Has my wine finished or is it 'stuck'?

[RichK]

I’ve been making my first few wines recently and am a proper novice. However, some of them look like they’ve finished fermenting so I got myself a hydrometer to check them.

My first wine (made from … ahem, Vimto) is reading 0.990 so is ready for bottling. I’ve degassed it, added finings and it looks & tastes pretty good. It may have a low SG but it’s still quite sweet, I guess due to the natural sweeteners in the Vimto …. I don’t think I’ll make it again.

I’ve also made dandelion wine. It’s been fermenting for 2 months now and the bubbles have stopped going through the airlock. I racked it the other day and tested it with a hydrometer which read 1.010. Is this a little high? I’ve not degassed this wine yet so once I’ve done that, would the SG drop? Should I leave it to see if the SG drops further by itself or has it stuck?

Unfortunately I didn’t have a hydrometer when I started the wine so I don’t know what the SG was of the must at the start

Thanks
Rich

[8 barrels]

I’ve been making my first few wines recently and am a proper novice. However, some of them look like they’ve finished fermenting so I got myself a hydrometer to check them.

My first wine (made from … ahem, Vimto) is reading 0.990 so is ready for bottling. I’ve degassed it, added finings and it looks & tastes pretty good. It may have a low SG but it’s still quite sweet, I guess due to the natural sweeteners in the Vimto …. I don’t think I’ll make it again.

I’ve also made dandelion wine. It’s been fermenting for 2 months now and the bubbles have stopped going through the airlock. I racked it the other day and tested it with a hydrometer which read 1.010. Is this a little high? I’ve not degassed this wine yet so once I’ve done that, would the SG drop? Should I leave it to see if the SG drops further by itself or has it stuck?

Unfortunately I didn’t have a hydrometer when I started the wine so I don’t know what the SG was of the must at the start

Thanks
Rich

I've got some hawthorn blossom wine on the go which is about the same age. 2 different gallons, one which has virtually fermented right out and the other which appears to have stuck. To get round this I've mixed the two together and now they've both set off again. That's one way round it - but only if you have 2 gallons available! The other solution if it's actually stalled is to make up a starter bottle (I use a little orange juice) and then gradually add the stuck wine, doubling up the volume each time until the whole lot is fermenting again. Hope this helps.

[SiSandrine]

You may also wish to try the wine. Do you like it as it is? Especially with things like dandelion can often be quite nice with residual sweetness. If you want a really dry wine then as 8 barrels says, use the starter and double method however you may wish to add a little yeast nutrient when doing so as with flower wines lack of nutrient can often be a problem. This is not always guaranteed to restart the wine, particularly if very high in alcohol. Do you think that may be the case - does it taste 'hot'?

[Cellar_Rat]

Is it finished very much depends on what you're aiming for.
If you want a sweet wine 1.010 is probably not unreasonable and will be very palatable once correctly finished. However if you want a crisp, dry white that's not going to cut it.

The hydrometer tells you there is some residual sugar. It does not distinguish whether this is even fermentable sugar.

Unless you are doing competitions ... for me I more important gauges are taste & nose..... 'coz , it's probably you & yours who are going to be drinking it.

[RichK]

Thanks for all the advice. I've not had time to try the wine today but i'll do it tomorrow and report back.

Thanks
Rich

[RichK]

Hello all,

I've got round to tasting my dandelion wine and testing the SG again today. It does taste a little sweeter than I would like and the SG is 1.010 so i'm thinking about the starter and double method.

Can someone give me some advice of exactly what to do? I did add some yeast nutrient at the start so should I now add more?

Thanks
Rich

[SiSandrine]

Hi Rich,

Before you embark on that, would you answer a few questions. First do you have the exact recipe (especially interested in the weight and quantities of ingredients) you used along with the yeast. That will help us understand whether this is due to alcohol content, Was it a CJJ Berry recipe by any chance? They are notorious for over use of sugar in the initial must.
You may be more sure of the results, especially if it is only a little sweeter than you would like in making up another batch , fermenting that to dry and then blending the two. This would be the best route if your first batch is stuck due to alcohol toxicity.

To answer the question: Basically you make up a pint or so of yeast starter (pint of orange juice, pinch yeast energiser, with a killer strain of yeast - say K1V). Give that 12 hours to really get the colony going. Add equivalent amount of wine, measure SG. Wait 12 hours-ish, measure SG see if any change. If SG is dropping, add another equivalent amount of wine (so double the quantity you added first time), measure SG etc. Repeat till all wine added or SG drops no more. If SG is not dropping in the first place then wait additional 12 hours and then measure again. If still not dropping then stop and look to blend with a drier wine. When the SG stops dropping then add the remaining wine and leave to clear. Look to blend if still not to your taste.

I wouldn't add additional nutrient this late in the day to the finished wine as if the yeast are dead then unused nutrients can be put to good use by spoilage bacteria, leading to off odours.

[RichK]

Thank Simon and also oliver90owner for the message.

Here's the recipe i've followed. It's a Margaret Vaughan recipe from the BBC book, Fruity Passions (c.1990)

5 1/4 pints Dandelion flowers (the petals picked, the recipe said 6 pints but I got whole fed up when the picked heads started to close)
8 pints water
Rind of a lemon & orange
Juice of a lemon & orange
120ml of stong tea
1500g sugar
Gervin GV9 white wine yeast
1tsp yeast nutrient.

Any thoughts? Too much sugar?

Maybe I should let this wine just do it's thing, enjoy it and adjust in the future when I make it again.

Cheers
Rich

[Cellar_Rat]

Oh yeah.. rule of thumb is 1kg per gallon max.


Given that 18.5 grams of sugar per liter = 1% alcohol

18.5 x 4.5 = 83.25 = 1% in 5gal

1500 added = 18.02 %

An ordinary yeast will struggle to do that.
Its not stuck. Its done.

Options..
Enjoy it sweet.
Add some acid to the finshed wine to mask the sweetness.
Make a dry wine and blend.
Split it into 2 gallons and add more ingredients BUT NO SUGAR.

[SiSandrine]

Yes agree with Brian. No point in trying to restart.

Your original gravity was around 1.120 (1.5kg in 5 litres). Your finished gravity is 1.010. A drop of 110 giving you approx 15% ABV.

This calculator may help you:
http://www.winesathome.co.uk/downloads/calculator.htm.

As you say - enjoy it and make some more - try wine number 1 and other recipes. Go on you know you want to.

[RichK]

Thanks for the advice, i'll bear in mind the 1kg per gallon max in future. I need to get up to speed with the calculation of sugar to alcohol. I'm super new to this so you live and learn, great having a forum to bouce ideas about though.

Simon, I started Wine Number 1 about a week ago and the initial crazy fermentation is just dying down now so about ready to top up with water. Looking forward to trying it as it'll be my first wine to be ready.

Thanks again
Rich