Edulcorate

Edulcorate (pronounced ih-duhl-kuh-reyt)

(1) In the production of food and beverage, to sweeten.

(2) Figuratively, to make something more acceptable or palatable (in the figurative sense of that word).

(3) In chemistry, to free from acids, salts, or other soluble impurities by washing; to purify.

1800–1810: From the Medieval Latin ēdulcorāre & the New Latin ēdulcorātus, the construct being ē- (an alternative form of ex- (out of; from)) + the Late Latin dulcorātus (sweetened (past participle of dulcorāre)), the construct being the Latin dulcor (sweetness) + -ātus.  The Latin suffix -ātus was from the Proto-Italic -ātos, from the primitive Indo-European -ehtos.  It’s regarded as a "pseudo-participle" and perhaps related to –tus although though similar formations in other Indo-European languages indicate it was distinct from it already in early Indo-European times.  It was cognate with the Proto-Slavic –atъ and the Proto-Germanic -ōdaz (the English form being -ed (having).  The feminine form was –āta, the neuter –ātum and it was used to form adjectives from nouns indicating the possession of a thing or a quality.  Edulcorate, edulcorated & edulcorating are verbs, edulcorative is an adjective and edulcoration is a noun (the noun use of edulcorate is non-standard and is used casually in industry to refer to cleansing or sweetening agents in which case the (unattested) noun-plural would be edulcorates (ie the same as the third-person singular simple present)).

Edulcorating the already edulcorated.  Lindsay Lohan at the opening of the Magnum Pleasure Store, Covent Garden, London, July 2015: strawberry chocolate pearls & nuts over a freshly-dipped Magnum.  Never do in moderation what can be done in excess.

COVID-19 lockdowns and isolation induced many to take up the production of foods such as bread and pasta but there was also interest in wine-making.  It appears that like the amateur bakers, many home-based vintners were new to the business, taking advantage of suddenly available time to ferment, presumably to lower the cost the increased intake of alcohol lockdown seemed to encourage.  Shop-front stores supporting the hobby noted the most common request received was for products which could be used to edulcorate (sweeten) wine, it being common for the first bottle of a new batch to be too dry for the taste of many.  The excessive dryness in home-made wine happens because the process usually is to add wine yeast and leave the mix uninterrupted to ferment, unlike a commercial winery which will take a number of measurements during the fermentation process, stopping it when the desired sweetness is achieved.

A simple to use edulcorating agent is wine conditioner, something ideal for a home ferment.  Wine conditioner is a mix of non-fermentable sugar, water, and sorbate, an all-in-one solution for those interested in drinking their wine rather than making its production an art and it’s especially convenient because it’s best used immediately before bottling.  That’s because except for experts, no form of sweetener should be added prior bottling because wine noticeably will change from month to month when very young and thought it may seem too dry in the early days, it will often will mellow, even to the point where no edulcoration is required and a premature addition of conditioner can produce something excessively sweet.  Before adding the conditioner, manufacturers recommend re-racking to a new fermenting bucket or carboy to avoid stirring up sediment.  Add the wine conditioner a little at a time, stirring gently and waiting a few minutes before tasting.  It can be bottled at the point at which the desired taste is achieved; there is no right and wrong in this because it’s a matter of personal taste.

More challenging to use but offering the possibility of more complexity are red and white grape concentrates.  Unlike conditioners, grape concentrates contain fermentable sugars, thus a metabisulphite must first be used otherwise the yeast will be activated, fermenting the sugars and removing sweetness.  For this reason some wine makers add a second dose of metabisulphite to kill the remaining active yeast cells and both concentrates can be added just before bottling.  Pre-filtered, they leave no sediment and are mixed in to taste, just like the conditioner.  Obviously, the simple way to sweeten something is to add sugar but, except for experienced users, it’s not recommended because even if a metabisulphite is added, some active yeast may remain and because sugar is easily femented by yeast, carbonation can result.  It is though a quick solution and many skilled home users use nothing but sugar, again, adding a little at a time, stirring and bottling when the taste proves palatable.  Especially with fruit-based wines, packaged fruit juice is a handy agent because almost all contain preservatives (frequently metabisulphite) so they’ll be no ongoing fermentation and the process is the same: mix, stir and taste.

Whatever edulcoration method is used, for new wine makers the best approach to probably to try variations in the mix, noting on a tag or label attached to the bottle the quantity added.  This can be referred to when tasting the final result and the preferred method can then be replicated, always remembering no two batches are ever exactly identical but with each batch, wine makers learn to recognize implications of the variation, adjusting the edulcoration to suit.