E. C. Kraus
HOME WINE MAKING NEWSLETTER

Issue Number 26

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*About This Newsletter*

The E. C. Kraus Home Wine Making Newsletter is a FREE publication
that covers issues and topics of general interest to the home
winemaker. You may pass this newsletter on to friends and others,
as long as it is used in its entirety.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

* How Much Alcohol Do You Really Want?
* Winemaker's Glossary: Mead
* Letter: What Are These Beady Little Crystals In My Wine?
* Wine Recipe Ideas: Cherry Berry Wine
* Top Ten Reasons For Fermentation Failure
* Wine Making Quick Tip
* Additional Home Winemaking Information

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*WANT TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE WINE?*

E. C. Kraus is here to help. For over 35 years, we have been
providing individuals with the informational tools and supplies
they need to become successful home winemakers.

Our web site features recipes, articles and valuable bits of
information that will make your home winemaking adventures a fun
and fascinating experience.

For a jump-start into the world of winemaking see the following
article listed on our web site:

"How To Get Started"

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*HOW MUCH ALCOHOL DO YOU REALLY WANT?*

Often we receive calls from anxious, first-time winemakers
wanting information on how to make their wines with more alcohol.
Nothing wrong with that, if that's what they really want.

Driving up the alcohol in a wine is not all that difficult. With
a little know-how you can achieve 15-16 percent, but you do have
to know what you're doing. Going at it blindly can lead to
problems in the form of a "stuck fermentation," resulting in a
wine that's disgustingly sweet.

You can read more about how to properly produce a high alcohol
wine at the following page on our web site:

"Making High Alcohol Wines"

While producing higher alcohol wines is do-able, the real
question is, "Is that what you really want to do?" Having more
alcohol in your wine comes at a price. Wines with higher alcohol
can taste out of balance or "watery." This is because of the
numbing effects that alcohol has on the tongue's taste buds. It
diminishes the taste bud's ability to taste, giving the wine a
watery impression. The result is a wine that has a lot of alcohol
but little flavor.

Another issue that contributes to this problem is that with most
high alcohol wines, the alcohol is driven up by adding more
refined sugar than the recipe calls for, usually cane sugar. This
sugar contributes no additional flavor qualities worth mentioning
to the wine, but it will ferment and contribute to the wine's
ending alcohol level.

With wines that have a normal alcohol level, 9 to 13 percent, a
significant portion of the sugars are coming from the fruit. For
example, wines that are produced from grapes grown in the wine
regions of California, have no refined sugars added to them at
all. All of the alcohol is being fermented from natural sugars
that are contributed by the grapes themselves. This is what
produces a wine of balance.

Most recipes you will find in wine making books that involve
smaller berries such as blackberry, raspberry, strawberry and
such, do not use 100 percent fruit to supply the sugars for
fermentation. These smaller fruits are stronger in flavor than,
for example, grapes.

These smaller berry wines do require some water and some sugar to
dilute the stronger flavors of these smaller fruits. If not
diluted, these fruits would produce a wine so strong and
puckering in flavor that no one could possible drink them. It all
comes down to a recipe that gives the wine a balanced flavor.

For one to increase the potential alcohol level of any of these
balanced wine recipes by simply adding more sugar, is to take the
wine out of balance--more tongue-numbing alcohol but no more
flavor to compete.

What this all boils down to is, if you want to increase the
alcohol level of a wine, you must do it in a way that keeps the
wine balanced. If you are planning on raising the alcohol level of
a recipe by adding more plain sugar, also plan on increasing the
amount of fruit you use as well. Try to keep the ratio of fruit
and sugar in tack, regardless of the size of the batch.

Here's an example. Suppose you have a 5 gallon wine recipe that
calls for 20 pounds of fruit and 10 pounds of sugar. The rest of
the volume is made up with water. After mixing all the
ingredients together you discover by taking a hydrometer reading
that there are enough total sugars in the must to produce a wine
with 12 percent alcohol. What this means to you as someone
wanting to increase the potential alcohol of the wine, is that
for every additional pound of sugar you add to this recipe, you
should also add 2 pounds of fruit to keep it in balance. More
fruit flavor to compete with the additional numbing effects of
the added alcohol.


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*WINEMAKER'S GLOSSARY*

MEAD
Any wine that is made completely from honey as a source of flavor
is considered a Mead, but other wines that incorporate honey into
their recipe can potentially be called a mead as well. There are
several sub-categories of Meads that include the following
deviations.

* Pyment - Grape wine that has the addition of some honey.

