E. C. Kraus
HOME WINE MAKING NEWSLETTER

Issue Number 37

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Our web site features recipes, articles and valuable bits of
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IN THIS ISSUE:

* What's The Scoop On Artificial Sweeteners?
    -- Why Use Artificial Sweeteners In Your Wine?
    -- What Kind Of Artificial Sweeteners Are There?
    -- Putting It All Together
* Know Someone Else Interested In Making Wine?
* Winemaker's Glossary: Racking
* LETTER: How Do I Keep My Fermentations From Getting Too Cold?
* Just For Grins
* Top Ten Reasons For Fermentation Failure
* Additional Home Winemaking Information

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*WHAT'S THE SCOOP ON ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS?*
*Can They Be Used To Sweeten Homemade Wines?*

The use of artificial sweeteners in wine making is a subject that
seems to be brought up more and more often these days. A week
hardly goes by without someone emailing, phoning or writing us
wanting to know if artificial sweeteners can be used to sweeten a
homemade wine, and if so, which ones are best. So, with this in
mind, here is the scoop on artificial sweeteners.


-- Why Use Artificial Sweeteners In Your Wine?

Some of you out there may be asking yourself why anyone would
want to subject their wines to artificial sweeteners when
plain-old sugar seems to sweeten the wine quite nicely. Well,
there are basically three camps of people that are interested:

1. Diabetics may want to for obvious reasons:
While we do not encourage diabetics to drink without the approval
of their physician, we do know that there are some diabetics
making and drinking their own wine. If they like their wines
sweet then artificial sweeteners would be the safest solution for
them.

2. Some want to because they are watching their calories or
carbs:
This may seem strange to some of you after considering that a
typical 4 oz glass of dry wine already has 80 to 90 calories, but
sweetening a wine with good-old table sugar can up the calorie
count significantly. One cup of sugar has a whopping 775
calories.

3. And, some are looking to sweeten their wines with a
non-fermentable source:
When you sweeten a wine at bottling time with something such as
cane sugar, honey or any other source of conventional sugar, it
is necessary to add a stabilizer at the same time to eliminate
the chance of re-fermentation in the bottle. The thinking here is
that if an artificial sweetener does not ferment then a
stabilizer will not have to be bothered with.


-- What Kind Of Artificial Sweeteners Are There?

First of all, any artificial sweetener you find on the market can
be used to sweeten a wine at the time of consumption. There's no
weird science going on just by adding some to a wine. They are
perfectly safe to add and will work with wine just as they do
with any other beverage.

It is when adding these artificial sweeteners before bottling
that some insight is helpful. With this in mind here is the
rundown on the most common artificial sweeteners.

--Aspartame: (Sold as: Equal, NutraSweet)
This is also the artificial sweetener that is used in most all of
the diet soda products on the U.S. market today.

Aspartame itself does not ferment, but you have to be careful
about what comes with it. If you get it in small packets--like
you find on a restaurant table--you will see that these
sweeteners come with both maltodextrin and dextrose for adding
bulk and to help the product flow better out of the packet. Bulk
is necessary to cut or dilute the aspartame simply because it is
roughly 200 times sweeter than table sugar. Straight aspartame
would be difficult to use.

The maltodextrin is only about 4% fermentable so it is of no real
issue, but the dextrose is another story; it is over 99%
fermentable. So, the little packets that have dextrose is
something we want to stay away from.

If you buy asparetame in its boxed or bulk form you will see that
it does not contain dextrose. It is cut only with maltodextrin.
So, if you want to use aspartame for sweetening your wines you
will want to purchase Equal or NutraSweet in their bulk forms to
avoid a fermentation in the bottle.

As you might suspect sweetening with aspartame is only marginal
in effect. While it does add a sweetness to a wine it does not
bring out the fruitiness in the wine like sugar will. But, the
biggest problem with aspartame is that it loses its sweetness
when put in acidic conditions such as wine. A decline in
sweetness is usually noticeable at about 3 months, and after a
year the sweetness is pretty much completely gone. This makes
aspartame a bad choice for wine unless you know you will be
drinking it fairly quickly.


