Leave in Primary Fermenter?

ShaunDanz · Mar 22, 2013

I have had a 15.5 gallon batch of red in my 20 gallon primary fermenter for 6 days and it's now at 1.02. Normally I would move it to secondary at this time but I'm thinking of leaving it in primary until it finishes. My 20 gallon primary is basically just a food grade garbage can with a lid -- no airlock. I'm about to go on vacation and won't get back until the wine is 13 days old. Do I risk spoilage?

jswordy · Mar 22, 2013

Possibly. Did you sanitize the must when you made it? That will help it not to spoil.

I would rack it into carboys. A few tenths is not going to make a difference. Let it finish in there, where it will be safe while you are gone.

TonyP · Mar 22, 2013

I'm interested to see some other thoughts, but I'd say you should be fine assuming there are no gross lees. If your batch contained a lot of fibrous stuff (like skins or oak), I'd suggest racking at this time. If not, you should be fine for another week.

BTW, I assume your cover is tight and your primary has sufficient head space to allow for substantial CO2.

ShaunDanz · Mar 22, 2013

I didn't sanitize the must, but I assume it already was. I'm making three cheap paklab kits but making them to 15.5 gallons instead of 18 gallons. I did add 6 lbs of grapes. I was hoping to let it sit on the oak chips longer, that's why I wanted to keep it in primary. However, it sounds like it might be safest to move it into carboys.

Turock · Mar 24, 2013

I wouldn't go away and leave a wine in the primary with that low of an SG because you will lose the CO2 cover in that amount of time. Get it in carboys before you leave so you can monitor the airlocks--you don't want airlocks popping off after you leave. Sometimes when you transfer over at that SG, stirring up the ferment can tend to get the yeast sort of active again and the CO2 pressure can blow off the airlocks. If this happens, it usually calms down after the first day and then the airlock will stay in place.