize after addition of the potassium bicarbonate.