fast fermentation...

[drummerboyas157]

I have been brewing beer a little but now i am trying out wine. I just did a cheap simple way to start with no preservatives frozen concentrate. I did 2 one gallon batches with a sg of 1.095 or so the strange thing is the fermentation was completely done in 5 days.

from what ive heard others say it should take a least a month. my FG was below 1.000 what made it happen so fast? I used a full pack of yeast per 1 gallon so i thought maybe that could be part of it. its around 70-75 degrees where i ferment. any ideas?

I cant complain how fast it went since im anxious to try it after a little aging but im guessing its not going to be that great.

 

[robie]

Hi to you in Colorado Springs (my home) and welcome to the forum!

Fermentation is finished when the SG is down near where the instructions say it should be when finished, and that SG has not dropped for three days in a row. If it is at 1.000 in 5 days, that is not unusual, but it likely has a ways to go before it is actually finished.

Normally, the SG will drop faster between the starting SG and (about) 1.010; after that it will drop very slowly to its final point. In most grape wines, it takes longer than 5 days but it doesn't take a month, unless the temperature of the fermenting wine is very low. From your concentrate mix, it could take a little longer, I don't know, haven't tried it.

 

[Tom]

I have had wine ferment in 5 days. Go by the hydrometer not time.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Welcome aboard!!

5 days isn't bad for 70-75*. The warmer the temps the faster it will ferment.

 

[ibglowin]

Thats pretty fast for sure but definitely not unheard of especially this time of year. I just did 6 gallons that started at 1.102 and went to 0.998 in 7 days. Temps were in the lower 80's in the primary for a couple days. Those yeasties were a happy lot I suspect....

 

[drummerboyas157]

Thanks for the info. Also when it comes to aging wine I have a fridge that the highest temp i can make it is 44 degrees or the other option is in my closet at 74 degrees what one should i do? do you age both red and white at the same temp?

 

[ibglowin]

44 is too cold for long term storage. 74 is not bad and should be just fine especially for most "kit style" wines. The standard temp for cellaring reds is 55-58. Whites, slightly cooler 50-55 but I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Best for aging is around 55* with 70% humidity.

The main thing to keep in mind - is constant temp - whether it is 44 or 74 - just make sure you keep the temp constant - fluctuating temps is what will harm your wine.

Keeping it at 44 will age slower than 74 as well.

 

[robie]

Thanks for the info. Also when it comes to aging wine I have a fridge that the highest temp i can make it is 44 degrees or the other option is in my closet at 74 degrees what one should i do? do you age both red and white at the same temp?

I looked this up on the internet. Ideal aging temp is 55F.

"... if your cellar is at 73°F instead of 55°F, your wine ages 2.1 to 8.0 times faster than if it were at 55°F. Thus, 3 years at 73°F is equivalent to between 6.3 and 24 years of aging at 55°F. These differences are very significant."

At 44F, the aging process is slowed down significantly, compared to 55F.

So-o-o, if you are going to drink the wine in less than, say, 3 years, your wine will be significantly better aged at 74F than at 44F. However, in 3 years it could be over the hill, depending on the aging characteristics of your particular wine.

If you store it at 43F, in two years it will not have aged very much; it will still be pretty green, relatively speaking.

IMO, store it in the closet and drink it within a couple of years.

(After all this I'm really tired!!! )

Just kidding, not really tired. Hope this helps.

 

[ibglowin]

Here is a timely and interesting Q&A question from Wine Spectator:

What happens to a red wine if it is cellared at a temperature below the recommended 55 °F?—Randy

A: I know of many seasoned collectors who store their finest red wine at 50 °F or less in the belief that colder temperatures retard the aging process. Whether this actually makes a wine taste better is difficult to ascertain. However, in 2008 a magnum of Château Lafite Rothschild 1870 originally from the famed Scottish cellars of Glamis Castle (where temperatures never rose much above 48 °F), sold for a record $35,850 at Sotheby's New York -- which suggests that from a monetary standpoint, colder conditions yield sizzling results.

 

[drummerboyas157]

thanks again everyone for all the help