* Cyser - Mead made along with apple juice (cider).

* Molemel - Mead made with some fruit added.

* Metheglyn - Mead made with the addition of herbs and spices.

* Hippocras - Pyment, as listed above, with herbs and spices.

--To learn more about making your own Meads and to get some good
recipes, see the following article listed on our web site:

"Making Wine With Honey"

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

"Home Wine Making Glossary"


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*LETTER: What Are These Beady Little Crystals In My Wine?

Dear E. C. Kraus,

Last year I made some grape wine out of fresh picked grapes. I
went thru all the procedures everything went great. I bottled
about a month ago and kept the majority of the bottles in my
basement where the wine making takes place. I took a couple dozen
of them out to my shed. . . . The temp out there gets down to 40
degrees to where my basement stays at about 65 degrees. I take a
bottle that has been subjected to the chilly temps or a bottle
that I have had in the fridge and I see crystals inside the
bottle like maybe sugar? I did sweeten this batch a little but I
dissolved the sugar, added it and then put in the recomended
amount of asorbic acid and sorbate.

My question is what are these beady little crystals? And why are
they only in the wine that has been chilled?

Thanks,
Gary N.
4th year wine maker
1st time grape

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Dear Gary,

What you are experiencing is the formation of acid crystals in
the wine. It is a common problem for wines made from fresh
grapes, but it can potentially occur in any wine. It is not
something that is unique to home winemakers either. Large
wineries have to deal with it just the same as home winemakers.
So, don't necessarily feel that you've done anything wrong. Just
realize that there are ways to eliminate this problem from
occurring in future batches.

These acid crystals occur when the wine has more acid than it can
handle. In other words, the wine is unstable. The wine contains
more acid than it can hold, from a chemical standpoint. The
result is the precipitation of acid crystals--the wine's little,
annoying way of working towards stability.

Of the major acids you will find in fruits, Tartaric becomes
unstable in the wine the easiest. This is also the main fruit
acid found in grapes. This explains why acid stability is a more
common issue in fresh grape wines verses other types of wines.

The Tartaric acid precipitates out in the form of potassium
bitartrate, more commonly know as "cream of tarter." It is
completely harmless and safely consumable, but obviously,
visually unappealing in wine, at times being mistaken for bits of
broken glass.

Cooling the wine speeds up the precipitation of these crystals.
That's why you had the problem only after moving the bottles to a
cooler place, but you may discover that, given enough time, your
other bottles of wine may develop the potassium bitartrate
crystals, just the same.

Filtering your wine before bottling is not a solution to this
type of problem. This is because the crystals have not occurred
yet and there's nothing to be filtered. Whether a wine has been
filtered or not, will have no bearing on the likely hood of these
crystals forming.

The way the wineries approach this issue and a way that home
winemakers should as well, is to chill the wine down ahead of
time, while it is still in bulk. This is a process known as "cold
stabilization." By going through this process you will cause any
unstable acids to precipitate out before bottling. Once all the
crystals have settled out, the wine can be safely racked off of
them and bottled.

Now, realize that there will be instances where no crystals will
form, no matter what. These are cases where the wine is already
"cold stable." So, don't be surprised if you chill down a wine
and nothing happens.

The recommended temperature range for the cold stabilization
process is between 35 and 45 degrees F. The length of time
required can vary based on the actual temperature used and the
severity of the instability. In most cases, 3 or 4 days is all
that is necessary, but in some of the more extreme cases, it may
require as much time as 2 weeks.

I would also like to point out that this is a problem that will
not occur with grape wine kits if their directions are followed.
These packaged juices have been treated and balanced in a way
that eliminates this potential problem.

You might also want to take a look at the following article
listed on our web site:

"Maintaining Stability In Your Wines"

This article not only covers the issues of potassium bitartrate
precipitation, but it also goes into some of the other
instabilities that can occur in a wine.

I hope this helps you out.

Best Wishes,
Customer Service at E. C. Kraus


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*WINE RECIPE IDEAS: Cherry Berry Wine

Here is an interesting recipe that one of our customers came up
with. He said it came out very fruity and planned on making it
again in the near future with County Fair Blackberry in place of
the Cherry.

Cherry Berry Wine
(Makes 5 Gallons)

1 Can County Fair Cherry
1 Can County Fair Raspberry
2 lbs. Cranberry Raisins, coarsely chopped
10 lbs. Sugar
6 Teaspoons Acid Blend
5 Teaspoons Yeast Nutrient
1/2 Teaspoon Wine Tannin
1 Teaspoon Pectic Enzyme
1 Pkg. Wine Yeast (Lalvin ICV D-47 recommended)
Water to total batch to 5 gallons

For the basic procedures follow the directions you will find on
the side of either can of County Fair.


