Based on your recommendations who wino I'm going to make my next batch using white grape juice concentrate instead of red. I'm still using welches because I couldn't find anything else at the store I just went to. I'm going to use seven 11.5 ounce cans of grape concentrate, and about 7 pounds of sugar for a 5 gallon batch. Is that too much sugar? The last time I made it with red grape juice it was too sweet, but then again, you had mentioned that that was because of the meta-bisulphate. Oh well, we'll see how things turn out. I don't mind sweet wine, I just prefer a little bit drier.

I have spoke to several people that used Welches. Makes good wine but sweet. You would think the meta bi-sulphate would out gas and be gone. Maybe the grape juice people are doing something to keep the preservative in the juice. I have used Sam's (Walmart) 100% concord grape juice and it only has absorbic acid in it. However, the Sam's white grape juice has meta bi-sulphate in it. I don't know why. Seems like the Welches makes good wine but it stays sweet. If you are using a different yeast or procedure and it turns out dry let us all know how you changed things to make it dry.

Maybe this is oversimplifying things, but wouldn't it be drier if I simply didn't add as much sugar? Say, 6 pounds instead 7.5?

brewersr wrote:Maybe this is oversimplifying things, but wouldn't it be drier if I simply didn't add as much sugar? Say, 6 pounds instead 7.5?

You would think just adding less sugar would help. Most juices I have checked have a SG of about 1.045 which almost seems a standard for juices on the shelf. For some strange reason the juice seems to ferment but stops short of where it should be. Maybe it is the way they add the meta bi-sulphate or maybe they put something else in the juice. I like the champagne yeasts and there isn't any reason it shouldn't totally ferment out with a starting SG of 1.092 but it doesn't seem to do that.
I use Red Star Premier Cuv'ee yeast most of the time.