Muscadine, Wild Yeast, first time fresh grape

[Sirs]

hopefully it will but you never want to hurry any wine your making cause normally soon as you start to doing things in a hurry that's when you'll either forget to do something or do it wrong then your in for a real mess or big lose both of which nobody really wants.if it hasn't reached dry completely by day 14 just rack over into secondary and let her take her time there.

 

[sevenal]

At 1.032

Coming along
Looks like the primary is droping about .01 every 48 hours or so

 

[sevenal]

Now @ 1.022

drying at the same rate
.01 every 48 hours
Day 11
going to the secondary Tue. no matter what.
Should be 1.002or lower and that is day 14.
Any thoughts?

 

[Sirs]

sounds like what I'd do lol only once I got mine strained and ready for secondary, thats when I add more sugar

 

[sevenal]

In the carboy's

Well I did not want to chance it further so in the evening of day 13 I put it in the secondary.
SG was at 1.012
Yield was 2X5 gal carboy's and 2X1 gal jugs.
After straining through a painter bag it looks like about 3 1/2 gal of it will be lees.
So when the second racking happens with a little top off with last vintage, should yield ten gallons.

Now as to color sorta raspberry lollypop color. Maybe a little brighter?
The new carboy posed a problem, as I could not get the bung to stay in, kept popping out. I put a balloon on it and went to bed. Today it wants to stay in there well.
The action looks ravenous, Sparkling bubble are non stop and so is the discharge of CO2.
Taste is still sweet and aroma is as to be expected, fermenting wine.
I am pretty stoked about my third project ever and my first one from ripe fruit and not concentrate.

And Sirs I have not disregarded the possibility of double dipping the process on one of those five gallon containers. It would nice to produce two distinctly different products from this project. May give you a shout? Thanks for the guidance and encouragement to everyone.

 

[sevenal]

Update 7.5 weeks in

Ok I have racked once and a couple weeks ago we had a 78 degree day and the two batches took off again. It has settled back down now and tonight I tasted the wine.
One five gallon I added a gallon of a sweet cranberry wine that was about six weeks old. That was three weeks ago.
I tasted the wine tonight and it smells great, like a fresh Muscadine grape.Problem is the wine has a Green taste if that makes any sense?
You smell the wine and are anxious to taste it and the alc level is there and then the after taste is like a green fruit.
The grapes did not taste green off the vine and I am not sure what is the cause or solution of this issue. Obviously the back sweetening has not been sufficient. Any thoughts?

 

[sevenal]

A matter of simply back sweetening?

I had hoped to have someone at least ask a question if not know from experience what the GREEN mouth experience is all about.
This really surprises me because I eat dozens and dozens of these straight off the vine. Half white grapes and half golden. The skins were tart.
Can I add acid or some other additive to counter the sharp green taste?
I was also thinking about back sweetening with concentrate brought to room temp?

 

[UBB]

what kind of primary did you use?

 

[sevenal]

White plastic drum

It was in a 30gal white plastic food grade drum with cheese cloth covering.

 

[UBB]

It was in a 30gal white plastic food grade drum with cheese cloth covering.

ok thanks. I'm expecting my first harvest of grapes this next fall and have been looking for a larger primary then just a 6gal bucket.

 

[sevenal]

Green taste

Can anyone help me with the fact that my wine tastes green?

 

[ffemt128]

Not sure about the green taste, could be just young wine taste. What is your sg, did you back sweeten? The muscadine I made last year was back sweetend to 1.008 I believe and it brought out incredible flavors. Given that this is an October 2011 start date, I would definately go with the young wine. My 2011 muscadine was started the begining of October so it's less than 2 months new at this point.

My suggestion, Degass, Stabilize, Backsweeten, and let it age another 4 months before you try it and see if the flavor is where you want it to be.

 

[sevenal]

Thanks

Sounds like a plan
sweeten to 1.01 and go from there at the next tasting?

 

[ffemt128]

Sounds like a plan
sweeten to 1.01 and go from there at the next tasting?

You may want to start a little lower 1.006 unless you already back sweetened. This way you are slowly sweetening rather than just shooting for 1.010 and then find it may be too sweet for your taste. Use small samples in your hydrometer tube and see where you like it.


I generally will take a cup or so start low. Measure, adjust if necessary , measure and continue until it is where we like it.,

 

[Sirs]

I've noticed the bronze/white muscadines normally have a rather tart/green taste unless the grapes are really really ripe to me their almost like a frost grape where the skins will taste tart till they've got extremely ripe. That taste will slowly go just gotta give it time more than anything

 

[sevenal]

Stabilize

Dec 12th wine about 2 months old
Tonight I took 5gal and racked for the second time.
I then degassed and added 1/8 tsp per gal of potassium metabisulfite
Also added 3 and 1/4 tsp of potassium sorbate
I mixed the chemicals in a cup of warm wine to dissolve, then added
Then I back sweetened with 34.5oz of grape concentrate
Starting SG was .995 or so
Sweetened to 1.0125
Much better
I hope to rack again in 10 days and maybe give 5 or 6 bottles away for Christmas.
Green taste fading.
The second carboy is still working a little, That's where it took of the second time after racking. I read here this may be a acid conversion process going on.
I hope to rack that carboy again around the first of the year and let it mature until March before tasting.
Or ? Perhaps I should try to stabilize that one as well and then let it mature?