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*TOP 10 REASONS FOR FERMENTATION FAILURE*

Reason #7
Fermentation Has Already Completed:

In a twisted way, you may not be getting a fermentation because
the fermentation has already completed. Many ask, "how could this
be?" It's almost like experiencing an unbelievable magic trick.
"How did my wine do that?" But, after checking the wine with a
hydrometer, the truth becomes clear. The juice fermented, and you
didn't even know it.

Relax, its really not your fault. And, there's really no problem,
anyway. Most wine making directions you run across will lead you
to believe that all fermentations will take anywhere from 4 to 6
weeks. But in reality, if the conditions are right, a
fermentation can complete in as little as seven days. Yes, that's
right "seven days." We have personally experienced fermentations
that have completed in as little as five days, but this is far
more rare.

The only real way to know where you stand with your
fermentation's progress is to take a hydrometer reading. The
hydrometer has the final say as to what has actually happened. If
you take a hydrometer reading and you discover that the Specific
Gravity is 0.998 or less, well then, yes, the wine is done
fermenting. If this is the case, there is really nothing else for
you to do other than continue on with rest of the directions
ahead of schedule.

Many first-time winemakers will get the notion that they should
add more sugar if there fermentation completes quickly. If you
have added the correct amount of sugar at the beginning of
fermentation, this would not be the right thing to do.

Just because a fermentation only lasted a week or so, does not
mean the wine has any less alcohol than a fermentation that took
2 months. Time does not control the amount of alcohol made, the
amount of sugar available to the yeast does. Adding more sugar at
this point will only complicate the situation.

For example, if your starting hydrometer reading indicates that
you have enough sugar in the must to produce 12 percent alcohol,
you will have 12 percent alcohol once all those sugars are
fermented, regardless of the amount of time it takes. And, you
will know when all those sugars have been fermented by the fact
that the hydrometer reads 0.998 or less on the Specific Gravity
Scale.

Many ask, "why does this happen?" The fact of the matter is,
there are many reasons why a fermentation might go fast or slow.
There are an endless number of variables that can come into play
when dealing with Mother Nature. But having said this, a large
percentage of the time it is temperature related.

All things being the same, musts that are 75 degrees F. or higher
will ferment much, much faster than a must that is 70 degrees F
or less. The amount of yeast that is pitched into the must can
make a difference. Two packs of yeast will ferment the same
juice, not twice as fast, but faster that one pack of yeast will.

If the yeast is pre-started ahead of time, this can influence the
rate of fermentation as well. Not only does pre-starting the
yeast allow the yeast cells to hit the juice with their feet
running, so to speak, but it also allows the yeast to multiply in
number, ahead of time, which could contribute to having an
explosive fermentation.

Having a fast fermentation is neither a good thing or bad thing.
But the reasons that caused it to ferment fast may be bad. For
example, if you had a fast fermentation that was caused by warmer
temperatures, this could be bad. Having too warm of fermenting
temperature will also facilitate the growth of unwanted
micro-organisms, which may give the wine an off-flavor. But, if
you had a fast fermentation because you pre-started your yeast,
then no harm is done.

Having said this, there is really no advantages to having a fast
fermentation in of itself. Of course you get to bottle your wine
sooner with a faster fermentation, but I know of no studies that
have indicate "fast" is better or worse than "slow."


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 how to use a hydrometer, see the following
article listed on our web site:

"Hydrometer Scales And What They Mean"


-- To read more about pre-starting your yeast, see the following
article listed on our web site:

"Using Yeast Starters For Improved Fermentation"
 

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*WINE MAKING QUICK TIP*

- Storing your dried wine yeast in the refrigerator is a great way

to extend its shelf-life. Keeping wine yeast at 45 degrees F.
instead of 70 to 80 degrees will allow the yeast to stay fresh
for at least 2 years. We do not recommend using a packs of yeast
that are older then one year, if they have not been kept if the
refrigerator.

It is important to note here that you should never freeze your
wine yeast. Freezing yeast damages their cell walls making
budding or multiplying very difficult. The end result will be a
fermentation that is sluggish and drawn out.

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

Wine Yeasts


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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*

Visit our web site at www.eckraus.com to view the complete line
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) 2004, Kraus Sales, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
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