Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Glucose, dextrose, fructose, and sucrose (cane sugar) are all
treated identically by yeast. If the sugar isn't in a form the
yeast can use, the yeast employs an enzyme called invertase
to change it into a usable form. Nothing is gained by using the
more expensive fructose from a health food store over an
inexpensive bag of granulated sugar from the grocery store.
None of these contribute flavor to the wine, and simply serve
as a source of sweetness or alcohol. They are a good choice
for wines in which you want the tastes and aromas of the
primary fruit to dominate their character.
Bottled juices and juice concentrates can also be used as a
source of sugar, especially given that sugar is their primary
solid constituent.
Containing a wide array of minerals, amino acids, and
vitamins, honey is a tasty addition to many wines. A number
of cultural traditions (including the honeymoon) have grown
up around honey wines. Strictly speaking, a wine made from
honey alone is called mead. Wine that combines honey with
apples is called cyser, whereas wine made from honey and
any other (non-grape) fruit is called melomel. Wine made
from honey with added herbs is called metheglin, and wine
made from honey and grapes is pyment.
When making mead variants, the source and quality of the
honey you use makes a difference in the taste of the finished
product. The generic blended honeys in the supermarket are
fine when the honey is primarily used as a source of sugar. If
you are making mead, however, blended honey is useless
because it has been pasteurized and homogenized until it is
nothing but sugar. If the tastes and aromas of the honey will
be important to the end product, use a single-source honey
