Bailout Blanc: White wine for hard times
Jan 19th, 2009 by Erroll
Can you really make wine from Welch’s grape juice?
Welch’s, or most any brand, of white grape juice is made from Niagra grapes. These aren’t considered wine grapes, and there’s a good reason for that. Still, with proper wine making technique, you can make a crisp dry white from concentrated frozen grape juice that is surprisingly good.
Ingredients
If you’re still feeling adventurous, why not make wine from seedless table grapes? I made a wine from store bought grapes when they were on sale, and I plan on comparing it to my Welch’s wine.Here’s what you’ll need for a 1-gallon or 5-gallon batch. When I create a recipe for 1-gallon of wine, I aim for 1-gallon of finished wine without the need for additional wine to top up. That means my 1-gallon recipe will make up about 1.5 gallons of must. Similarly, my 5-gallon recipe will yield over 6-gallons of must. Other recipes yield the same volume of must as the expected volume of finished wine. They assume that you will top up the batch with similar wine that you have on hand – that approach drove me nuts when I was starting out! The catch is that you’ll need to have extra containers on hand when you rack. For a 1-gallon batch, plan on having two wine bottles and two beer bottles to hold what doesn’t fit in the 1-gallon jug. For a 5-gallon batch, a 1-gallon jug, a half-gallon jug, and a wine bottle should do it.
| Ingredient | 1-Gallon quantity |
5-Gallon quantity |
| 12 oz can frozen grape juice | 3 | 12 |
| Sugar | 2 lb (900 g) | 8 lb (3.5 kg) |
| Water | 1.25 Gallons (4.8 L) | 5 Gallons (19 L) |
| Pectic Enzyme | 1.5 tsp | 6 tsp |
| Diamonium Phosphate | 1.5 tsp | 6 tsp |
| Tartaric Acid | 2 tsp (10 ml) | 9 tsp (45 ml) |
| Tannin | 0.25 tsp | 1.5 tsp |
| Yeast | 1 packet | 1 packet |
Make sure the grape juice you buy is really 100% grape juice. There are a lot of fruit cocktails for sale with similar packaging that you should avoid.
Sugar and Acid
I have found the sugar content of concentrated frozen grape juice to be very consistent, so you’re very likely to get a starting specific gravity (SG) close to 1.090 by just following the recipe. It’s best to check with a hydrometer, though, and make necessary corrections up front. I’m less sure about the acid, so please check the titratable acidity (TA) of your must before you pitch the yeast.
Equipment
- Primary fermenter – at least 2-gallon capacity for a 1-gallon batch, and 10-gallon capacity for a 5-gallon batch
- Long Stirring Spoon
- Racking cane and 6 feet of tubing
- Secondary – either a 1-gallon jug or a 5-gallon carboy
- Smaller containers – a half-gallon jug, a wine bottle, a beer bottle to hold small amounts from one racking to the next
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Scale
Procedure
Dissolve pectic enzyme, nutrient, tartaric acid, tannin, and sulfite in a quart (liter) of water.
Sanitize your primary fermenter.
Add frozen grape concentrate.
Bring 3 quarts (liters) water to a boil, take off heat and dissolve sugar, bring back to a boil for one minute, cool and add to fermenter.
Pour the additive solution into the fermenter.
Add 4 gallons (15 liters) water to the fermenter.
Take measurments (specific gravity, pH, and titratable acidity).
Pitch yeast.
Stir the fermenting wine every day, for the next week or two, until it ferments out. Rack to a secondary fermenter (1 gallon jug or 5-gallon carboy) and any other smaller containers that you might need. After that, rack as needed (when it throws sediment) and when it remains clear and dry (specific gravity less than 1.000), you can bottle. I often bottle about six months to a year after pitching the yeast.
How does Welch’s wine taste?
Its hard for me to describe this wine, but how can you not be curious enough to try it yourself? It’s not for special occasions, but sometimes your really do want a wine that goes well with a ham sandwich or chicken McNuggets – cheers!
It’s a crisp white wine that’s easy to drink, and you can make it for less that $1/bottle.
Update 7/6/2009 – Bottled in six months and surprisingly good!
