Encourage Me and Where to Get….

[montanarick]

Originally from Cohoes - spent many fond years at our family's camp on the Sacandaga

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

So is this normal ? Actually when I’ve read nearly every post on here, I’ve come to realize, there is no “normal” but 4 days ago i did a second racking of my mango wine. It was pretty stable and fairly clear SG was down to 1.010 from 1.014 previous racking. But now it’s pretty effervescent with tiny bubbles and some fluffy light sediment that even gets picked up by the bubbles. should I rack it again to remove lees or just wait a while. I think it might have picked up some new life when I topped off with a few ounces of what I had stored.
the site doesn’t like my iphone video .mov extension

 

[mikewatkins727]

This could be CO2 outgassing and picking up the sediment. Normal situation.

 

[sour_grapes]

I would let it be. To make sure it can get across the finish line, don't rack until it is closer to finishing (~1.000 +/-)

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

I would let it be. To make sure it can get across the finish line, don't rack until it is closer to finishing (~1.000 +/-)

Got it.

 

[Rice_Guy]

the most important thing to remember to make good wine is that oxygen is your enemy!
You can fight oxygen with meta, eventually the level will build up and some folks can taste it,,
You can fight oxygen by minimizing exposure ( I agree with sour grapes do not rack ,,, yet)
You can fight oxygen by fermenting red grapes with lots of poly phenols that scavenge oxygen.

So is this normal ? . . . . should I rack it again to remove lees or just wait a while. I think it might have picked up some new life when I topped off with a few ounces of what I had stored.

On a stressed fermentation, ,,, (example lots of meads) ,,, one can frequently restart a sluggish fermentation by racking or whipping in oxygen. Your renewed activity at 1.010 could be due to oxygen mixed in with the racking process. Looking at the math, if you put 100ml of fresh juice (two oz) in a five gallon carboy that represents about 0.5% which if high sugar might be as high as 28% fermentable, ,,,1.25 grams ,,, ie not a lot in comparison to the fermentable solids from the main batch at 1.010.

One can use a stopped/ sluggish fermentation to their advantage and retain more fruity aroma. Next time!

 

[mikewatkins727]

the most important thing to remember to make good wine is that oxygen is your enemy!
You can fight oxygen with meta, eventually the level will build up and some folks can taste it,,
You can fight oxygen by minimizing exposure ( I agree with sour grapes do not rack ,,, yet)
You can fight oxygen by fermenting red grapes with lots of poly phenols that scavenge oxygen.

On a stressed fermentation, ,,, (example lots of meads) ,,, one can frequently restart a sluggish fermentation by racking or whipping in oxygen. Your renewed activity at 1.010 could be due to oxygen mixed in with the racking process. Looking at the math, if you put 100ml of fresh juice (two oz) in a five gallon carboy that represents about 0.5% which if high sugar might be as high as 28% fermentable, ,,,1.25 grams ,,, ie not a lot in comparison to the fermentable solids from the main batch at 1.010.

One can use a stopped/ sluggish fermentation to their advantage and retain more fruity aroma. Next time!

I will agree with @Rice_Guy's statements but take exception with the first one. During the primary fermentation you want to introduce oxygen into the must because yeast requires it to reproduce, thereafter you need to exclude it.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Time to backsweeten the passion fruit batch. im going to need my carboy soon for loquat batch that I will be starting in a few days.

its nice and clear and SG bottomed out at .098 or .097

it doesn’t have any fruit smell that I notice, and that’s OK with me but it is dry and I would like to get just a hint of taste out of it if possible. I don’t want it sweet so how much sugar should I consider adding for the gallon ?

thanks.

the next batch will be loquat with something else. Maybe mango since I’ve still got a bunch in the freezer. i don’t think the loquats will have much of a flavor by themselves.

 

[Rice_Guy]

How old? Young wine should have sorbate.
The quantity of sugar is subjective and most of us will run a bench trial (there are several threads) to figure out where it tastes best. Best seems to be a function of how much acid but if you haven’t run TA going exclusively on taste works.

? When did you start the batch? September 2020?
my rule of thumb is under nine months it always needs potassium sorbate! It still may referment at nine months age,, and at a year it usually is safe. A wine which is being bottled always needs meta since the process incorporates oxygen.

