Day 1-5 for Fermentation

[1d10t]

Just for the record, wine yeasts do not prefer temps in the 95 - 100F range. Such temps may kill the yeast and / or cause stress and off tastes in the wine. Check the preferred temps for your selected strain, and strive to be in the neighborhood.

There is a reason that this is the recommended hydration range.

 

[mainshipfred]

There is a reason that this is the recommended hydration range.

I believe you are correct in those temperatures are recommended for re-hydration, even as high as 104 but that is only for a short time. Once the re-hydration is complete the temperature of the wine should be in the yeasts recommended range.

 

[1d10t]

My initial response was to reassure the OP that he didn't kill his yeast. Yeast love the warmer temps. We don't love what they do to our wine at those temps. Two separate issues.

 

[Johnd]

I believe you are correct in those temperatures are recommended for re-hydration, even as high as 104 but that is only for a short time. Once the re-hydration is complete the temperature of the wine should be in the yeasts recommended range.

That was my point in addressing the comment, that yeast temps should be maintained in the range recommended for each yeast. No doubt that yeast rehydration temps are higher, and that's just for rehydration, the OP's question was related to fermentation temps being high, not rehydration, and certainly his 78F temps didn't push the envelope at all from that aspect.

Yeast may well survive at 100F, it's just way above the recommended range for nearly every wine yeast I can think of. Just wouldn't someone to read that comment and deduce that it was a good thing to ferment at 95 - 100F without knowing that it could ruin the wine.

 

[Donon]

Do I need less headspace for the last part of the process after fermentation? This is basically the clearing stage before bottling. I know oxygen in the wine can be detrimental.

 

[sour_grapes]

I would certainly top that up, perhaps with a cheapish commercial Cab or Merlot. I cannot think of an argument against doing so.

 

[Donon]

This might be a pretty dumb and obvious questions, but how do you determine if your wine is finally cleared enough for bottling?

Do I put it in a glass and swirl it around? Hold a light up to it? Keep racking until there is no sediment at the bottom anymore?

The wine kit I am using suggests that I bottle just 14 days after I've racked into the cardboy post fermentation. We racked on Saturday to the Cardboy and I can see sediment on the bottom right now, but when we were racking through the siphon, it looked pretty clear already. I've added all the clearing agents below:

Kieselsol & Chitosan (Clarifiers) Potassium Metabisulfite – For the Degassing, Clearing and Stabilizing step. Not for Use on Equipment. Potassium Sorbate (Prevents Refermentation)

 

[Johnd]

This might be a pretty dumb and obvious questions, but how do you determine if your wine is finally cleared enough for bottling?

Do I put it in a glass and swirl it around? Hold a light up to it? Keep racking until there is no sediment at the bottom anymore?

The wine kit I am using suggests that I bottle just 14 days after I've racked into the cardboy post fermentation. We racked on Saturday to the Cardboy and I can see sediment on the bottom right now, but when we were racking through the siphon, it looked pretty clear already. I've added all the clearing agents below:

Kieselsol & Chitosan (Clarifiers) Potassium Metabisulfite – For the Degassing, Clearing and Stabilizing step. Not for Use on Equipment. Potassium Sorbate (Prevents Refermentation)

Not dumb at all, it's a very common question and has lots of variables and is confused by speedy kit directions. Here's my take.

With white wine, it's pretty easy to see the clearing take place, and when your wine is free from CO2, is crystal clear and you can read a newspaper through the carboy, you can bet that it's clear enough to bottle. With reds, which you can't see through in a carboy, it's a little harder, but not a big deal. Pour a little wine in a wine glass and take is somewhere well lit, tilt the glass sideways, and look up through the wine from underneath, this will reveal a lot in terms of clarity.

The other items you mention that have an impact upon clarity, degassing, Kieselsol / Chitosan, and racking off of sediment as it accumulates are particularly important. Even with the use of your clarifiers, the wine will struggle to clear if it still has CO2 in it, and the CO2 will not go away once it's bottled, so it's important to have a wine that is gas free to aid in clearing, and prior to bottling. Degassing is a frequent topic here, if you search it you'll find many threads to read. The short and skinny is that degassing by agitation is difficult to accomplish in a short period of time, degassing with vacuum assistance (whether vacuum racking or straight vacuuming) will get you there pretty quickly, and time in the carboy is a sure fire method as well. Many of us omit the use of clarifying agents and just let time do its thing, and typically bottle in the 8 - 12 month time frame.

