Fast fermentation and contamination

[Toink]

Hello all! Please forgive me for posting a question before a formal introduction over in that thread, hi my name is Joey and I'm a new winemaker in western MD! Nice to meet you all, happy to be here! I have a situation...it's a 5 gallon batch of plum wine with a twofold problem:
1) I racked it into secondary after 5 days; there was NO action coming from the airlock, and my SG reading was .995. If I am interpreting this covrrectly that means the yeast has consumed all the sugar, and fermentation is done...can this be?!
2) I contaminated the must, I know I did. It's a long story, but take my word for it; 2-3 drops of very bad things from the lid dripped in when I was removing it. I know, I hang my head in shame. In panic, I added 5 crushed Camden tablets and put the airlock on (after racking) thinking I would pitch more yeast in 24 hours (about now)
My question is, is this even necessary? If my SG is reading .995, can I assume fermentation has completed and just let it settle into bulk aging in the basement? Or should I attempt to referment? What would you do, oh experienced wise ones?!
THANK YOU in advance for your help!!

 

[Stressbaby]

It's done. Sometimes it goes that fast. No need for more yeast.

 

[hounddawg]

what was your starting SG,
and just to be safe I highly recommend you send me at least 3 bottles, of course it is to help you with quality control,, as NIXION SAID TRUST ME...
Dawg

 

[salcoco]

the fermentation is complete . I would rack again in three weeks and then in three e months. add kmeta at each racking. after three month racking wine should be clear and ready to bottle. add kmeta in powder form at dosage of 1/4 teaspoon for 5 gallons.

 

[Julie]

I am not going to tell you that you contaminated your wine. I would need to know what the "bad things" were. Understand once there is alcohol, the wine is protected somewhat. Plus you added Camden which gave it additional protection. Your sg states that fermentation is complete, adding additional yeast will not do anything.

And as Salcoco says, rack every three weeks but he made a typo, it is 1/4 teaspoon.

And welcome to winemakingtalk.

 

[Toink]

Phew! Ok, that's what I was thinking, thanks for confirming.

hounddawg, starting Gravity was 1.15. You may not want any of this when its done! Not sure if it will be drinkable...

salcoco, thanks for the advice on the racking schedule, I can definitely make that happen! The only form of kmeta I have in my arsenal at the moment is in the form of Camden tabs, should I purchase some in powdered form?

Julie, thanks for the welcome! Already very glad I joined. The bad stuff from the lid was must that had overflowed through the airlock during the violent fermentation this batch underwent...it was sitting in a puddle (you know, trapped in those divots that run around the top of bucket lids) and exposed to 111 year old basement air! So I feel pretty confident that what went in there was not good, but you're right hopefully the alcohol helped as well as the Camden. I caught it right away, so I feel pretty sure I've got it under control...fingers crossed!

Thanks all for your help so far!!!!

 

[Noontime]

Welcome to world of wine making Toink. I wouldn't worry too much about the batch being ruined... there's certainly a risk if a small bit of spoiled wine got in there, but whether it ruins the wine depends on what nasties were were in it, whether they find food in your finished wine, and whether they can handle the environment (alcohol, acidity, kmeta, etc). Although I don't know the amount of kmeta in the camden tablets you used (using powder form is much easier and accurate), you did the right thing by adding some kmeta. Keep in mind the 1/4 teaspoon additions mentioned are not accounting for the extra you already put in.

 

[Toink]

Thanks Noontime! Good point about adjusting for the kmeta I've already added...at least I have 3 weeks to figure out the right amount before next racking!
After some of the feedback I've gotten I think I may have overreacted about the contamination, but I'm glad I added the tablets anyways rather than risk spoiling 5 gallons. Now we'll just have to wait and see if the extremely fast fermentation destroyed the flavors...I learned the hard way not to ferment wine in a hot kitchen/no ac! My current batch is smaller and sitting cozy in our 75 degree basement - picked 5 lbs of wineberries on Sunday and hoping for sweet nectar!!
Thanks again for all the help!

 

[Noontime]

We've been making wine for about 8 years now, and we just fully realized the importance of temperature a few years ago. We live in S. Florida and our house is always hot. The last few years we've been controlling the temperature of the fermentation with ice bottles in a tub (fermenter in the tub surrounded by water and ice bottles). HUGE improvement in our wines. Not only does it blow off a lot of volatile compounds when its warm, but the yeast get a little stressed too.

Don't worry about anything being "destroyed"... most differences in wines are nuances; some significant and others subtle, but seldom disastrous. Enjoy!

 

[Toink]

Thanks for the reassurance! I'm sure once I get a few more batches under my belt and hopefully experience some success (and the inevitable failures!) I will gain some confidence...until then I'll just keep fretting over these initial batches as if they were precious! There's so much to learn, but I'm having so much fun doing it!

 

[Fencepost]

I live in South Louisana, where it's hot as well... I have done the cooling bath for fermentation, but not sure if 75/76 F (our house temperature normally) is cool enough to do the aging in the carboy... I hear folks keeping in their basement and that is much cooler than I am able to reach. I would like to do a batch, and can control the fermentation temp but not the long term aging... what do you think? Any suggestions?

 

[Steve Wargo]

I live in South Louisana, where it's hot as well... I have done the cooling bath for fermentation, but not sure if 75/76 F (our house temperature normally) is cool enough to do the aging in the carboy... I hear folks keeping in their basement and that is much cooler than I am able to reach. I would like to do a batch, and can control the fermentation temp but not the long term aging... what do you think? Any suggestions?

Use an old refrigerator, or freezer? If possible Set fridge to a higher temperature. Or add a small wall mount or window, or portable air conditioner to a small room. 65 to 68 degrees should be ok. Make a small insulated storage area for your wine, with small portable air conditioner. Or make smaller batches and drink

 

[Johnd]

I live in South Louisana, where it's hot as well... I have done the cooling bath for fermentation, but not sure if 75/76 F (our house temperature normally) is cool enough to do the aging in the carboy... I hear folks keeping in their basement and that is much cooler than I am able to reach. I would like to do a batch, and can control the fermentation temp but not the long term aging... what do you think? Any suggestions?

I’m down in SE Louisiana, ferment all reds at room temps, stored carboys for years with no issues.

 

[Fencepost]

Thanks... I will press on!

 

[garymc]

Are you sure your starting sg was 1.15? Maybe 1.115? Not sure, but I doubt that yeast will work in 1.15. Secondly, to go from 1.15 to .995 will get about 21% alcohol. I don't know of any yeast in common use that will do that. The good news is that if your beginning sg was 1.115 and it went down to .995, you finished with about 16% alcohol. That should pretty much be bullet proof.

 

[Johnd]

Are you sure your starting sg was 1.15? Maybe 1.115? Not sure, but I doubt that yeast will work in 1.15. Secondly, to go from 1.15 to .995 will get about 21% alcohol. I don't know of any yeast in common use that will do that. The good news is that if your beginning sg was 1.115 and it went down to .995, you finished with about 16% alcohol. That should pretty much be bullet proof.

That part of the thread is several years old......kinda hard to catch, as it was responded to just over a week ago.