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Ok, I've familiarized myself with the whole process and know I have to degas later, I just didn't know if there was any sense in doing it between primary and secondary as well. By the sounds of it, no. My kit says not to transfer any of "the thickest" sediment but make sure to transfer all the liquid so I'll just tilt the bucket and do just that. I'm hoping when I check the SG on Thursday and Friday that there's still some time to go because I will be driving 3-4 hours away for the weekend and won't get back until Sunday afternoon, hopefully I didn't paint myself in a corner on timing.
 
Ok, I've familiarized myself with the whole process and know I have to degas later, I just didn't know if there was any sense in doing it between primary and secondary as well. By the sounds of it, no. My kit says not to transfer any of "the thickest" sediment but make sure to transfer all the liquid so I'll just tilt the bucket and do just that. I'm hoping when I check the SG on Thursday and Friday that there's still some time to go because I will be driving 3-4 hours away for the weekend and won't get back until Sunday afternoon, hopefully I didn't paint myself in a corner on timing.

You're gonna be fine Doug. If it's not ready to go to the carboy before you leave, that's when you'll want to snap the lid on tight and set up your airlock. If that happens, it'll wait for you to get home on Sunday. If you get below 1.020 before you leave, and you're not comfy leaving it in the bucket, you could probably sneak it into the carboy a little early. Just jump in here before you leave and someone will be able to give you advice on which way to go.
 
Yeah, I'm not too worried just trying to make the best of it, especially being my first batch. I was also thinking of putting the bucket in the basement where the temperature is a bit cooler to slow down the yeast if the SG is close to 10, maybe not worth thr trouble but a thought. I will keep everyone updated and ask for advice accordingly, but I'm not too worried, if it sits with inactive yeast for a day or so then that's what happens.

P.S. I'll be gone this weekend but I'll be drinking that 2005 Altamura Cab so I'm good either way :)
 
That would be ideal and what I had planned on doing but I thought I read somewhere that if the SG stops dropping and bottoms out that the inactive yeast will start to affect the wine if it sits for too long. Maybe 3 days isn't enough to do that? Since it's a cab, I'm not worried about dry, dry is ideal. Hopefully my comments aren't coming off as me being worried or frantic, I'm just talking my thoughts out and bouncing ideas.
 
UPDATE 3:
Wow, what a drastic drop in SG. It was pretty late before I got around to measuring tonight but I was surprised to see the happy little party starting to fizzle out in the bucket. The must is no longer foaming and it's now just a fizzle. The SG is just over 1.030. Getting close!

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That would be ideal and what I had planned on doing but I thought I read somewhere that if the SG stops dropping and bottoms out that the inactive yeast will start to affect the wine if it sits for too long. Maybe 3 days isn't enough to do that? Since it's a cab, I'm not worried about dry, dry is ideal. Hopefully my comments aren't coming off as me being worried or frantic, I'm just talking my thoughts out and bouncing ideas.

Three days on kit lees wont cause you any problems.
 
UPDATE 3:
Wow, what a drastic drop in SG. It was pretty late before I got around to measuring tonight but I was surprised to see the happy little party starting to fizzle out in the bucket. The must is no longer foaming and it's now just a fizzle. The SG is just over 1.030. Getting close!

Yep, 1118 gets the job done pretty efficiently. I'm thinking that you'll get your wine into the carboy before you leave, and you won't need to be concerned with it for quite a while.
 
If things go as planned, I'm hoping I'm at 10 or below when I check tonight or early tomorrow morning and I can get it racked. I was smart enough to get to the home brew store yesterday to buy a test tube and carboy handle so I should be all set. I prefer to have it racked anyway, that way it won't be on my mind over the weekend. Thanks for all the help and encouragement gents, I'm keeping a good log of everything I do and learn so everyone's advice is highly valued.
 
Sounds like you're moving along nicely. If it works for your schedule, don't worry too much about going another day and waiting for the weekend. Any time on the skins is a good time. :D
 
UPDATE 4:
Still going but getting close to decision time. SG is between 1.015 - 1.020. I may just leave it in the bucket for the weekend but we'll see tomorrow. I did my first taste test, I stirred it up really good multiple times and then let it rest in a glass for almost 2 hours. I'm not sure what I expected it to taste like but I thought it was still quite sweet, not as dark nor as dry as a cab should be but I'm sure racking, secondary fermentation, degassing, fining, and aging will have something to say about that. Moving right along...

