OK I took a hydrometer reading of just the fruit and one and a quarter gallon of water and this is the reading I got after the fruit has set for 15 hours. 9 lbs of fruit.
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Click on the picture to get a clear view. What would be my next steps.
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It appears your SG is about 1.010. What is your target SG?
I wrote a post a while back about how I chaptalize (raise SG) a wine.
https://wine.bkfazekas.com/chaptalizing-wine/
1.080-1110
It looks like around 3 cups of sugar will move it close to target. I will use less and add more until target is reached.
Now after the fruit is in the water for 24 hours do you leave the fruit in or squeeze all the liquid out through the filter it is in and then add the sugar and yeast to start fermentation. I have read it on both ways.
I'd leave the fruit in -- fermentation will extract more flavoring from it, and it will soften the pulp and you'll often get a better yield.
Definitely leave the fruit in until fermentation is nearly done (or just done). Remember to punch the bag with fruit down and give it a good stir every day.
OK thanks
The yeast is working well and my sg is at a 1.085. Now when my sg drops to the target required which I think is around .999 if I remember right. I will double check that. But anyway what is the next step. I did put in some pectic enzyme in and yeast nutrient. Is potassium sorbate what stops the fermentation process and if so when do you add this.
The FG depends on a numerous factors. It's typically between 0.994 and 0.998 for red wines and 0.990 and 0.996 for whites and fruits. But nothing is guaranteed -- the SG will end where it ends. I've had a few end in the 1.000 to 1.002 range; odd, but still in the "normal" range.
Generally speaking, if the SG <= 0.998 and stable for 3 days, the ferment is complete. One benefit of bulk aging is you ignore the wine for months, and if the SG is going to drop a bit more, it normally will.
Sorbate does not stop a fermentation. It works in conjunction with K-meta to prevent a renewed fermentation. However, in sufficient quantities it can mess up a ferment, and commercial juices treated with sorbate may not ferment.
If by “filter” you mean squeezing through a mesh bag then yes. At this point remove the skins and large fruit solids, add another dose of K-meta, and put an airlock on the jug.
Now let it sit in a dark place. In a few weeks you should have a layer of dead yeast and smaller fruit solids on the bottom of the container. At this point you should rack to remove the bits of fruit (gross lees). Top up and put the wine back under airlock and leave it age for a few months to degass and clarify.
What Chuck said.
SG is a result of all the particles in a wine, not just sugar, so a lot of wines will end at 0.998. If it's not 100% done? It will most likely finish in bulk, but my expectation is that your ferment is complete.
FYI - "filtering" in the winemaking context means using a filter mechanism, something as simple as a coffee filter, to remove particles from the wine.
This should be done only on wines that cleared with time. If the wine is not visibly clear, the particles will plug the filter. Filtering should be done to polish a wine, not clear it.
Note that filtering is optional, and a lot of folks don't do it.
Do I need to put a campden tablet in each time I rack it.
Ohio Bob
Senior Member
I haven’t used tablets in over 30 years, but once ground up, 1/4 tsp per a 5g carboy is the dosage. If you’re racking at 3 month intervals, use that dosage. If you’re racking sooner than that, I think you would be safe with a pro-rated dosage.
I do add k-meta when I rack. Many add k-meta every three months. Some rack on that schedule as well. However, If a wine is off the gross lees and bulk aging I won’t rack it again until bottling. As long as the carboy is topped up and the air lock is maintained, I feel safe stretching the k-meta schedule a bit… I have gone as many as 5 months between k-meta additions during bulk aging.
