Thanks for the input!

It’s always best to top up with the same wine, but we don’t always have just the right amount of it handy. In cases like that I would’t bat an eye over topping up a red with white Welch’s wine (Niagara). That’s because we’re talking about small amounts that won’t be noticeable when you’re drinking the wine. Topping a white with a red can leave you with a faint but visible tint even if you don’t notice a difference in the taste, so I’d be more hesitant to do that.

Now it’s a different story, if you’v got a gallon jug half full of red wine and you want to “top” it. In a case like that, you’re really blending not topping, and you’re better off finding a smaller container.

So where’s the line between topping and blending? That’s really a question of how much work you’re willing to do and how much change you notice. With enough advance planning, you could manage with almost no topping. You’d have to have all manner of small containers: 1-gallon jugs, half-gallon jugs, 1.5 liter bottles, splits, beer bottles, those 8 oz coke bottles they sell around Christmas time, some 4 oz and 6 oz bottles that you bought syrup in. You’d also need all sorts of different sized bunges and maybe other closures, but it could be done.

I’ll do some of that, but I’ll also top with Welch’s wine.

Erroll

It was only after I’d posted that I went back and reread the comments in your other post and realized you’d already discussed the concentration question. The testing you propose would be a great future flourish, but I think I will try your recipe first and perhaps later test the higher concentrations and the oak. Thanks for the advice and for the ideas (great blog!).

S? Addressing someone as a letter seems a little odd. I think I’ll call you “Scott” for now.

Hello Scott,

Yes, my recipe does not fully reconstitute the juice. I experimented with the concord juice and found I preferred 2 cans/Gallon to fully reconstituted juice. The wine from fully reconstituted juice tasted of grape juice to me, so I’ve been using 2 cans/Gallon ever since. It has good flavor and body when made this way, but I encourage you to experiment – find the concentration that you like.

A more concentrated must will concentrate everything – sugar, acid, and flavor. So upping the concentrate would mean cutting down the sugar and acid.

I’ve oaked some of my mead, but I’ve never tried oak in my Welch’s wine. If you like oak in other white wines, then it might be worth a try.

How about making several 1-gallon batches? One at 2 cans/Gallon, one at 3, and maybe one fully reconstituted. Do some blind tasting and decide which one you like the best. Then make two more batches at that concentration – one with oak and one without. It’s worth the effort, because in the end you’ll have a recipe for Welch’s wine that’s customized to your taste.

Cheers!
Erroll

http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?showtopic=5941&view=findpost&p=69805

Never having made either, I don’t have the experience to evaluate the options.

What do you think of upping the concentrate from two cans per gallon of must, as in your recipe, to three case per gallon, as in his recipe? For reference, the directions of the can indicate about 2.67 cans per gallon (48 oz. reconstituted).

Also, what do you think of adding a little oak in the primary?