# Anyone ever try making wine with Welch's? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** wine\ **Created:** [May 22, 2006, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733 "2006-05-22T11:55:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrMemory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DrMemory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrMemory)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/1 "2006-05-22T11:55:02Z")
I was just curious, have any of you Home winemakers ever tried making or sampling wine made from Welch’s? I googled and of course there are several websites out there will give me a recipe. I got to thinking about this after visiting the local “U-Brew”. Wine kits abound up here (BC). Seems quite a few people are brewing their own. Kits run 50 bucks and up. So, got me thinking , why couldn’t you use Welch’s frozen juice? I don’t think you’d end up with an oversweet wine, but I am curious. Any experiances? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/2 "2006-05-22T12:40:05Z")
I suspect the preservatives in grape juice would interfere with the quality of wine you’d get. A lot of people really hate the characteristic “foxy” taste of American _Labrusca_ grapes, and thinmk making wine from them is a vain undertaking. I disagree – I was brung up on Concord grapes, and love their characteristic taste. Widmer’s Lake Niagara is my guilty pleasure, and I’ve had many other, lesser Concorde, Catawba, and Diamond-based wines over the years. Bully Hill makes some wines from these native grapes that are amazingly good. To my mind, Manischewitz and Mogen David are at the bottom of the list – too sweet. ---
**Author:** ![2MuchTrivia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e9bcb4/32.png) [@2MuchTrivia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2MuchTrivia)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/3 "2006-05-22T12:43:03Z")
You can make wine from any fruit or vegetable…Even edible flowers (I have made Dandylion wine). As long as there are no preservitives that inhibit the yeast reproduction, any natural juices can also be used, even frozen (thawed). -Just be sure to kill all unwanted fungi in your fermenting vessels first. -Brewers’ (wine) yeast is not the same as champagne yeast, and definitely not cooking yeast. -Other than that it is pretty simple…For a good marinade I suggest onion wine. -Just remember it takes about 5 gallons at the start to yield about 1 gallon of wine. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/4 "2006-05-22T12:45:02Z")
We used to call it “gatorhol.” You can make an alcoholic drink from just about anything that has sugar in it. Whether it is drinkable or is a different issue. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/5 "2006-05-22T12:49:55Z")
> [@2MuchTrivia](#): > > -Just remember it takes about 5 gallons at the start to yield about 1 gallon of wine. How so? Five gallons of Welch’s juice will give you five gallons of wine. You might be thinking along these lines; five _pounds_ of fruit = app. one gallon of wine. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/6 "2006-05-22T12:52:11Z")
Frozen white grape juice concentrate is a staple for many home vintners; they either start out with it as their primary source of grape juice, or add some at bottling time if they’re making a sparkling wine. It can be very handy, but like all home brewing/vintning enterprises, YMMV wildly depending on many more variables than can be listed easily. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/7 "2006-05-22T12:53:07Z")
Oh, Sorry, the OP! You can use Welch’s juice if there aren’t any preservatives (lots of varieties don’t have any). I’ve used Welch’s White Grape juice to bump up the flavor of some wines I’ve made with success. Though I’ve never used _only_ Welch’s juice. Give it a try and let us know how it turns out. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/8 "2006-05-22T14:59:05Z")
I’ve made [balloon wine](http://www.honeycreek.us/wine116.htm) with Welch’s, makes a passable red wine, if you are not too picky. And the parts and ingredients are less than $5. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/9 "2006-05-22T16:25:42Z")
My dad did, back in the 70s. I’m not sure if Welch’s had any preservatives back then, but he claimed it was still one of his favorites. We had a lot of cherry trees, the small tart cherries, and he made cherry wine and cherry/grape juice hybrids. Just know that my dad is no wine affectionado, what he calls good wine and what you call good wine are likely 2 different things. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/10 "2006-05-22T16:36:06Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Frozen white grape juice concentrate is a staple for many home vintners; … It’s used in commercial winemaking as well, particularly here in California, where chaptalization (the addition of sugar) is banned. Winemakers get around the restriction by using grape juice concentrate if they need to increase the sugar levels of a blend. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/11 "2006-05-22T17:51:12Z")
