Wine making and grape juice
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Wine making and grape juice
Someone asked (elsewhere) where to buy red grape juice to use to top up the liquid in a batch of elderberry wine.
It got me to wondering what the difference is between grape juice and 0% ABV wine. I know one is fermented then alcohol magically removed.
Not sure what I'm asking really. Is alc-free wine equal to concentrated grape juice? Except perhaps in "body"?
Ta.
It got me to wondering what the difference is between grape juice and 0% ABV wine. I know one is fermented then alcohol magically removed.
Not sure what I'm asking really. Is alc-free wine equal to concentrated grape juice? Except perhaps in "body"?
Ta.
- Stokey Sue
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- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm
- Location: Stoke Newington, London
Re: Wine making and grape juice
When you ferment juice to make wine the most obvious change is that most of the sugar turns to alcohol
However a lot of other biochemical changes occur, for example the structure of the tannins change, the fruit acids can be converted to other compounds etc. etc. Plus the wine picks up substances from the yeast too
So if at the end of this process you magically remove the alcohol (usually by fractional freezing) the de-alcoholised wine tastes little like the original grape juice, even if you restore the sugar content to the starting point; everything has changed, not just the sugar/alcohol
However a lot of other biochemical changes occur, for example the structure of the tannins change, the fruit acids can be converted to other compounds etc. etc. Plus the wine picks up substances from the yeast too
So if at the end of this process you magically remove the alcohol (usually by fractional freezing) the de-alcoholised wine tastes little like the original grape juice, even if you restore the sugar content to the starting point; everything has changed, not just the sugar/alcohol
Re: Wine making and grape juice
Coo-er - lots of differences then!
Stokey Sue, it's something I've wondered about for ages actually.
Many thanks
Stokey Sue, it's something I've wondered about for ages actually.
Many thanks
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