--Saccharin: (Sold as: Sweet N' Low, Sugar Twin)
Saccharin is non-fermentable as well, and it is sold pretty much
the same way as aspartame. If you buy it in packets there is both
maltodextrin and dextrose, but if you buy it in bulk it contains
only the maltodextrin. So again, purchase it in bulk form to
eliminate any risk of re-fermentation in the bottles.

Beyond that there are two distinct differences between aspartame
and saccharin. The first may be obvious to you--maybe not--but
saccharin tastes horrible, even when compared to asparetame which
I would consider only marginal in flavor.

The second thing that makes saccharin different from asparetame
is that it does not lose its strength with time. It is very
stable in acidic conditions which gives it a distinct advantage
over asparetame with regard to storage.


--Sucralose: (Sold as: Splenda)
Again, sucralose is sold just like aspartame or saccharin, in
little packets with maltodextrin and fermentable dextrose or in
bulk from with only maltodextrin. So, stay away from the packets
and stick to the bulk form.

Sucralose has advantages over asparetame and saccharin and I
would consider it to be a superior product for sweetening wine
than either of them. Sucralose is made from sugar that has been
put through a process that alters its molecular structure in a
way that makes it approximately 600 times sweeter than real sugar
and impossible to be metabolized by humans or fermented by yeast.

It taste remarkably close to sugar and it brings out the
fruitiness in the same way real sugar does. It is very stable and
will not lose its sweetness when put in acidic condition such as
wine.

Because sucralose is made from real sugar there has been some
concern about the possibility of it being fermented by yeast.
This is not an issue. Sucralose has proven itself to be very
stable even over time and is no more likely to ferment than
asparetame or saccharin.


-- Stevia: (Sold as: Steevia, Sweetvia)
This is a sweetener that comes from a source that might be
considered slightly more natural. It is an extract from the
stevia rebaudiana plant found in South America, mostly in
Paraguay and Brazil. It can be found in health food stores in
both powdered and liquid extract form.

The reason I bring up this sweetener is more for warning than
anything else. While stevia will not ferment in its sold form,
when put in acidic conditions such as wine it will break down
into a fermentable form. Usually at about 2 months a fermentation
can be noticed in wines sweetened with stevia at bottling time.

If you plan on drinking your wine within a month or so, you might
be able to get away with using stevia, but we would recommend
against this process, especially when such other options are
available.

Others issues with stevia are if too much is used it can add an
anise to licorice type flavor to the wine, and in extreme cases a
metallic flavor can be present. These flavors also become more
predominant as the sweetness of the stevia is fermented away.
Also, as the stevia breaks down into a fermentable sugar it will
take the polish off a wine's clarity, causing a brilliant looking
wine to become more dull in appearance.


--Putting It All Together

While artificial sweeteners may have a place in your wine making
operation, please realize that nothing sweetens wine better than
the real thing. All of the above artificial sweeteners have
issues. Consider artificial sweeteners to be a second choice to
sugar. One that must be weighed in light of the benefits it will
bring to your wines in the way of: less calories, less sugar,
less carbohydrates or whatever it is you are keeping tabs on.

While in my opinion sucralose (Splenda) is the most appropriate
artificial sweetener to use in a wine for sweetening, feel free
to experiment on your own. Just be sure to do bench-testings with
a small sample of the wine first instead of potentially ruining
the entire batch. Use the bench-test sample to establish a dosage
that can later be applied to the rest of the batch.

As a final note, artificial sweeteners may not add body or
viscosity to the wine in the way you might expect. This only
helps to make the sweetness seem more phony. When cane sugar,
honey or other forms of glucose sugars are used to sweeten the
wine, significant body is added as well. While artificial
sweeteners in general try to add body with the maltodextrin they
are bulked with, this is almost always not enough to equal the
body brought by real sugar.

