Thread for questions and discussion on new winemaker series

[MeatPie2002]

Hi,

I am worried that my #1 fruit juice wine isn't progressing as it should be. I started it just over a fortnight ago and, after a week, when the OG was below 1, I racked it to a new DJ.

Since then, there has been a tiny amount of fermentation but not much else is happening. The wine doesn't appear to be clearing and there is no sign of any further fermentation.

Is there a way of finding out if there is anything wrong?

I was thinking about racking the wine again as there is some sediment in the current DJ. Is this a good idea?

Also, will the wine clear better in a darker place? I seem to remember reading that somewhere once but don't know if there is any truth in it.

Thanks,

James.

[lockwood1956]

I was thinking about racking the wine again as there is some sediment in the current DJ. Is this a good idea?

No...

Let it sit...the yeast knows what to do, racking the wine will have slowed it down, but is it still producing bubbles (not in the airlock, in the wine)

what is the current SG (please express it as 3 decimal places....ie 0.992...saves any confusion)

let it finish on its own, two weeks is no time at all, it wont clear till ferment is over, and i suspect it is still in progress, albeit very slowly.

regards
bob

[MeatPie2002]

Hi Bob, thanks for the reply.

The SG is currently about 0.898 by my reckoning. I haven't calibrated my hydrometer though so it might be out.

Yes, there are still a few bubbles forming in the DJ.

Should I relax and just have a little patience then?

Thanks,

James.

[lockwood1956]

Gice it a few more days....it wont hurt.

Are they very fine bubbles or slightly bigger than before, it could be CO2 escaping.

Is the wine starting to clear from the top down?

[MeatPie2002]

The bubbles are very fine and there are hardly any of them.

I actually noticed that it did seem a little clearer at the top when I got home today.

I'll give it another week or so before I worry about it again.

Thanks a lot for your responses. I'm itching to get onto the second recipe.

Cheers,

James.

[Smiggs]

Hi All,
I was going to try a #2 but could not get blueberry juice so went for 2x red grape + 1 apple. Also got no tannin so thought instead i'd try a #1 with this juice. Used 1lb sugar for sg of 1.08.

Just racked for the first time, now at 0.994. I had a taste and its good but pretty sour. Is this normal at this stage?

I'm now thinking maybe I should sorbate and sweeten as in #2. What do you think?

Cheers,
Matt

Hi, can anyone advise about this?

Should a #1(ish) taste sour at the first rack?
Bit worried somethings not right.

Thanks,
Matt

[SiSandrine]

In short the answer is no but I guess it depends on your taste buds and what you mean by sour.

By sour I suspect you mean quite acidic.
When you say #1 - ish what does that mean?
What quantity are you making? How much acid and what acid did you add?

Better still post the exact recipe you used and we can have a go at working it through.

[Smiggs]

Thanks for the reply. I suppose I may mean acidic.

It's exactly wine #1 recipe but with 2x red grape and 1x apple juice and so only 1lb sugar. 1 tsp citric.

Cheers

[SiSandrine]

Hi Matt,

WN #1 would normally only have 2 litres juice to the gallon, adding 3 will throw it off balance slightly.
Do you have a hydrometer and did you measure the SG btw? If not then this will help you when you follow these recipes - we can talk you through how to use it etc. If you have then please accept my apologies and disregard this sentence.

If your sugar levels were about right at the beginning and it is not teeth-strippingly acidic then I would leave it to simply age in a demi john in the corner somewhere and put on another batch of WN1 (2 litres per gallon version) which you can probably make drinkable in 2 months (maybe even less).

If your sugar levels were lowish then probably I would make up a sugar solution and top up the wine. This will reduce the level of acidity too. It will still require a little time so put on another batch of WN1.

Either way make another batch of WN1 - you know it makes sense (to the posted recipe though)

[koomber]

Thanks for the reply. I suppose I may mean acidic.

It's exactly wine #1 recipe but with 2x red grape and 1x apple juice and so only 1lb sugar. 1 tsp citric.

Cheers

The extra grape juice will contain extra acid and will be what is making it taste a bit sharp.

***EDIT***
There was going to be a bit in here saying in before SiSandrine since he's doing a great job of answering people's questions of late, but he beat me too it!

[Smiggs]

Thanks all.

Yeah, the SG was 1.08. The extra juice was because I originally was going for a #2. Decided to change to a #1 ish as I couldn't get blueberry juice (anyone know where I can get this in the UK? tried tesco's and sainsbury's) and had no tannin.

Anyway, it wasn't tooth stripping so I think putting in a corner and making some more is excellent advice .

Or, if i added some potassium sorbate and then sweetened (as in #2), would this balance it?

Cheers

[Bramble]

Stuck Ferment Wine # 1

Hi All, I need a bit of advice on this stuck ferment. I started my first wine # 1on 31st August and my second on 5th September. The first one stuck and was overtaken by the second, so I looked on here (the only place to look) at stuck ferments. They were identical wines using the same yeast so I racked the stuck ferment onto the sediment of the good one. That was yesterday and nothings happening. How long should I leave it? I was expecting it to work by now, but I've never done it before so maybe I'm just being impatient?

Also, if that isn't likely to work now, would it be worth trying to restart it with fresh yeast (as in the tutorial) or should it be consiged to the drain as a dead loss??? (obviously this would be the most painful option in the world!!)

[goldseal]

We'll need a bit of information to work on.

What was your starting SG, what is the SG now, what yeast are you using?

When you say it stuck, did it just fizzle out or did you do something immediately before? What temperature is the room where it is sitting?

[Bramble]

Stuck Ferment

Hi Goldseal,

It started at SG 1.084 on 31st August, using vintner's harvest MA33. It slowed right down and I racked it on 14th September at 1.010 and topped it up with sugar solution at 1.080, which took it to 1.020. Since then it has been very very slow and was only back to 1.012 when it stopped altogether.

The second batch, started on 5th September was exactly the same using the other half pack of the same yeast. It is now SG 0.995 and still going happily after racking.

They're on a heat mat in the kitchen (I leave the heat mat on because I haven't had the central heating on and it's a north facing room). Wine no. 2 and a barolo kit wine are on the same mat and both doing fine.

[goldseal]

Ta for the info.

To clarify, you started at 1.084, and at 1.080 you added some sugar solution. Can you give me some more info about this please? Amount of sugar, the amount topped up, and/or SG afterwards?

It does seem a bit odd - my experience of MA33 is that it goes like a rocket and is reliable.

Have a taste. Does it taste very 'hot' (i.e. alcohol)? In the absence of any other additions (i.e. you haven't added sulphite or sorbate, have you?), I'd suspect too much sugar, hence all the questions.

We'll get to the bottom of it, I'm sure