I just made a batch of Welch’s wine from plain old Welch’s concord grape juice. I didn’t use the frozen kind for this experiment. All I did was put the juice in my primary, take a hydrometer reading, adjust the sugar content for my target S.G. ( I decided to shoot for high abv: 14%, so my original specific gravity was 1.104), and pitch red star cuvee yeast. This was so easy! In fact, the ease is why I chose to do a wine out of such a ubiquitous material as Welch’s grape juice. When I racked this wine a few weeks ago, it was at S.G. of 1.002 (making the then current alcohol 13.87%), and it tasted like you might expect cheap wine to taste – cheap! But with such high alcohol content, it really doesn’t matter. This wine will be for one purpose only: a quick buzz.
Erroll, I’m curious. What yeast did you use in your starter? Also, would you be interested in a wine swap? I would like that very much, as it would give me insights into my wines and a chance to try a wine made by a winemaker I have come to admire. What do you think?
Hello John,
There’s certainly a limit to what you can do with these ingredients, but I usually aim a little higher than a quick buzz. I’ve made this wine by full reconstituting the juice, which would be like using the ready-to-drink juice, but I find the flavor of Concord and Niagara grapes too strong. The wine ended up tasting like alcoholic Welch’s grape juice, which is not what I’m after, so now I use more water than necessary to reconstitute the juice and ferment to dryness. I find this watered down wine has a better flavor (to my taste).
It’s a wine some people won’t care for, some will make for a quick buzz (nothing wrong with that!) and others will make to complement their mac n cheese. I think every winemaker should try it at least once. I usually make some when I notice the concentrate on sale.
I’ve used different yeasts in the past, Red Star’s Premier Cuvee most often. For this batch I used Lavlin’s 71-B. I had some on hand to use with my “Backyard Burgundy” – about half a gallon of wine from my bonsai vineyard. I didn’t think the grapes fully ripened, so I wanted to take advantage of 71-B’s ability to consume malic acid.
Erroll
Erroll,
I use Red Star Cuvee most often also. Interesting about 71-B. I will keep that in mind. You are right, too, about the Welch’s Wine tasting like alcoholic Welch’s grape juice. Not the best wine I’ve had in my life, but it does the trick, and to my surprise it does go well with mac and cheese. Who would have known wine can be paired with that great American delicacy? As always, thanks for the blog. Keep up the good work.
- John
I’ve used it 3 times in a pyment (grape mead) with fantastic results. It’s true the honey might have helped, but it’s interesting to hear someone’s tried it standalone. Good post.
Hi Scott,
Every so often I wonder how different it would be if I used honey. Next time I ought to make two smaller batches, one with sugar and one with honey. Now that you’ve reminded me, I’m kicking myself for not doing it this time!
Erroll
I am new to wine making . I have 2 questions about this recipe. #1 Is tartaric acid really needed? #2 You bottle 6 months to a year after pitching the yeas? I was told a white wine is only good for 6 months to a year? Thanks Mike
Hi Mike,
Acidity is important to how a wine will taste, and my experience is that there isn’t enough acid in the juice when you use two cans of concentrate per gallon. The best way to do it is to measure the acid and then add exactly the amount you need. If you’d rather not measure, then following this recipe is the next best thing. I’ve done that (followed this recipe) many times, and the acidity has always been about right. Tartaric acid is easy to get, cheap, not difficult to use, and not harmful at all – so I would suggest adding the acid.
I’ve made this recipe before, and I like it after a year. Other people like it sooner. If you want to bottle more quickly, you can. If you do, I suggest fining with bentonite.
Good luck with the wine, and I hope you let me know how it turns out.
Erroll
can you use a acid blend, or should you use straight tartaric acid. and i have yeat nutrient that is amonium phosohate instead of diamonium phosphate. wasn;t sure on the differences. I am kinda new to wine making, have been making kit wine. and am startign to make my own wines. very interesting site. and very helpful.
thanks
mike
Hi Mike,
There are lots of nutrients available, and if you use them according to the directions they should work fine. So I think you’re good to go in the nutrient department. Similarly, acid blend can be used as a direct substitute for tartaric acid.
Erroll
Hi, What temperature should I keep the primary at?
Hello Alfonso,
White wines are normally fermented cool. I’d recommend between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit in most cases.
Erroll
Hi,
Great article!
I am experimenting with 2 liter batches of wine. So far they all taste good but a bit thin for my tastes (i like cabs!) Anyway, besides all the additives – i use one can of concentrate and 1-1/2 cup sugar. that does about 13-15% abv using star cuvee yeast, but again…it is a bit thin tasting with an alcohol burn like port wine.