With this in mind you may want to consider adding glycerine to
the wine as a way of adding more mouth-feel--one that is more in
line with the sweetness the wine possesses. Again, bench-testing
the addition of glycerine is recommended. For more information
about the glycerine we offer go to the following link on our web
site:

Glycerine


-- For more information on how to make sweet wines see the
following article listed on our web site:

"Making Sweet Wines"


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*WINEMAKER'S GLOSSARY*

RACKING:
To transfer a wine or must from one container to another so as to
leave behind any sediment that may have occurred during
fermentation or storage. Racking is normally done anywhere from 2
to 5 times throughout the wine making process.

-- For more information about how and when to rack your wines see
the following article listed on our web site:

"Racking Your Wine"

-- To see other winemaking glossary words, go to the following
link on our web site:
"Winemakers' Glossary"


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*LETTER: How Do I Keep My Fermentations From Getting Too Cold?*

Dear E. C. Kraus,

Now that the temperature in the northeast is dipping what is the
best way to maintain the proper temperature for fermentation?

Thanks
Jerry
Carmel, NY

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Dear Jerry,

There is really no one best way to accomplish this. In some
situations a space heater may be appropriate, but in other cases
on old lamp with a 100 watt light bulb may be best. A heating pad
may be best if you have a large batch such as a 50 gallon barrel.

If you have several 5 or 6 gallon batches going at any one time a
space heater is going to be the most practical way to keep these
fermentations from getting too cold. Don't by a cheap one; invest
in a safe, efficient heater--one that has no exposed heating
elements. Put the heater at the opposite side of the room. If the
room is large then consider moving the fermenters into a smaller
area where a space heater will be more effective.

If you never have more than a couple of 5 or 6 gallon batches
going at any one time, a 100 watt bulb in an old lamp will do the
trick. Surprisingly, a 100 watt that is put 12 inches off to the
side of a 5 gallon batch will heat it up about 8 to 10 degrees.
In some cases this may be too much heat. If this is the case back
the bulb off appropriately or use a lower wattage bulb. When
using this method you will want to surround the fermenter in a
towel if it is made of a clear material. This is to protect the
must from oxidation, a process that can be accelerated by
increased light exposure.

If you happen to be fermenting your wine in a barrel--something
we do not recommend--a heating pad has proven to be somewhat
useful. Just strap the heating pad to the bottom of the barrel.
Start with the lowest setting and monitor the temperature of the
must very closely. Heating pads have the nasty habit of getting
the must too hot--something that creates a whole new set of
bigger problems.

The mistake I see most often, regardless of the artificial heat
source you choose, is applying too much heat. For example, most
heating pads even at their lowest setting will get a 5 gallon
batch of wine well over 100 degrees F., and in many cases over
120 degrees. While a 100 watt bulb 12 inches away will warm 5
gallons by 8 or 10 degrees move it 4 inches closer and your must
will be warmed up 16 to 18 degrees. So monitor your temperatures
closely when using an artificial heat source.

A final point I would like to make is that while all of the above
options are available, you may find it just as easy if not easier
to move the winemaking to a different location, one that has a
more hospitable to a fermentation.

For more information about the thermometers we offer go to the
following link listed on our web site:

Thermometers

I hope this helps you out.

Best Wishes,
Customer Service at E. C. Kraus


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*JUST FOR GRINS*

"I certainly do not drink all the time. I have to sleep you
know."
                                                      -- W. C. Fields

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*TOP 10 REASONS FOR FERMENTATION FAILURE*

Reason #8
Too Much Alcohol Already In The Wine:

One thing that must be understood when making wine is that
alcohol is a preservative. By definition, a preservative is
something that helps a perishable to remain in its current
state--to not change, but remain as is. How this translates to
wine making is that the alcohol itself can be the reason a must
is no longer fermenting.

