Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Looking at our table of specific gravities, we can see it
already has plenty of sugar.
I may also have some organic concord grape juice that
contains 40g of sugar per eight ounce glass. Doing the same
math, (16 glasses x 40g)/28.35 = 22.6 ounces of sugar per
gallon. That corresponds to only 8% alcohol, which is too low
for a self-preserving wine. I want to bring it up to 12.3%, but
to account for the increased volume from adding the sugar,
I'll use the sugar quantity corresponding to 12.8% alcohol. So
I need to add 33.1—22.6 = 10.5 ounces of sugar.
Sometimes using honey instead of cane sugar can give wine a
really nice background flavor. When using honey as a
substitute for sugar, just multiply the number of ounces
needed by 1.3 to compensate for the honey's water content.
Many cookbooks advocate oiling the containers used for
handling honey. Do not do this, as you'll end up with a
persistent oily layer in your wine. Instead, heat the honey by
placing the jar and any handling tools in simmering water.
That will make it easier to use without adding oil to your
must.
Specific Gravity Ranges of Common Fruits
