First Batch-Double Check

[ThunderDan53]

First time poster long time lurker...

Grape Wine, Concord I believe...
Started on Feb 11
Starting SG of 1.060 and have 5 gallons.
Yeast used was Lalvin Bourgovin RC 212 with yeast nutrient
Temperature was around 70-75 the entire time.
Color seems normal. Tastes sour...
Sanitized with Starsan
Added campden tabs, pectin enzyme and yeast nutrient and sugar, SG was up to 1.070
Waited about 30 hours then pitched yeast. Covered with a t-shirt.
Went back down to 1.060 a day later, added more sugar to bring it up to 1.075
Stired 2 or 3 times daily.
Transfered to glass carboy and airlock two days ago and there was no activity.
Today, still no activity, meaning the airlock is not bubbling. Very little bubbles in the must.. SG has been stable at 1.006.

It is a lot more clear but tastes sour.

Did I miss anything. Should I be concerned that there is no activity? Should I be concerned that is has a sour taste? Is the SG too high? Do I have stuck fermentation for the last bit? Just sit tight and wait? Rack?

What advice do you have going forward?

Thanks, Just really nervous with my first batch.

ThunderDan

 

[Turock]

What was this made from--grapes, concentrate???

 

[Scott]

Is the temp still up around 70 and maintained same sg?

Concord will be sour since the yeast ate all the sugar, just have to back sweeten later.

 

[ThunderDan53]

What was this made from--grapes, concentrate???

Grapes.

The temp has stayed around 70 the entire time.
I was planning on back sweetening. The sourness won't go away on it's own?
The SG has been steady for two days. I plan on checking it tonight. If it is still the same I am going to add my campden, Sparkolloid and K Meta.
My concern is that the alcohol content won't be as high as it should be to preserve the wine in bottles. Will it be ok?

 

[Scott]

Looks as if it's done, rack off the lees, stabilize and wait to sweeten. It will be a low abv around 8 1/2ish, how is the ph level? Not sure if this would be one to add some brandy or everclear to bring up the alcohol, haven't done that to concord. Hopefully someone with more smarts chimes in!

 

[ThunderDan53]

So I added a half of a cup of sugar for some reason and now it foamed through the air lock and is bubbling. I took the air lock off and now have a thin t-shirt over it. What do I do now? Wait? Is this bad? Did I ruin the batch? I'm an idiot sometimes...

 

[Turock]

It's hard for me to tell exactly what you're doing. You didn't answer my question--what is this made from? And you aren't using correct techniques, and it's hard to try to help you thru something that is now so compromised. You would have been better off if you had asked us some questions BEFORE you began this--OR studied up on it a little more before beginning a ferment.

 

[ThunderDan53]

It's hard for me to tell exactly what you're doing. You didn't answer my question--what is this made from? And you aren't using correct techniques, and it's hard to try to help you thru something that is now so compromised. You would have been better off if you had asked us some questions BEFORE you began this--OR studied up on it a little more before beginning a ferment.

Check post #4 above....

It seems to have settled down now. The air lock is back on and bubbling every 15 seconds. I don't think it is compromised, but we shall see. Any advice?

 

[Turock]

You never add more sugar towards the end of a ferment. You're expecting the yeast--which has run out of nutrient-- to be able to metabolize the sugar. You set your brix in the beginning and that is IT for sugar addition. You need to step-feed nutrient in order to get the ferment to finish. When you add a big dose of DAP nutrient up front, you can delay or inhibit uptake of amino acids by the yeast cells. So your first lesson in learning how to make wine is the understanding of setting brix and how to nutrient support your musts so that they go to completion.

We make alot of concord from grapes. Ours always needs PH adjustment and without it, the wine may taste sour. But then, it's hard to evaluate a young wine and concrod needs about 1 to 1 1/2 years of bulk aging for the flavor to firm up.

 

[ThunderDan53]

You never add more sugar towards the end of a ferment. You're expecting the yeast--which has run out of nutrient-- to be able to metabolize the sugar. You set your brix in the beginning and that is IT for sugar addition. You need to step-feed nutrient in order to get the ferment to finish. When you add a big dose of DAP nutrient up front, you can delay or inhibit uptake of amino acids by the yeast cells. So your first lesson in learning how to make wine is the understanding of setting brix and how to nutrient support your musts so that they go to completion.

We make alot of concord from grapes. Ours always needs PH adjustment and without it, the wine may taste sour. But then, it's hard to evaluate a young wine and concrod needs about 1 to 1 1/2 years of bulk aging for the flavor to firm up.

Lesson learned.
Right now it is bubbling every 30 seconds. Do I wait it out until the SG is around 1.000 and then rack? When I do rack, do I add campden tablets and my Sparkalloid or what do I add during this racking? Can this be saved?

 

[Arne]

Let it finish fermenting, then you can add the meta and clearing agent after you have racked off the gross lees. Arne.

 

[Turock]

You should never add fining agents unless there is reason to do it. Reds almost never need clearing agents as they clear well on their own IF you give it enough time in bulk aging.

When the SG is 1.000 or below, rack to a carboy with airlock. Rack off the gross lees in a week or two--you don't want your wine sitting on the rements of the fermentation for too long. Add some K meta at this point--1/4 tsp would be good because alot of your initial dose before beginning the ferment will be bound up. Rack again when you have a good amount of lees at the bottom. When you just have a light dusting of lees on the bottom, don't rack anymore.

 

[ThunderDan53]

Still bubbling away but little bubbles. . Air lock bubble every minute. Are these from malolactic fermentation? SG steady at 1.0060 for 3 days. I turned up the heat and the bubbles were more foamy and bigger.