Organic pear wine with large floaty bits?

[water_to_wine]

Hi,

I started a gallon mix of pear wine last week, it's my first go at making a fruit wine. I got some equipment from a local shop, i'm following a recipe from the shops website.

It's currently in a demijohn fermenting, there is a bubble in the airlock about every 4 seconds.

There are light coloured bits floating around the demijohn, is this normal?

 

[Midwest Vintner]

Yep. Especially after the first racking into the secondary. When the yeast dies, it should settle, eventually. lol. Pear can be somewhat slow to clear.

 

[water_to_wine]

Hi,

Are these light coloured floaty bits the yeast?

 

[Deezil]

Could be yeast, could be pieces of fruit

 

[water_to_wine]

Hi,

I guess it must be the yeast then as i sieved the mix, extracting all of the fruit pulp, before it went into the demijohn

 

[joeswine]

floates

just remove use a coffee filter ,slowly pour the wine through the filter into the coffee pot,it will remove all the big partials,and return the wine filtered back in to the gallon container when your done.

 

[water_to_wine]

Hi,

I'm thinking of doing something like that, but if the bits are yeast then i don't want to stop the fermenting process early

There are a couple of photos of the demijohn on my flickr page...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85210504@N05/

 

[water_to_wine]

Hi again, i've got another question,

The process for my wine goes something like this:

1. A few days in a large glass cylinder to start it off
2. Syphoned into a demijohn and left to ferment
3. Syphoned into a second demijohn and left to clear before bottling

The fermenting stage (2) is supposed to take between 3 days and a week according to my recipe. It's nearly seven days into the second stage and it's still bubbling away quite a bit and doesn't look like it's going to slow down.

Can you put to much yeast into a mix?

 

[roadwarriorsvt]

Recipes/kit instructions/etc. are more of guidlines. There are too many variables in wine making. Let your hydrometer tell you when its done.

 

[saramc]

I have had wines that took six months to ferment to dry.
Many times you will see your S.G. drop by 2/3 within 3-7-10 days (a point that many use to rack to carboy and apply airlock) and then allow another 30 days for the active ferment to complete. Again a GUIDELINE. I also don't rely on my airlock for signs of fermentation (pretty much a given in the early days) BUT further down the road you can have airlock activity due to barometric pressure changes, CO2 off-gassing, etc. Your hydrometer is your friend.

Are you using a hydrometer to see where your wine is in the scheme of fermentation?
I looked at your photos, and I think that is pear pulp. Did you use any pectic enzyme to help break the fruit down? I personally have never had yeast look like what I see in your photos, but there is always a first I guess. What type of yeast did you use?

Also, based on the photo, you have far too much head space, you really need to be filled up to where the neck of the carboy starts. At this point, you can sanitize glass marbles and gently slide them in to raise the level in the carboy.

Being new to winemaking there is a lot to learn and take in. There is a good overview on this forum, plus consider Jack Keller's website (and ongoing blog) for very good information...might want to take a look...http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp He does a good job of breaking things down, BASICS and ADVANCED...terms & definitions/steps/troubleshooting,etc.

Best of luck with your wine! Sara

 

[water_to_wine]

Hi Sara, thanks for your in-depth reply. I've just got a hydrometer and will try to take some readings later on this evening. I think that you're right, it's probably pear pulp floating around the demijohn. I put a tsp of pectolase into the mix (pectin enzyme and glucose) at the start of the process. I used some yeast i got from a local shop specialising in wine and beer making equipment, it's labelled as 'wine yeast'. I'll put some more water in it. I'll check out the website too

 

[saramc]

You asked earlier about coffee filter and yeast---you will get a decent amount of yeast passing thru one coffee filter. Other substitutes for coffee filter are: a nylon knee-high stocking, fine mesh filter, paint straining bags....lots of options.

FWIW---do not know when you started this wine, but let's say you are past the 10 day mark from pitching your yeast....the floating/sunken fruit pulp really should come out of the must. We call those gross lees--read up on them. They can impart unwanted flavors into your wine. So you may want to consider re-racking this wine, using a filter if necessary since you have some floating around.

The pectolase: what does your bottle say to use for dosing per gallon? Whatever it is, use the instructions and dose for 2 gallons (or whatever volume you have in your carboy) after you rack off the remaining fruit pulp. For future reference: you can dose with pectic enzyme preferment and then again as long as you have an active ferment...many dose again when the S.G. has dropped by 2/3 and they rack to carboy, apply airlock and dose with the pectic enzyme. You do not usually see this in instruction books, just something many have adopted along the way. What ever amount of the enzyme has not been utilized will drop out in the lees (so no worry about overdosing on pectic enzyme).

Have fun!!!