All,

When my wife went on a diet and switched from sugar to Splenda, I wondered
how I could make Port that she could drink. Since she has been using
Splenda, I decided I would try it to sweeten my latest batch of Port.
Before bottling, the Port measured -1 degree Brix. Since I was working with
3 gallons of wine, I caculated that I needed about 1 pound of sugar to raise
the Brix up to 2 degrees. I took a small box of Splenda that was said to be
equivalent to one pound of sugar and added it to my Port. The taste was
right where I wanted it. However, when I used my hydrometer after adding
the Splenda, I was suprised to see that it still read -1 degrees Brix!

Anyway, from what I can determine, Splenda is a suitable substitute for
sugar (at least for sweetening finished wine). I have not attemped
fermentation of Splenda. Perhaps some brave soul will try that and share
the results.

Regards,

Gary

http://home.carolina.rr.com/winemaking/

Supposedly it will not ferment.
Steve
"Gary Flye" > wrote in message
...
> All,
>
> When my wife went on a diet and switched from sugar to Splenda, I wondered
> how I could make Port that she could drink. Since she has been using
> Splenda, I decided I would try it to sweeten my latest batch of Port.
> Before bottling, the Port measured -1 degree Brix. Since I was working
> with 3 gallons of wine, I caculated that I needed about 1 pound of sugar
> to raise the Brix up to 2 degrees. I took a small box of Splenda that was
> said to be equivalent to one pound of sugar and added it to my Port. The
> taste was right where I wanted it. However, when I used my hydrometer
> after adding the Splenda, I was suprised to see that it still read -1
> degrees Brix!
>
> Anyway, from what I can determine, Splenda is a suitable substitute for
> sugar (at least for sweetening finished wine). I have not attemped
> fermentation of Splenda. Perhaps some brave soul will try that and share
> the results.
>
> Regards,
>
> Gary
>
> http://home.carolina.rr.com/winemaking/
>

According to http://sci-toys.com/ingredients/sucralose.html, splenda is
600 times as sweet as sugar. So, you'd need far less sucralose to
sweeten wine to the right degree- on the order of a gram instead of a
pound. Even assuming that sucralose and sucrose change the density of
wine to exactly the same degree (which it probably won't), a gram of it
isn't going to change the density of your wine enough to observe with a
hydrometer.

Stephen claims that splenda won't ferment. I hope nobody will try
this- it it were to be broken down by yeast or anything else, it would
give you small organic molecules with chlorines in them.
Organochlorines, with notable exceptions (including, presumably,
sucralose), are nearly universally bad- you don't want them in your
wines.

I've used Splenda to sweeten wine when all of the following apply: 1)
Giving a bottle as a gift 2) Haven't stabilized it w/ sorbate while in
bulk. and 3) I know the bottle will not be under constant refrigeration.
Yeah, I guess I could add sorbate & sugar directly to the bottle, but that's
more trouble than it's worth.

It does seem to work well. The Splenda instructions say to use it volume
for volume as you'd use sugar. Most of the people I've given wine to like
it sweeter than I like it. My dose is ~1.25 tablespoons per bottle.

Robert in the hills of TN



"The Mad Alchemist" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> According to http://sci-toys.com/ingredients/sucralose.html, splenda is
> 600 times as sweet as sugar. So, you'd need far less sucralose to
> sweeten wine to the right degree- on the order of a gram instead of a
> pound. Even assuming that sucralose and sucrose change the density of
> wine to exactly the same degree (which it probably won't), a gram of it
> isn't going to change the density of your wine enough to observe with a
> hydrometer.
>
> Stephen claims that splenda won't ferment. I hope nobody will try
> this- it it were to be broken down by yeast or anything else, it would
> give you small organic molecules with chlorines in them.e
> Organochlorines, with notable exceptions (including, presumably,
> sucralose), are nearly universally bad- you don't want them in your
> wines.
>

Oh, and if it matters, Splenda disolves in the bottle much faster than
either sugar or honey.

Robert


"Robert Lewis" > wrote in message
nk.net...
> I've used Splenda to sweeten wine when all of the following apply: 1)
> Giving a bottle as a gift 2) Haven't stabilized it w/ sorbate while in
> bulk. and 3) I know the bottle will not be under constant
> refrigeration. Yeah, I guess I could add sorbate & sugar directly to the
> bottle, but that's more trouble than it's worth.
>
> It does seem to work well. The Splenda instructions say to use it volume
> for volume as you'd use sugar. Most of the people I've given wine to
> like it sweeter than I like it. My dose is ~1.25 tablespoons per bottle.
>
> Robert in the hills of TN
>
>
>
> "The Mad Alchemist" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>> According to http://sci-toys.com/ingredients/sucralose.html, splenda is
>> 600 times as sweet as sugar. So, you'd need far less sucralose to
>> sweeten wine to the right degree- on the order of a gram instead of a
>> pound. Even assuming that sucralose and sucrose change the density of
>> wine to exactly the same degree (which it probably won't), a gram of it
>> isn't going to change the density of your wine enough to observe with a
>> hydrometer.
>>
>> Stephen claims that splenda won't ferment. I hope nobody will try
>> this- it it were to be broken down by yeast or anything else, it would
>> give you small organic molecules with chlorines in them.e
>> Organochlorines, with notable exceptions (including, presumably,
>> sucralose), are nearly universally bad- you don't want them in your
>> wines.
>>
>
>

On Fri, 19 May 2006 00:31:06 +0000, Gary Flye wrote:

> Anyway, from what I can determine, Splenda is a suitable substitute for
> sugar (at least for sweetening finished wine). I have not attemped
> fermentation of Splenda. Perhaps some brave soul will try that and share
> the results.

Help a poor, uneducated Brit. Is Splenda a sugar-substitute and if so,
what does it contain?

Their website can explain what it is much better than I can.

Robert

www.splenda.com


"Old Rocker" > wrote in message
news
> On Fri, 19 May 2006 00:31:06 +0000, Gary Flye wrote:
>
>> Anyway, from what I can determine, Splenda is a suitable substitute for
>> sugar (at least for sweetening finished wine). I have not attemped
>> fermentation of Splenda. Perhaps some brave soul will try that and share
>> the results.
>
> Help a poor, uneducated Brit. Is Splenda a sugar-substitute and if so,
> what does it contain?
>

On Sun, 21 May 2006 00:35:34 +0000, Robert Lewis wrote:

> Their website can explain what it is much better than I can.
>
> Robert
>
> www.splenda.com

Found some on a local supermarket shelf, so it is here in the UK. Funny
I've never come across it before.

--

Old Rocker

Old Rocker wrote:
> On Fri, 19 May 2006 00:31:06 +0000, Gary Flye wrote:
>
>> Anyway, from what I can determine, Splenda is a suitable substitute for
>> sugar (at least for sweetening finished wine). I have not attemped
>> fermentation of Splenda. Perhaps some brave soul will try that and share
>> the results.
>
> Help a poor, uneducated Brit. Is Splenda a sugar-substitute and if so,
> what does it contain?
>
Bad stuff?
http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/3/sucralose_dangers.htm
Good stuff?
http://sucralose.org/expert_op.html

Rock on

Steve - crush, destem, ferment, press, store, rack, rack again, age in
oak, bottle, wait a year, drink!