Could i substitute the sugar by simply using an extra can of concentrate? If so would the abv be about the same? I like my wines in the 12-14% range. Do i really have to add extra sugar if I use two cans?
Thanks!
Dave
Hi Dave,
You can use more cans of concentrate instead of adding sugar. I tried it and didn’t like it because the wine ended up tasting a bit like Welch’s grape juice. It’s your wine, though, so it doesn’t matter if I like it or not – give it a try and see.
It’s possible to make a nice dry white wine, and the recipe I posted will get you there. I just don’t think any amount of tinkering with Welch’s concentrates will get you something with the weight of a full bodied red wine. Have you thought about a red wine kit?
Erroll
hey there everyone.. I just bottled my first ever wine from scratch. I made it from welches concord. I always wondered why concord wine was so sweet and I think we all know why.. cause the dry state of welches jus isnt all that great.. it tastes cheap and a lil thin. I thought why not shoot for a low to medium body but add lots of flavor., I added pure concord juice, blueberry/pomegranate juice, and some pure blueberry extract for some tartness all at the end when i stabilize the wine.. the result is a semi-sweet very pretty blush with super fruity aromas, and easy drinkability!! It really turned out better than I thought possible… this idea has open new doors to me. the combinations are endless… say white grape and sweeten with fresh peach or pear juice.. You could add sugar or jus let the natural sweetness of the fruits do their thing.. whatever your prefrence.
Here is my recipe. I will be making this from now on as a reg.
Concord Blush 13-14 % (3 gal.)
* 1 1/2 Gal. Concord grape juice
* 1 can concord frozen concentrate
* 1 Gal. 1 pint of spring water
* 1000 Grams (aprox. 2 1/4 lbs.) sugar
* 3 tea. yeast nutrient ,6 tea. acid blend
1 1/2 tea. pectic enzyme
* ferment in primary for 11 days
ferment in secondary for 2 weeks
* stabilize with 2 1/2 campden tabs
1 tea. potassium sorbate
* sweeten with 3/4 cup pure concord juice,
1 cup of welches concord, 1 1/2 cup ocean spray blueberry/
Pomegranate, 1/4 cup pure blueberry concentrate,
1 1/2 cup sugar, topped off with mogen david concord/pomegranate wine (4$ a bottle)
* allow sit for 2 weeks or bottle when clear
Im no wine snobb but i do know my wines, this wine has amazed me!! The looks, aroma, taste, buzz lol everything you could ask for.. Try this you wont be dissapointed!! cheers
Hi Cory,
Your Concord Blush sounds great – and I’m mostly a dry wine guy. Do you have note on your specific gravity readings (at start, after it had fermented out, and after sweetening)?
Erroll
Hey Erroll,
I actually broke my hydrometer just before I started this
.. I used the Vino meter to get the reading I got. Im very fond of the dry wines myself. It is what I prefer. Next time I am going to sweeten with just a tad bit of fruit and no sugar and see what I get. I will be also trying your recipe very soon 
You are spot on about adding more water than necessary, I came to the very same conclusion! Have you tried a mixture of concord and niagra?? Great post Erroll!! I love the name Bailout Blanc by the way!! hehee
I’ve made this recipe with Concord, and I’ve made it with Niagara. They taste different, they’re both good, so once in a while I wonder about one can of each per gallon of must – haven’t tried it yet.
Can you drink this wine after primary fermentation and bottling? (i.e. after 1-2 weeks). There are A LOT of sites on the internet here, and they all suggest different fermentation times. I just want to make the wine… fast! I can’t see myself fermenting the wine for one year just for a single bottle.
Do you have any suggestions, Erroll?
thanks, Berry
Hi Berry,
If you want to make wine fast, there are more steps. Once the yeast is done, and this might only take two weeks, there will be lots of stuff suspended in the wine – that’s why it’s cloudy. That stuff will settle out, leaving you with clear wine, if you give it enough time. If you’re in a hurry, you’ll have to fine – that’s adding more stuff to your wine that will combine with the stuff that’s already in it. Combined, they’re heavier and settle out faster.
