# Making a wine recipe a little sweeter



## bushpilot (May 14, 2017)

laketrout said:


> A question that always comes up when we make wine is does adding more sugar in the beginning make a sweeter wine or does it just make a higher alcohol content or both


It depends. The alcohol produced is dependent on the sugar level, and on the yeast strain. If you use a yeast that has a high alcohol tolerance, it may ferment out any extra added sugar, resulting in a jigher ABV. If the sugar exceeds the alcohol tolerance of the yeast strain chosen, then the wine will be sweeter.

So, you choose your yeast based (in part) on the alcohol level you want, say 12%. Then you choose your SG (sugar) based on whether you want it to ferment dry or sweet.

There are online calculator to help you work it out. 

BTW - I am new at this, but I believe my response is accurate.


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## laketrout (Mar 5, 2013)

Thanks bushpilot now I understand why a previous post in another thread on this subject suggested changing the yeast to change sweetness instead of back sweetening


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