How much juice? The normal way to figure where you want to put it is to do a bench trial. As a home process I would mix up a one juice to ten parts wine dilution which allows some accuracy with volumes. If you have a balance weighing also gives accuracy.
Adding a sugar is a linear function, adding a juice will also be linear, if you have an idea how sweet you want a few dilutions can let you predict a dilution.
View attachment 73575
Normally w wine is “balanced“ against Titratable acidity (all the measurable acid ions)

If you find a target gravity, sugar addition is a linear function, ,,, see figure above.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

How old? Young wine should have sorbate.
.

December. I need a carboy soon. Chart helps. Ive seen the threads about bench trials, i guess I’ll make notes. I just know after one taste test I won’t be able to tell the difference on the next

from what I read, after sorbate, if I backsweeten and let it sit and I’m still not happy with sweetness I can add a little more before I bottle

or get another carboy and just let it bulk age instead of bottling may be better I guess. It may eventually pick up flavor with time ?

 

[sour_grapes]

its nice and clear and SG bottomed out at .098 or .097

I assume you mean 0.998 or 0.997?

 

[winemaker81]

or get another carboy and just let it bulk age instead of bottling may be better I guess. It may eventually pick up flavor with time ?

If you can, this is a better choice.

I agree with @Rice_Guy, the amount of sugar needed to backsweeten has no formula. Each wine is different and your taste buds make a huge difference. Add sugar in small quantities, stirring well in between, and taste. I recommend having plain crackers available to cleanse the palate between tastes.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

I assume you mean 0.998 or 0.997?

Yep sorry.

 

[Rice_Guy]

I have used a ”bag in box” wine bags as a carboy. The biggest problem is the spout which needs to be supported upright for an airlock. For long storage a solid cap works well. PM me if you want photos/ details.

I need a carboy soon. It may eventually pick up flavor with time ?

The alcohol and fruity aromas in wine are reduced chemicals! Usually the flavor that a country wine picks up with time is acetaldehyde (oxidized ethyl alcohol) and loss of fresh aromatics. ,,, For my style of wine I am trying to keep knock your sox off flavor mainly with country wine ,,, and time isn’t my friend.

If I was dealing with lots of tannic flavor wines (ex I bottled choke cherry yesterday) then time lets larger tannin complexes form creating a smoother wine and time is my friend.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

So basically you just store it spout side up with an airlock ?

I have used a ”bag in box” wine bags as a carboy. The biggest problem is the spout which needs to be supported upright for an airlock..

in any event I will have a vacant carboy shortly. I tasted the passion fruit batch that’s all lol 3 months old and I was well pleased. It smelled quite pleasing and tasted smooth, not sharp or bitter like just a week ago. Not really a dry taste now but gentle. I added sorbate and a tiny bit of sugar to backsweeten just a hint. I think it will be a good drinker. It’s clear but still gassing a little. I tried to do a bit of degassing, but I’m thinking of bottling shortly. How long should I wait ?

i forgot to check SG before I put it away.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Well basically. ,,,

,,, must have too much time on my hands
,,, or spent too many years improvising line conditions
the first mock up was a cardboard box that wouldn’t adjust width

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

It’s not a Mercedes but it will get you where you need to be .

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Success. Off to the cellar (it’s Florida, no cellar but actually a closet) to age a little in the bottle. I am well pleased.


you may notice 2 of my corks did no go entirely in the bottle.
i guess I need practice with the hand corker until I decide to spend a princely sum on a floor corker. Any tips? Maybe I’m just not smooth enough. Almost pinched my left nipple once.

and now I have to pick and skin another batch of loquats.
coming soon - loquat madness.

 

[BigDaveK]

Congratulations!
When I started this addictive hobby last September I had to decide between saving money on a hand corker or go with a floor model. I decided on spending about 60 bucks for the Portuguese floor corker. One of my best decisions ever!!!! I love it! Get one as soon as you can. If bottling is going to leave you black and blue you might give up. We can't have that!

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Congratulations!
If bottling is going to leave you black and blue you might give up. We can't have that!

I’m no quitter, but I don’t know how I would explain to the ER that I got a nipple stuck in a corker….