There’s also a lot of carbon dioxide (CO2) in you wine early on. Again, this will dissipate all by itself if you let it. If you’re in a hurry, then you can degass – agitate the wine until the CO2 bubbles out. Think if a glass of pop. If you stir it with a spoon it will foam up – some of the CO2 has escaped. Do it again and you’ll get more foam. Eventually you will stop getting foam, and at that point your glass of pop will be degassed. The same approach will work on your newly fermented wine.
I’ve heard of people using a handheld FoodSaver to degass – see this video.
So if you take care to have a healthy fermentation, fine, and degass, you’ll be able to bottle sooner – maybe as soon as one month. I don’t know how it will taste at that point, but it’s doable. If you try it, let me know how it turns out.
Erroll
cheeeers,,
I made my first batch of 5-gallon of white wine using your recipe. But I made a terrible mistake here. I forget to put Pectic Enzyme, Diamonium Phosphate, Tartaric Acid and Tannin. I am in the twentieth day of fermentation. Is there a chance to fix this problem? The fermentation slows down now to the lowest level.
apprecaite your help
Let’s start with the Diamonium Phosphate. It’s a yeast nutrient that you add to make sure fermentation is healthy and quick. What you do now depends on how the fermentation is going: if the fermentation is sluggish and ongoing, then I would add some now. Do you have a specific gravity reading? If you’re below 1.000 I would skip it this time and make sure to remember it in the next batch. Otherwise I would add half the amount in the recipe right now.
The other three are not critical to fermentation, but will affect the appearance and taste of the wine. I think you should focus on getting the wine fermented out now, then add acid, tannin, and enzyme when you rack your dry wine.
Hope this helps,
Erroll
Thank you for the answer.
.
I took a new reading today and it shows 1.000(I started with 1.100). It means fermentation is over
I will rack it after one week and I will add the other products as well as per your recommendation.
I noticed when I took a sip from the wine that it is still taste little bit sweet although all sugar has consumed. I do not like sweet wine in general. Is there a way to get over this problem? I learned from other site that when the reading is 1.000 then I should expect a dry and non-sweet wine!! Is this true or I am missing some thing here.
One more question please: I took a redaing using Brix and it reads 11. What does this means?
I appreciate your help.
I made the recipe, and stupidly I left too much headspace so the whole lot turned to sherry after the first racking. I tried again, but I added honey and a 100% mixed berry juice that I got from trader joe’s to bring the gravity up. Initial taste test are shockingly good. It’s not cabernet sauvignon but the berry juice adds nice purple color and fruit flavors for complexity I recommend it to anyone who wants to try it.
Thanks for the recipe and fun website.
I’m glad it worked out for you, Eric. You reminded us all how important it is to not get discouraged and try again!
Erroll
I’m very excited to try out this recipe. I’ll probably make 1 gallon for the first time. I’m just confused that the yeast amount is same for both 1 gallon recipe and 5 gallon one. Would you please clarify this for me. Thanks a lot!
I’m back again. I don’t have a 5 gallon jug but have five 1 gallon jug. Is it okay to put 1 gram (1/5 of a packet) of yeast to each 1 gallon jug? Thank you!
Hi emma,
It seems like the amount of yeast should scale – one fifth the must, so one fifth the yeast. But the usual recommendation is to use one packet of yeast for one to five gallons of wine. I think this is because it’s hard for home wine makers to precisely divide the packet into fifths. If you’re dealing with small amounts and you can’t measure precisely, then you could be use far too little yeast.
So I would use the whole packet.
Erroll
Hi,
I thought my carboy was a 6 gallon. Just made this and I’m a gallon shy on the water. Will it be too strong and kill the yeast? Lalvin 71B 1122
I do have another carboy, but I hate to split the batch in two, as I wanted to start another batch in about 6 weeks.
Need I worry? First attempt at wine, but I’ve been making beer for a long time.
Also, can you fine with Knox Gelatin, like you do with beer?
Hi Mike,
Did you take a hydrometer reading? You really should, because then you’ll know how much alcohol you’re likely to get. You can compare that to the tolerance of your yeast to see if it will have any trouble.
It’s not just the yeast you should be worried about, though. Reducing the water will concentrate the grape juice just like using more cans of concentrate will. In my experience that makes the wine taste too much like alcoholic grape juice. So, if it were me, I’d split the batch to preserve the water, sugar, grape juice proportions.