Lots of folks also omit the use of sorbate, but only for wines that have: 1. Finished dry (SG of .998 or lower) and, 2. Will not have sugar added back to the wine to sweeten it.

If you have the patience, follow the instructions through the process up until the time to bottle, and then plan to bulk age your wine in the carboy for several more months, you will almost certainly see additional sediment accumulate in the carboy, which means it won't be in your bottles. During bulk aging, rack the wine every three months (if you have sediment) and add 1/4 tsp of Potassium Metabisulfite at the same time. It's also a good time to be using oak adjuncts to flavor your wine if you would like some oak flavor in your wine.

If you have any questions, don't be shy, someone will jump in and help out!

 

[cmason1957]

This might be a pretty dumb and obvious questions, but how do you determine if your wine is finally cleared enough for bottling?

Do I put it in a glass and swirl it around? Hold a light up to it? Keep racking until there is no sediment at the bottom anymore?

The wine kit I am using suggests that I bottle just 14 days after I've racked into the cardboy post fermentation. We racked on Saturday to the Cardboy and I can see sediment on the bottom right now, but when we were racking through the siphon, it looked pretty clear already. I've added all the clearing agents below:

Kieselsol & Chitosan (Clarifiers) Potassium Metabisulfite – For the Degassing, Clearing and Stabilizing step. Not for Use on Equipment. Potassium Sorbate (Prevents Refermentation)

White wines are pretty easy to decide when they are ready. For me, it is when I can read what's written on a piece of paper held on the other side of the carboy AND there is no sediment on the bottom. Then I know it is time to backsweeten, then filter (for polishing the wine, not to get rid of sediment and not required) and bottle.

Reds are a bit trickier, but nearly the same, just the sample size is a glass of wine, not the whole carboy. You are correct that at 14 days post ferment, no wine is ready. When I first started making wine, the first kit or three I made, I followed those directions and timelines like they were gospel. Now I have been making wine for 7 (or is it 8 years) I don't bottle for upwards of six months to a year. Well, unless it is skeeter pee or Dragon's Blood for the family, they don't care that much and there isn't enough solids in either of those to make the waiting matter.

 

[Donon]

I appreciate the responses, so at this point... after about 3 months.. I should rack and add 1/4 tsp of Potassium Metabisulfite, wait 3 months... do it again... up until 9 months where I could bottle then.

I don't want to have sediment, obviously, in my wine.

In regards to degassing, my kit came with a long stick with like "Whisk-like" bristles on the end that I attached to a drill and I went ham for about 15 minutes. Clockwise and Counter Clockwise back and forth. BY the end, I wasn't getting really any foaming, but I did see bubbles that showed some C02 was still in the wine.

My wife wants to meticulously follow the instructions, that her type. I am just trying to sell her on waiting longer to bottle and holding the wine in the carboy for much longer.

 

[Johnd]

I appreciate the responses, so at this point... after about 3 months.. I should rack and add 1/4 tsp of Potassium Metabisulfite, wait 3 months... do it again... up until 9 months where I could bottle then.

I don't want to have sediment, obviously, in my wine.

In regards to degassing, my kit came with a long stick with like "Whisk-like" bristles on the end that I attached to a drill and I went ham for about 15 minutes. Clockwise and Counter Clockwise back and forth. BY the end, I wasn't getting really any foaming, but I did see bubbles that showed some C02 was still in the wine.

My wife wants to meticulously follow the instructions, that her type. I am just trying to sell her on waiting longer to bottle and holding the wine in the carboy for much longer.

Sounds like you are on the right track, continuing with the plan that you have will get you where you want to be. When your three month interval arrives, if you have sediment, go ahead and rack to a clean carboy, leaving the sediment behind, and add your sulfite. Some folks, me included, put the sulfite powder into the target carboy and rack onto it, which stirs / mixes it in very well as you rack. If you just have a little dusting of sediment and don't feel like you need to rack, just pull a little wine out of the carboy, stir your sulfite into it until it's dissolved, and gently pour the wine/sulfite mixture back into the carboy, that way you won't stir up the light dusting of sediment.

 

[mainshipfred]

Donon, it's really hard for most people to let their first wines age properly and understandably so. You might want to consider buying a five gallon carboy, fill it and bottle the rest. It will give you about 5 bottles. Of course please remember what the others said about the degassing.