Do not know what happened.

[Wade E]

maybe it needs some nutrient and more food(sugar)

 

[upper]

I know this thread is making me hungry............Upper

 

[Hillbilly Bill]

Pam... what Wade was saying was to make up a new batch of starter, then add some of your stalled wine must to your new starter... maybe a cup, then let it sit for an hour or so, then add another cup and let it sit a bit, and so on... until you have doubled or tripled your volume of the new batch of starter.
This method allows the yeast to become acclimated to the environment into which it is about to be introduced, and will virtually eliminate the possibility of the yeast dying from shock when it is introduced into the wine must...of course the temps of the starter and the must be similar.
I know you already know this and please forgive me for jumping in here... sometimes we just get ahead of ourselves and overlook the obvious.
Let me know how the wine turns out...
HB

 

[Pam]

Do not know what happened

Didnt have time to mess with wine at Christmas so I am back at it.
I did try mixing up a starter with the yeast/wine and and adding a little more wine and waiting time etc. I didnt see much activity so just checked SG tonite again.
All the wine started out at about 1.10 SG in October and are the same as with the last Racking Dec 4. They range from 1.020 to 1.050. I used Lavlin 1116 in the starter. I added nutrient a few days later when it didnt look like it was working. It did nothing. I kept it warm (about 72) Any more suggestions? I stopped at the store to nite and bought Lavlin 1118. I have 6 gal of elderberry and one gallon of pomegranite/cherry from bottled juice. One gallon of Wild grape which is 1.010 and I am gonna just bottle that and not mess with it anymore.
Would appreciated any suggestions. Lots of work picking them elderberries.
Pam

 

[Wade E]

Besides making a good starter Ive got nothing, keep it warm and slowly introduce the wine into your starter to acclimate your new yeast to a already made alc or it will shock it back it dormant or death. I would just make a great starter in a bucket and slowly introduce the whole batch little by little into this bucket until its all in there! If that dont work then you have a whole other problem like PH or acidity and the only way to know thos stuff is by buying test kits.

 

[Pam]

I dont know what happened

I checked the PH with test strips. Not sure that is the best way but It tested between strongly acid and very Strongly acid. I was thinking I read that being acidic was good for wine and think someone told me that it is hard to get enough acid in the wine. What should the PH be? If it is too acidic, can a person add some water to dilute it? My elderberry is a pretty rich liquid.
My plan is this, to make a yeast starter in a large container and add little by little the entire 6 gallon of elderberry wine and keep it warm. Would you add any energizer or nutrient? I already added some of the nutrient when trying to get it restarted the first time.
Is the sugar high enough at 1.02-1.05 to work well?
thanks for the reply.
Pam

 

[rawlus]

one of the common issues with yeast starters is temp shock when you add it to the must... after getting the yeast activated according to instructions, let the starter cool down to be sure the starter and must are both the same temp. and add must to the starter little by little until the yeast gets alcohol tolerant. then you can add the whole shebang into the must.
ec 1118 is a good choice.
there are several good posts in here on "stuck fermentation" IIRC.
good luck!

 

[Pam]

Do not know what happened

I am just starting my new starter. I used a cup of water and 1/4 cup sugar and warmed it to 105. Sprinkled EC 1118 over it and covered it. Any thoughts about adding energizer or nutrient as I start adding my wine must?
thanks
Pam