Thread for questions and discussion on new winemaker series

[Bramble]

Stuck Ferment

Thanks for helping Goldseal.

No, I added the sugar solution (which was at 1.080) when I racked the must at 1.010. I didn't have any apple juice at the time, this then took the must back to 1.020.

It can't be the yeast because the second batch is fine and tastes dry. The stuck one tastes sweet but not hot. The sugar solution was just to keep it proportionaly similar after racking rather than to add alcofrol content.

It's still not doing anything today. I could try restarting with SN9 which takes higher alcohol anyway. Do you think it would work?

[Bramble]

Stuck Ferment

Forgot to say, the only other thing I added was 1 campden tablet the first racking and then just yeast nutrient (no campden tablet) when I racked it onto the sediment of the good batch.

[goldseal]

I think that the campden tablet has stunned the yeast.

Do you have another demijohn, or a fermenting bucket? Sanitise it, then pour the wine from the DJ to the other DJ/bucket. The idea is to splash it as much as you can, and to get the yeast off the bottom and into suspension. The splashing will drive off some of the SO2 introduced by the campden tablet. This should in turn allow the yeast to resume their work.

Pour it back and forth a few times, then back into the original DJ, sit back and wait. Hopefully in a day or two the yeast will fire up again.


EDIT: to clarify, the campden tablet isn't necessary when racking an actively fermenting wine. A campden tablet / sulphite solution is used after fermentation to prevent spoilage, and before fermentation in some musts for the same reason.

[Bramble]

Thanks Goldseal, I'll do that now and leave the campden tablets alone until it's finished in future!

I'll let you know if it works.

[Bramble]

Wine # 1 With Grapefruit Juice

The OH is going through a grapefruit phase and asked me to make a batch of grapefuit wine (sounds 'orrible to me). So, I dutifully got a litre of grapefruit juice and now I don't know what to mix it with. Should I use white grape juice or apple juice?

If anyone out there knows please tell me!!!

[goldseal]

I would use White Grape - I'd be tempted to make it as per a Wine No.1, but then backsweeten as per Wine No.2

[Bramble]

Wine # 1 With Grapefuit Juice

Thanks Goldseal, I'll try that. I don't like grapefruit and I don't have a sweet tooth either, but he does (both) so that might just work out ok. Anything to earn brownie points and avoid tax!!!!

[TTFx]

Bulk degassing

Hi,

How should I degass a 23L FV of wine? I dont really want to split it yet (just in case it needs finnings) and I am not so strong as to swirl 23L.

Regards

[lockwood1956]

If you look at the tutorial on degassing, there are various ways to do it without picking it up and shaking it.....

see here

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=904

regards
Bob

[Leon]

I had a wine number 1 on the go, made from Lidel mixed grape juice, on which consumption began after only a couple of weeks of aging as we had ran out. The strange thing was, it was fizzy. I've had wines that were cloudy, ones smelt slightly of fart and one that tasting strongly of meta-sulphitey-stuff, strangely I miss that tang, but not fizzy. I have read on here about fermenting a wine down to dry, then adding more of the juice/fruit and fermenting down again, as a way of not losing flavour during the initial vigour of fermentation.
So I fermented one litre of grape juice with water and the other necessities down to 992, then added another litre of juice and fermented it down to 1000, which is where I wanted it to stop. I then degassed with great gusto and enthusiam, added potassium sorbate to stabalise. I then stuck it in the shed. Was this where I went wrong, by degassing as it was still fermenting? I just don't know. It was lovely anyway.

[goldseal]

Potassium sorbate won't stop fermentation. It only stops yeast cells reproducing. Sulphite (which should be added at the same time as the sorbate) will inhibit the yeast's activity, but again won't kill them.

Trying to stop an active fermentation is generally not a good idea, because it may fire up again (which is what I suspected happened to you). It is better to ferment to dry, then add sulphite and sorbate, degas, wait a few days (to allow any existing yeast cells to die off), then sweeten to your desired level.

I normally wait for the wine to clear before sweetening, then leave it in the DJ at room temperature for a couple of weeks, just to make sure it doesn't fire up again.

[RTPFUN]

White wine number one tweeks

I've now make 10 gallons of white wine number one and I must say it's fab. Friends say that it's very like Torres Vina Sol and we tried a side by side test and it was very much along the same lines just not as complicated and a little less depth. However at a recent house warming party it was swopped after the first 5 bought bottles (of Vina Sol) and no one noticed. (Not my party they would have started on it at our house.) Back to the point I now want to experiment on the next 5 gallons so I aim to ferment to 1.010 and then have 5 little experiments I've seen on here the addition of 50g raspberrys and elderflowers work well but would like some help and ideas from those who have tried other things. Sultanas Rasins and ginger spring to mind and also try back sweetening as per wine no 2
Thanks Pete

[Leon]

Peter, never has an epithet been more appropriate than yours.

Thank you Mr G.

[Bramble]

Update on Wines 1 & 2

Thank you for these wine recipes - I love them!

So far I've done the wine 1 with apple, pineapple and grapefruit. The grapefruit was OH's idea and nobody liked it except me. The pineapple's delicious and I'm starting another batch tonight. The apple was much smoother than the stuff I used to make (in the days when you bought something called brewers yeast from the hardware shop) thanks to VH MA33 and Goldseal for fixing the stuck ferment. The stuff I used to make was rough and hot (kind of like calvados but not as strong).

The wine 2 is not only delicious but also such a beautiful colour you could stare at it for hours (only if the airlock's not working obviously!). I like it dry and DD likes to add grape juice to hers. I quite fancy the idea of making a sparkling batch but don't have the freezer room at the moment (see, I've been reading the tutorials!!).

Hope you've all recovered from grapefest now x

[lockwood1956]

Thank you for these wine recipes - I love them!

You are most welcome, pleased you enjoyed them