Most of Welch’s grape juice products do not contain preservatives: > [@](#): > > **Do Welch’s juice products contain preservatives?** > > Welch’s Purple 100% Grape Juice and juice cocktails do not contain preservatives. Welch’s 100% White Grape Juice, however, does contain the preservative potassium metabisulfite, which is added to prevent browning and maintain color. Welch’s Sparkling Juice Cocktails do contain the preservatives sodium benzoate and potassium metabisulfite. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/12 "2006-05-22T17:52:16Z")
Oops. [http://www.welchs.com/company/company\_FAQs.html#product](http://www.welchs.com/company/company_FAQs.html#product) ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/13 "2006-05-22T18:49:55Z")
I don’t use Welch’s Concord grape juice for wine, although because I’ve just now learned that it is preservative-free (see above post by **Fear Itself** ), I might do so in the future. However, I do use the wild Concord grapes that I’ve found growing along the fences of the local junior high school’s athletic fields. Good stuff. I always add some sugar to the must (pressings), because wild grapes have lower natural sugar content. The amount of sugar I add I determine by using a hydrometer to measure the specific gravity of the must. But I’ll bet that even the Welch’s concentrate requires that you add some sugar (or not add as much water when reconstituting it). Anyway, if you want to find out how a Concord grape wine might taste, try brewing some with an OzTops kit: [http://www.oztops.com.au/](http://www.oztops.com.au/) You’ll get a sparkling grape wine in just 5-10 days, and it will be as dry or as sweet as you want (dependent upon starting sugar content and length of fermentation). Enjoy (in moderation, of course). ---
**Author:** ![Mines\_Mystique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mines\_Mystique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mines_Mystique)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/14 "2006-05-22T19:20:31Z")
There is a delicious irony in using Welch’s products to make wine. Dr. Thomas Welch, the guy who started the company in 1869, started making the juice after he discovered a process to keep the grapes from fermenting. As a staunch prohibitionist, he promoted the use of this grape juice instead of wine for communion. Thus the irony in using products from his company to make wine. FYI [cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bramwell_Welch) Mines Mystique ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/15 "2006-05-22T19:30:58Z")
Not Welch’s, but pretty close: [Steve, Don’t Eat It! presents: Prison Wine](http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/000373.php) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/16 "2006-05-22T21:00:47Z")
> [@](#): > > You might be thinking along these lines; five pounds of fruit = app. one gallon of wine. Where do the other three pounds come from? Do you add water or something? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/17 "2006-05-22T21:11:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Where do the other three pounds come from? Do you add water or something? Maybe he meant five _pecks_ of fruit; yeah, that’s the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/18 "2006-05-22T22:02:20Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > How so? Five gallons of Welch’s juice will give you five gallons of wine. > You might be thinking along these lines; five _pounds_ of fruit = app. one gallon of wine. And yet that seems awfully low to me. Just using my general knowledge of larger scale winemaking, it takes about a ton of grapes to make 150 gallons of wine, which would mean it probably takes more like 12-16 lbs. of fruit for one gallon of wine. ---
**Author:** ![beergeek279](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@beergeek279](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beergeek279)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/19 "2006-05-22T22:53:10Z")
> [@psycat90](#): > > And yet that seems awfully low to me. Just using my general knowledge of larger scale winemaking, it takes about a ton of grapes to make 150 gallons of wine, which would mean it probably takes more like 12-16 lbs. of fruit for one gallon of wine. Makes sense…after all, a gallon of pure water weighs 8 pounds, and a gallon of honey will be about 12. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733/20 "2006-05-23T12:30:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Where do the other three pounds come from? Do you add water or something? Hey guys, I was just trying to help the poster I quoted. 🙂 Short answer to \*\*Chronos’ \*\* Q, Yes, you add sugar and or water, if necessary. Long answer; every fruit is different, so making wine with a fruit that bears more juice and is higher in sugar content means you need less of it. A dense fruit (like ripe pears) may not require much additional water, but you may have to add sugar (will have to), a fruit like raspberry may not need to sweetened much but will need to have water added to it. Personally, when I make wine I don’t add water, I just adjust the sugar levels accordingly. That is, I use the juice of the fruit only and whatever amount of juice I get is what I use for the wine (if I only have enough raspberrys for 3 gallons of wine I don’t add water and sugar to make 5 gallons, I stick with the 3). Typically, you use at _least_ 8 pounds of fruit to make a gallon of wine. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-try-making-wine-with-welchs/357733.md?page=2)