Need help, secondary finished too fast.

[prumejuice]

Hi, I’m on my second wine kit it’s a dry red caked international quartet. Secondary fermentation should take 6-15 days to reach a SG of 0.998 or lower, but mine reached it in 3 days. I transferred it into secondary at the exact SG reading it should have been (it called for transfer between 1.01-1.02, I transferred at 1.014).

Why did it ferment so quick? Room temp fluctuates between 68-71 degrees. Also it’s not in a dark room, there are windows coming in.

Should I be stirring in secondary everyday? Also what should room temp be and should it be a dark room?

Should Ieave it for the full 15 days or transfer once it’s been stable for 3 days as the kit calls for?

Sorry for lots of questions I’m a rookie and can’t seem to find the answers online anywhere! Thank you to anyone who can help!

 

[cmason1957]

It seems it fermented kinda fast. That's provable not a problem. It just may have been warmer than it needed to be. I would leave it in you secondary fermentation vessel the entire 15 days. It needs time to do is magic. There is no need to stir now, but you can. Room temp can be lower than the instructions indicate. I generally do everything in my barney at about 63-65 depending on the season. The important thing is consistent Temps. I would cover the wine with something, I have used everything from old t-shirts to garbage bags with a hole cut in the bottom.

No worries about asking questions. We generally answer them fairly quickly and you have to start somewhere.

 

[Doug’s wines]

First thing. Don’t worry A variety of things could cause a faster than normal fermentation or your hydrometer may be off a little. The instructions are mostly a guide that is built to cover a wide variety of possible circumstances and outcome. Ultimately rely on the wine to tell you what’s next. Most people would probably leave it in secondary a few more days and check the SG again. Assuming it is the same at the same temp (ie.. not dropping) then they would go ahead and rack it and begin clearing. That said, leaving it on the secondary lees won’t hurt it, so if you prefer to follow the times feel free. Personally I error to longer in secondary because I feel more time on the lees delivers a rounder mouthfeel.

 

[prumejuice]

Okay that re-assures me a lot! The instructions say to start stabilizing and degassing “once SG is at 0.998 or lower AND wine has been stable (no consistent bubbling) for 3 days.”

It says secondary should take 6-15 days. In my case it’s been 3 days and is already 0.998 and now has already stopped consistent bubbling on ththe airlock, so going by the instructions it seems it would be ready to transfer in 3ays, which would only be 6 total days in secondary... But you’re saying I should go ahead and leave it full 15 days?

 

[prumejuice]

It seems it fermented kinda fast. That's provable not a problem. It just may have been warmer than it needed to be. I would leave it in you secondary fermentation vessel the entire 15 days. It needs time to do is magic. There is no need to stir now, but you can. Room temp can be lower than the instructions indicate. I generally do everything in my barney at about 63-65 depending on the season. The important thing is consistent Temps. I would cover the wine with something, I have used everything from old t-shirts to garbage bags with a hole cut in the bottom.

No worries about asking questions. We generally answer them fairly quickly and you have to start somewhere.

Okay that re-assures me a lot! The instructions say to start stabilizing and degassing “once SG is at 0.998 or lower AND wine has been stable (no consistent bubbling) for 3 days.”

It says secondary should take 6-15 days. In my case it’s been 3 days and is already 0.998 and now has already stopped consistent bubbling on ththe airlock, so going by the instructions it seems it would be ready to transfer in 3ays, which would only be 6 total days in secondary... But you’re saying I should go ahead and leave it full 15 days?

 

[meadmaker1]

I dont do kits but there are things that happen besides fermentation that will only happen in time.
I would want to transfer it while its still co2 rich.
A lot of co2 will come out during transfer helping protect from oxygen,
at least thats what ive convenced myself.
The longer you leave it in pimary the more lees that will fall out there.

 

[Doug’s wines]

@prumejuice take another look at your instructions. I’m not familiar with the kit you are doing, but the instructions might say day 6-15 is secondary versus 15 days in secondary?. Usually kits get racked around day 14 or 15 for stabilizing / clearing. Regardless, .998 isn’t actually dry. They will often ferment <.994 which is why the instructions say <.998. If you want to closely monitor you can keep you eye on sg and wait for 3days with no change to then start racking and clearing at whatever point you like because fermentation is done.

I often have whites go dry in 5-7 days while in primary. It’s not uncommon, nor is it a problem unless you start to smell funny ordors (ex: rotten eggs = H2S).