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UPDATE 4:
Still going but getting close to decision time. SG is between 1.015 - 1.020. I may just leave it in the bucket for the weekend but we'll see tomorrow. I did my first taste test, I stirred it up really good multiple times and then let it rest in a glass for almost 2 hours. I'm not sure what I expected it to taste like but I thought it was still quite sweet, not as dark nor as dry as a cab should be but I'm sure racking, secondary fermentation, degassing, fining, and aging will have something to say about that. Moving right along...

You're in the place now where you can really do either. By the morning, you'll probably be 1.010 or less. If you feel like going to glass, go ahead and do it. If not, snap er down tight, airlock and wait til Sunday.
 
I'm not sure what I expected it to taste like but I thought it was still quite sweet, not as dark nor as dry as a cab should be but I'm sure racking, secondary fermentation, degassing, fining, and aging will have something to say about that. Moving right along...

At 1.015, you're still in pretty sweet territory. It'll dry out as you get below 1.000. It will also get darker. You have a lot of (lighter color) solids floating around in there now. As they settle out, it'll darken up. Often by the end of secondary, but certainly during clearing.
 
At 1.015, you're still in pretty sweet territory. It'll dry out as you get below 1.000. It will also get darker. You have a lot of (lighter color) solids floating around in there now. As they settle out, it'll darken up. Often by the end of secondary, but certainly during clearing.

That's reassuring, I'm pretty excited to let it go this weekend and get the ABV up and help dry up the taste a bit. I'm thinking about adding oak during the aging too. If I want to cherish and make a great first batch I'm going to do it right.
 
UPDATE 5:
Well, I came back from a weekend of excellent wine drinking to a SG of 0.994. I sanitized equipment and carboy and syphoned her over. Bung and airlock in place and now we wait a few days. I imagine I won't need to wait the full 10 days, any advice for this stage since I'm already near the target SG?

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UPDATE 5:
Well, I came back from a weekend of excellent wine drinking to a SG of 0.994. I sanitized equipment and carboy and syphoned her over. Bung and airlock in place and now we wait a few days. I imagine I won't need to wait the full 10 days, any advice for this stage since I'm already near the target SG?

Really no hurry now. As long as you have a little activity in your airlock, you'll have some protective CO2 in there. If your sg remains unchanged for three days straight, at the low sg's you're sporting right now, fermentation is complete. You can move to the next step if you like, or wait the 10 days in your instructions before proceeding.
 
Really no hurry now. As long as you have a little activity in your airlock, you'll have some protective CO2 in there. If your sg remains unchanged for three days straight, at the low sg's you're sporting right now, fermentation is complete. You can move to the next step if you like, or wait the 10 days in your instructions before proceeding.

Ok, I will just keep an eye on SG and see what happens. It looks like I'll be in the 13% ABV range which is nice. So one question, if SG stops dropping and fermentation is fully complete, can I forgo adding the sorbate? I've read in a few places that it can add a "nasty" or "unwanted" taste. Is there any truth to that?
 
Ok, I will just keep an eye on SG and see what happens. It looks like I'll be in the 13% ABV range which is nice. So one question, if SG stops dropping and fermentation is fully complete, can I forgo adding the sorbate? I've read in a few places that it can add a "nasty" or "unwanted" taste. Is there any truth to that?

Yes, your wine is already dry enough to skip adding it. Potassium sorbate is a "birth control" of sorts for yeast. It won't stop an active fermentation, but will prevent one from getting started by rendering yeast unable to reproduce and form a fermentation colony. Since you wine has gone dry, there will be little to no sugar left for yeast to ferment anyway, so no need to use it.

It's useful in some wine styles that have sugar added to sweeten the finished wine, the sugar stays in solution without being fermented, making the wine sweet. Most folks can detect the flavor after a recent addition of sorbate, but it seems to fade with time.
 
Yes, your wine is already dry enough to skip adding it. Potassium sorbate is a "birth control" of sorts for yeast. It won't stop an active fermentation, but will prevent one from getting started by rendering yeast unable to reproduce and form a fermentation colony. Since you wine has gone dry, there will be little to no sugar left for yeast to ferment anyway, so no need to use it.

It's useful in some wine styles that have sugar added to sweeten the finished wine, the sugar stays in solution without being fermented, making the wine sweet. Most folks can detect the flavor after a recent addition of sorbate, but it seems to fade with time.

Thank you, that confirms my research. I will skip it.
 

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