1st vinters harvest black currant

[bob1]

Let it bubble

 

[Paulc]

The SG has not budged a bit since the 23rd of April. This wine has had a heat pad on it, set on medium since then. The wine is warm to the touch.

Am I really stuck with this stuff being sweet? What would be the problem of adding a new dose of yeast to try and finish this stuff to dry?

I need help please! thanks, paulc

 

[BobF]

Get some 1118 yeast. Make a starter with a small amount of water, sugar and energizer.

Once it's going good add a small amount of your stuck must, say 10-20% of the volume of your starter. Let it get going good again and repeat.

Do this until you have a pint or so, maybe a quart going really, really good.

Then add it to your stuck must.

 

[Paulc]

thanks Bob! Maybe after this I will give up and just go with a sweet wine...

 

[Wade E]

Do you have any other wines fermenting as dumping this batch on a yeast slurry would work much better then the starter yeast.

 

[BobF]

If this must was started at a higher SG than the original yeast could ferment, then an 1118 starter will do the trick - until 18% is reached.

If there is something about the must that the yeast didn't like, then slowly acclimating the new yeast, whether slurry or a starter, will have the best chance of success.

So, IMO if you use a slurry or a new starter, slowly add this must to it at first ...

 

[Midwest Vintner]

with the 1118, i've seen it go from just dropping some on top of the must at ~1.020 or so. IMO, it should go from just a starter. 1116 works if you got it also.

blueberry, black currant and cranberry have all stuck on me once a piece. nothing else has ever stopped on me. With the cranberry, I think it was too cold for the yeast I was using (some lalvin variety non-1116/1118) and the blueberry and currant that stopped on me was along time ago. I think we were only using red star then. Now we use a variety for different wines.

 

[Paulc]

Thanks everyone for the help so far. I have some 1116 yeast on the way, ought to be here this week some time. Should I rack this wine off the yeast cake it is sitting on in case it is yeast stress that is causing this ferment to stop? Or should I leave the bulk of the wine undisturbed and just remove enough from the carboy to get the starter going? And then add it back to the carboy?

Thanks, paul

 

[Wade E]

If you are making another yeast starter you should probably get it off of this heavy sediment.

 

[docanddeb]

You won't be able to make a starter simply by taking some of the non-finished wine and adding yeast to it. You'll need to take some juice, or just sugar water, nutrient... warm it a bit... get the yeast happy, add just a bit of the non-finished wine at a time, until you get a large amount roaring... THEN add it back to the wine. It's a bit of a process and don't rush it too fast... let it get used to the high alcohol levels so it will finish off the ferment for you... Good Luck!

Debbie

 

[Paulc]

It didn't work:-(

I dissolved 1 cup of sugar in about 1 liter of warmish water and pitched the yeast and it got going nicely. So using my turkey baster(sp?) wine thief I added about 5 oz of the stuck black currant. I let is sit for about 10 minutes and it was bubbling nicely. So I added another 5 oz or so of stuck wine and waited another 10 minutes. I kept this process up for about an hour and it seemed to be going okay. So I jumped the volumn up to 3 liters, racked the rest of the wine off the spent yeast and onto the starter I had in a primary. I rinsed out the carboy and racked all back into carboy and nothing happened. I took about 2 hrs to complete this whole process, did work on Thursday evening the 5th. At first it looked like there was some positive pressure building in the carboy but then the kmeta in the lock leveled out.

Not sure what to do now...any thoughts? I can repeat process and just take longer to baby the starter more. I thought maybe I could go for more of a black currant port and instead of 1 cup of sugar add 3lbs based on a port recipe I have. Or I can just leave it sit and blend it with other stuff this fall? Or just have a sweet black currant wine that I don't want....

Help please Paulc

 

[SarahRides]

I used one of those cans and made a 5 gallon batch. I now wish I had done the 3 gallon because stretching it to the 5 gallon made it a little weak (more like a Rose). I'm sure that as a 3 gallon batch it will be perfect. I'm hoping that the aging will help expose more flavor.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

I used one of those cans and made a 5 gallon batch. I now wish I had done the 3 gallon because stretching it to the 5 gallon made it a little weak (more like a Rose). I'm sure that as a 3 gallon batch it will be perfect. I'm hoping that the aging will help expose more flavor.

we do it in 3's because we blend with it and want it to be stronger. we typically bottle a few of just black currant and it does get so much better with age. it is one that needs a few years to really get it's potential.

 

[docanddeb]

My second batch wasn't as good as the first, for some reason. Maybe aging will bring it along ok, though.

Debbie

 

[Paulc]

it finally started

In the end I added a packet of 1116 directly to the top of the carboy along with a pinch of sugar and energizer. Not much happened so then I added a small pinch of nutrient. After about 36hrs the yeast took off and it has been making a ton of tiny buddles ever since. I won't disturb it until the air lock goes still again. Next time I may skip trying to make a starter. paulc

 

[Wade E]

Are you heating up the water too much and killing the yeast making the starter???

 

[Paulc]

The starter was going fine. My best guess is I probably rushed adding it back to the stuck wine. My last addition of stuck wine to the starter basically doubled the volume of starter (after several smaller additions of stuck wine) and I would guess I did not wait long enough for that to begin bubbling strong before I added it to the over 2.5 gal of stuck wine and so it was just too much for the starter. But I am probably only 6 months into my "career" as a wine maker so what do I know...? But it is going well now so hopefully it is a case of all's well that ends well. paulc

 

[docanddeb]

The more you make, the more you learn!! Keep on keepin' on!!

Ferment anything that doesn't run away and isn't poisonous!!!

Debbie

 

[Midwest Vintner]

it depends on the type of yeast used. I've never had a stuck lalvin 1116/1118. I use them on some wines and keep them handy for stuck batches. I have only made a starter a few times, ever after 100+ batches. IIRC, the lalvin brand is just supposed to be re-hydrated.