Making Dry Whites Without Fermentation

[rchhchan]

Hi guys
I think I have found a simple way to make a dry fruity wine.
Just add alcohol to a fruit-flavoured Perrier.
Fruit-flavoured mineral water has the nose of sweet fruits like peach and ripened apples but tastes completely bland. With the right amount of ethyl alcohol added, it turns into a delicious dry fruity wine.
Ray.

[Kieran]

Or add ethyl alcohol to cat piss and voila, instant NZ Sauv Blanc.

Kieran

[Guest]

Hi guys
I think I have found a simple way to make a dry fruity wine.
Just add alcohol to a fruit-flavoured Perrier.
Fruit-flavoured mineral water has the nose of sweet fruits like peach and ripened apples but tastes completely bland. With the right amount of ethyl alcohol added, it turns into a delicious dry fruity wine.
Ray.

Sorry Ray, it's not wine, by definition, wine is made by fermentation. What you have is an alcoholic fruit/water concoction that appeals to your palate.

[TORB]

Or add ethyl alcohol to a pair of old smelly leather shoes and voila, instant Hunter Shiraz. ... ducking for cover from GW.

But then he is likely to say "Or add ethyl alcohol to a blackberry flavoured coconut oil and voila, instant Barossa Shiraz.

[Guest]

although Rutherglen tokay is not fermented, and that is called wine. Fermentation is not an absolute pre-requisite for a wine to be called, err, wine. But we've gone over this before.

[Nother guest]

Which Rutherglen tokay(s) aren't fermented at any stage of their making? The ferment may be stopped early by the addition of fortifying spirit, but I don't know of any that is just fortified un-fermented grape juice.

[Red Bigot]

although Rutherglen tokay is not fermented, and that is called wine. Fermentation is not an absolute pre-requisite for a wine to be called, err, wine. But we've gone over this before.

From Food Standards for Australia and New Zealand:

wine means the product of the complete or partial fermentation of fresh grapes, or a mixture of that product and products derived solely from grapes.

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodstandardscode/
Standard 2.7.4

[Guest]

Campbell wrote this in Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine a couple of editions back. I quote: "The standard definition of wine is that it is "fermented grape juice", so it might surprise you that some of Rutherglen’s magnificent tokays are not fermented at all – the super-ripe grapes are pressed off and fortified with neutral spirit, to capture their natural, fresh flavour as well as to maintain sugars. Muscat is different, it is always fermented, but then only for a short time – for long enough to convert a couple of degrees of sugar into alcohol. "

This is true. I know that Chambers does not (generally) ferment its Tokay. I heard Bill Chambers himself outline this at last year's Rutherglen wine show.

There are other wine styles in the world that come about without actual fermentation of the grapes. Others will outline which ones.

J2.

[Red Bigot]

Well, you learn something new every day. "Some", I wonder how many of them are made this way and whether US/European import checkers know this. I guess all they worry about is the alcohol content.

Smithy, any idea what proportion of Rutherglen tokays are made without fermentation?

[Red Bigot]

Well, you learn something new every day. "Some", I wonder how many of them are made this way and whether US/European import checkers know this. I guess all they worry about is the alcohol content.

Smithy, any idea what proportion of Rutherglen tokays are made without fermentation?

[Guest]

I think "some" translates to "only a couple". Morris, for one, do ferment their tokay.

[TORB]

Smithy, any idea what proportion of Rutherglen tokays are made without fermentation?

He has quote "taken his bride to the coast of Queensland for a short holiday because she deserves it." Probly for putting up with him.

[roughred]

One reason is a simple matter of temperature. Rutherglen has a long Autumn, but Winter sets in pretty quickly. Often Muscat and Tokay are not picked until later in the season when it is simply to cold for fermentation to kick off. Those without the luxuries of heating may simply crush and let the must mascerate for a few days before pressing and fortifying.

LL

[Guest]

Yeast are actually very hardy organisms, and will ferment at temperatures less than 10 degrees.

[roughred]

Guest,

All opinions welcome.

But having witnessed Muscat processed as outlined above this very vintage, I tender that there are exceptions to every rule. Without getting into specifics, different strains operate most efficiently at different temperatures, with most turning up their toes below 10 degrees.

LL