I don’t fine with gelatin, so I don’t have a lot of experience with it. I think home brewers use it to remove yeast from their just-fermented beer, and it should behave the same way in wine. Since wine making is often on a longer schedule than beer making (giving the yeast time to settle out on its own), you probably wont need the gelatin.
Let me know what you decide and how it turns out!
Erroll
Thanks, Erroll,
I’ve always been kind of lazy with the hydrometer. It’s kind of funny, as I also make maple syrup in the spring and my partner in crime on that uses a hydrometer to tell when the sap is syrup. I just look at the way it’s boiling and know it’s done. I guess that’s been my approach to beer also…follow the recipe, watch the temps, sterilize everything, pitch the yeast after making a starter, and call it good. If it has alcohol in it, good enough.
You’re right on the money as to why we beer guys use gelatin to fine…gets those nasties to settle right out in a hurry. I usually do that step about 3 days before I bottle. I have a vegan buddy who uses Irish Moss instead, does the same thing.
I don’t know that I’ll mind something that tastes like alcoholic grape juice, I’m as happy with a bottle of Boones Farm as I am with an expensive bottle of Merlot. Some of the best wine I can somewhat remember was swill around a campfire. So I guess unless it’s so strong that it kills the yeast and fermentation stalls, I’ll probably let it be but reduce the recipe next time. Will let you know how it turns out.
Thanks,
Mike
And you gardeners out there…those empty Welch’s cans make nice planters for tomato plants in between the time you start them and the time you plant them.
I bought my Welches white grape concentrate today, 4 cans worth… I also have some tartaric acid, Lalvin EC-1118 wine yeast, potassium metabisulphite, potassium sorbate, and a 1kg bag of dextrose. (Do you know how dextrose differs from regular sugar in fermentation?)
How important is the pectic enzyme? My understanding was that it was added to must to help break down solid fruit. Is that incorrect?
As for the tannins, I heard I can add a bit of tea… if I made a half cup of tea and added that to my welches must, do you know if that would do the trick for added tannins?
How important is it to use a hydrometer before starting fermentation? I don’t have one, and was thinking I’d just use the 4 cans of welches concentrate, with the 1kg bag of dextrose, and fill the 5Gal jug until it’s full enough… do you think that is about right?
I was going to start a batch tonight, but the stopper I got with the airlock I bought doesn’t fit my 5Gal water jug, so I will be checking out the hardware store tomorrow to see if they have one a bit smaller, because the wine making supplier near where I live only sold the “standard” size 11. I might just buy a real fermenter but still hoping to use one of the water jugs I have sitting around taking up space.
[...] http://www.washingtonwinemaker.com/blog/2009/01/19/bailout-blanc-white-wine-for-hard-times/ I made this as a mead and just added some raisins instead of nutrient and tannins. I then oaked it for a month or so and after adding acid blend to taste it is pretty tasty but dry. If you want something sweet you'll have to stabilize and back sweeten. [...]
I too oaked my wine and modified the recipe some. I made mine with 30 lbs dark Thompson seedless and 20 cans Welch’s Niagara concentrate to yield 12 gallons initial must and 10 finished gallons of a nice rose or blush.
ABV: 14.5% with 71B-1122
30 lbs. – Thompson Seedless grapes (table grapes), stemmed
20 cans – Welch’s frozen Niagara White Grape concentrate, thawed
3 TBS – Pectic enzyme
8 TBS – Acid blend
4 TBS – Powdered wine tannin
4 TBS – Yeast nutrient
5 lbs. – Granulated sugar
2 pkgs. – Wine yeast (Lalvin 71B-1122)
Water
½ tsp – Potassium metabisulfite
1 – French medium roast oak spiroll
I use a Rubbermaid Brute 20-gallon trash container (they are food grade!) as my big-batch primarry. Put the grapes directly in must after crush, strained after primary fermentation through a sanitized 5-gallon paint strainer. Settled one day, then into secondaries. Oaked with one French medium dark spiroll, which I left in the 5-gallon carboy for 14 days, then transfered to the other 5-gallon carboy for 14 days. Time it by taste; easy to over-oak this wine. I backsweetened with one cup invert sugar syrup per carboy, which does not make the wine sweet but does add mouthfeel. I have about $2.25 a bottle in it, a 50-bottle yield, and it is a fine light wine that acts as a canvas for the oak’s artwork. It will be an excellent choice for sitting on the porch during the coming Dog Days afternoons!
Sounds like a winner, Jim!