Can I rush it?

[cls90]

Hey y’all,
I have a batch of strawberry wine (from a kit) at 5 weeks in primary at the moment. Per the instructions, I’m to let it stay in primary for 8 weeks, then transfer and allow another 3 weeks to settle/neutralize before bottling.
My question is: can I rush either of those stages safely?

 

[sour_grapes]

Have you been taking specific gravity measurements? Go by that, not by time. If the SG of the wine has been steady for ~1 week, you can safely transfer now.

 

[Scooter68]

The kit does include any actual fruit or fruit pulp correct? Sour Grapes has given you the best guidance.

 

[cls90]

I have a hydrometer but haven’t used it before. I’ll check that asap. The kit I have is a concentrate, from igobru. How about the secondary, should I give it a solid 3 weeks?

 

[Scooter68]

Once again times given kit instructions are unreliable. ALWAYS go by the Hydrometer reading. As Sour Grapes stated, if the SG reading is below 1.000 and has stayed there for 3 days or longer, the fermentation has finished. Bottling should not be done until the wine has aged at least 8-12 months. Kit wine makers don't allow any time for aging and that often results in beginning wine makers finding that their wines are harsh, sharp and not that enjoyable. Drinkable yes, but NOT enjoyable there is a BIG difference. If you started into this thinking to have a wine to drink for Christmas or New years celebrations..... Save this wine for after people are so drunk that they won't notice how sharp and edgy it is. You could/should starting wines NOW to drink for the holidays int 2018.

 

[balatonwine]

If you started into this thinking to have a wine to drink for Christmas or New years celebrations..... Save this wine for after people are so drunk that they won't notice how sharp and edgy it is.

Or just use it this year to make mulled wine for the holidays.

 

[cpfan]

Hey y’all,
I have a batch of strawberry wine (from a kit) at 5 weeks in primary at the moment. Per the instructions, I’m to let it stay in primary for 8 weeks, then transfer and allow another 3 weeks to settle/neutralize before bottling.
My question is: can I rush either of those stages safely?

Igobru brand. Thanks for that info. Personally if those are the instructions, I will not be purchasing that brand EVER.

Five weeks in primary? Is it at least in a carboy or something with an air-lock and limited head-space?

Steve

 

[Scooter68]

Folks - i'm sure that anyone on this board can judge for themselves BUT.... after visiting their site and following their link to their ebay storefront... I am not impressed. Low-budget operation from the looks of things. As cpfan stated if those instructions said leave in primary for 8 weeks, no thank you folks. That's the way to turn people off to home wine making. The bottles displayed are pretty generic and vague. They say 100% juice but that's not a guarantee that the juice is all one variety of fruit. Their price is good but again - I can't tell from their add what quality of materials you are getting. Chemicals in little baggies. The boysenberry kit included Red Star Cote Des Blancs yeast - certainly not my first choice for a dark fruit wine. Couldn't read enough of the instructions to really confirm how good or bad but I did see the recommendation to soak the corks "In warm water for an hour" Most of the pictures are not well focused. Think I'll stick to the better known sources.