Musts that are just beginning fermentation and are still at lower
levels of alcohol concentration, say 5 percent, do not experience
much problem hosting a fermentation. But, as a must's alcohol
level rises, one will usually begin to notice a slowing of the
fermentation activity. This slowing is primarily due to the
increased preserving effects the rising alcohol is having on the
must.

And, as the alcohol level continues to rise throughout the latter
part of the fermentation, 10-12-14 percent, the fermentation
becomes slower and slower until it simply can no longer overcome
the increasing effects of the alcohol.

To put an analogy to this, if you have ever seen a tractor pull,
you can think of a fermentation as a single pull. It takes off
with little hesitation, but as it grinds on further and further
and the resistance from the weighted trailer becomes greater and
greater, there comes a point when the yeast can't pull any more
and it simply has to shut down.

And, it will shut down regardless of how much sugar may be left
in the must. So, it is possible for a must to have more sugar
than the yeast can turn into alcohol, resulting in a wine with
significant alcohol but way too much sugar to be drinkable.

Using a hydrometer is the key to knowing how much sugar can be
safely added to a wine recipe. By using a hydrometer you can add
the correct amount of sugar to a recipe to shoot for a specific
alcohol level that is reasonable and achievable.

Expect wine yeasts to produce up to 12-13 percent alcohol with
minimal effort, this is assuming that all other environmental
conditions for the yeast are optimal, such as: temperature,
nutrients, and so on. Anything beyond 13 percent, you're on your
own.

If you want to experiment with producing higher alcohol wines
beyond 13 percent, you will want to carefully read the article,
"Making High Alcohol Wines" listed below.


Related Articles:

-- To read about the other "Top 10 Reasons For Fermentation
Failure," go to the following link on our web site:

"Top Ten Reasons For Fermentation Failure"


-- To read more about producing wines with higher alcohol, see
the following article listed on our web site:

"Making High Alcohol Wines"


-- To learn more about how to use a hydrometer to control alcohol
levels in your wines, see the following articles on our web site:

"Getting To Know Your Hydrometer"

"Hydrometer Scales And What They Mean"


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*WINE MAKING QUICK TIP*

-- Be careful not to confuse Yeast Nutrient with Wine Yeast.
These are two completely different items. Wine Yeast is the stuff
that actually ferments sugar into alcohol; Yeast Nutrient is the
nutrient that helps the wine yeast do its job. By itself, Yeast
Nutrient is not capable of producing a fermentation. Some
beginning winemakers have assumed that Yeast Nutrient is the same
as yeast, causing their efforts to result in no fermentation.

-- For more information about the Wine Yeast we offer, go to the
following link on our web site:
Wine Yeast

-- For more information about the Yeast Nutrient we offer, go to
the following link on our web site:
Yeast Nutrient

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*ADDITIONAL HOME WINE MAKING INFORMATION*

- If you are new to home wine making and would like more general
information about making wine at home, see the following article

listed on our web site:

 "How To Get Started Making Wine"

- For a listing of our home wine making recipes, go to our

"Home Wine Making Recipe Page"

- Also, for a general overview of the home wine making process
see the article

 "The Seven Easy Steps To Making Wine"


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*VISIT US ON-LINE*

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of products we have to offer. All products are listed with
detailed information so you can learn as you shop. Purchase
products on-line with our completely secure shopping cart. Never
has shopping on the web been more safe.

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*NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES*

If you would like to look through previous issues of this
newsletter go to our:

"Home Wine Making Articles Page"

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* The E. C. Kraus Home Wine Making Newsletter is produced by:

E. C. Kraus
Home Wine & Beer Making Supplies
733 S. Northern Blvd.
Post Office Box 7850
Independence, MO 64054
Phone: 1-800-383-1906
Fax: 1-816-254-7051

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* Copyright(c) 2005, Kraus Sales, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
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