primary fermentation

Hi all. I was making wine from black grapes and the hydrometer showed 1085 initially. I used double dose of metabisulfite and added yeast 48 hours later. After 5 days of adding the yeast, the hydrometer is showing 0.994 in primary fermentation. Was wondering if it's time to move to secondary...

Hi everyone, I started up my first batch of kit wine 3 days ago, I am about 80 hours into primary fermentation now. It is a 1 gallon winexpert cab sauv kit. It has been holding steady in the 75 degree range and there is still no action in the airlock. The lid of the bucket is locked tight. Could...

Help! I sanitized everything and prepared my wine as the directions stated. I left my wine for2 days after I sprinkled the yeast on top [which I had forgotten to activate first] and now has mold spots/ flowers. How can I salvage it? I don't think it even started fermenting!

I accidentally left my wine kit primary sit for 6 months. Can I still go ahead with it? SG is at 990, smells almost like super ripe cherries...

Hello. First timer here. I am using the wine eclipse kit with grape skins. 6 gallons in 8 gallon plastic bucket with lid and airlock from Master Vinter. I see mixed advice for covered v. uncovered but decided to airlock it for my first go. Followed directions to a T I believe. Pitched the...

Hi, Crushed red grapes 6 days ago (1 pail of Syrah, 1 pail of Sangiovese), threw a bit of Sodium Meta then left on a cool garage for almost 24 hours. Next day I inoculated with yeast. Every day twice a day I punched the cap and aerated the must. Maceration went on for 5 1/2 days. Checked...

Hi there! Bear with me, this is my first try at making wine, and I have tried following my instructions as close as I can, but I checked my must after I added the rehydrated yeast about 20 hours ago, and there were no bubbles in the airlock, and something has formed at the top. There are a few...

I am at day 14 of making an WE Eclipse CS with grape skins. The instructions say to rack to a carboy when the SG is <.996. I measured the SG today and it’s .996. Adjusting for a must temp. of 81 degrees, the adjusted SG is .998. Question is...do I continue to leave the wine in the primary...

When u started making kits the guys at the store talked about the Brew belt as a required piece of equipment. But is it necessary? I am going on vacation for 9 days and this seems to be perfect if I start the day I leave and get back 9 days after to check the progress. The AC will be off...

I have been making wine for about a year now and have had a fair amount of success. I tried using fresh peaches and a thick foam formed over the wine that blocked the airlock and built up pressure. Good thing I pay a lot of attention to the wine or I would have had a disaterous cleanup. Would...

Rookie Making a Malbec wine kit life got in the way and now it's been two and a half weeks the SG is way too high, can I just put in more yeast and restart? it it smells fine and tastes fine it does have an airlock in it and stored in a cool dark area just take a dump it I I actually just...

Hi all, Very new to wine making here. I think I left my wine in primary too long. The starting SG was 1.08 and when I moved the wine to a carboy it was 0.90. It's been in the carboy for 1 week now. What does this mean for the rest of the fermentation process? I know the alcohol content will be...

Hi! This is my first time trying wine making so I'm not quite sure if I'm doing things right at all or not so I apologize for the lengthy post. I have white grapes that grow at our place and we picked a large amount, destemmed and crushed them, and then rented a press from a local shop. The only...

Hi everyone. I'm making wine for the first time with the Argentina Ridge Chateau Shiraz 4 week kit. I have 4 glass 6 gallon carboys and one plastic bucket fermenter without a lid. The stores near my place don't have a lid for my bucket. Can I mix everything up in the bucket and then split it...

Can 100% juice (e.g., grape, cherry) be added to a cheap wine kit during primary fermentation to add flavour and compensate for expected loss due to racking? E.g., Add water to 22 litre mark (instead of 23), and add 2 litres of juice? Or, add even more juice and less water to fortify cheap kit...

I've read about it both ways. During primary fermentation, should you use an air lock and keep out the oxygen, or use cheese cloth to allow the yeast to be exposed to oxygen? I've tried it both ways and haven't seen a lot of difference int he results; however, fermentation seems to slow down...

Hi, I've just made my must in a 30 liter fermentation bucket. I followed the recipe and have ended up with about 28 liters of must. The amount of space between the top of the must and the bucket lid (which has a bung hole in it but which I was only going to cover with a teatowel) is only 2...