Pinot Noir Fastferment for 1st Time

[Mikey Gool]

Hello all, new to this site. Thanks for having me. My kids got me the Fastferment for my birthday, pretty clever setup in my opinion. Decided to make a pinot noir from a 6 gallon pail of juice. I'll tell you exactly how I went about and please let me know if I went wrong somewhere.
1. Put 6 gallon bucket of juice in wine making area between 68 and 72 degrees. Removed lid, covered with cloth and let it sit overnight.
2. Next day, added 1 packet of yeast, stirred and transferred to sanitized Fastferment container which can hold 7.9 gallons of liquid.
2. Covered container with cap and air lock and watched airlock start to do it's thing.
3. Waited 7 days in the somewhat steady temperature of 68 to 70 degrees.
4. As expected, the airlock exhibited longer gaps between perks.
5. Fastferment has a sediment bowl at the bottom of the container assembly that can be isolated from the main container by simply closing a ball valve. After closing valve, I removed the sediment bowl, cleaned it out, sanitized it and reinstalled it. Then reopened the ball valve to begin what I think is the second fermentation process.
6. I am currently on day 14 and noticed very little to no airlock activity.

Planning on waiting a few more days to move forward. Here are my questions.
1. I never added a clarifying agent, is it necessary.
2. Do I need to degass, if so when?
3. Do I need to add sulfitees (campden). Grape guy told me sulfites are added to bucket of juice already for shipment.
4. Where do I go from here?

Thanks in advance.
Mike

 

[sour_grapes]

Congrats and welcome to WinemakingTalk!

We will all tell you that your first order of business is to acquire a hydrometer, and monitor the specific gravity (SG) of your fermentation. There is very little we can tell you about without that information.

 

[crushday]

@Mikey Gool - Welcome! I have nine FF conicals: seven 7.9G and two 14G - they work great.

I suspect that when you emptied the collection ball, what you dumped out was mostly wine and the gross lees (about an inch on the bottom) was in short supply. What say you?

In my experience, you can leave the collection ball untouched until the wine is dry - especially a juice bucket with no skins. You should be able to put the lid on tight under air lock from the beginning. It will ferment dry without problems.

I would not use the FF for primary of a frozen pail of must or fresh crush grapes. I would open ferment and then use the FF for secondary only when you rack for the first time. If you make a kit with skins make sure you use a muslin bag for the skins and any oak chips. And, don’t ever use oak dust.

Hit me up if you have any questions.

 

[Mikey Gool]

Congrats and welcome to WinemakingTalk!

We will all tell you that your first order of business is to acquire a hydrometer, and monitor the specific gravity (SG) of your fermentation. There is very little we can tell you about without that information.

Hello all, new to this site. Thanks for having me. My kids got me the Fastferment for my birthday, pretty clever setup in my opinion. Decided to make a pinot noir from a 6 gallon pail of juice. I'll tell you exactly how I went about and please let me know if I went wrong somewhere.
1. Put 6 gallon bucket of juice in wine making area between 68 and 72 degrees. Removed lid, covered with cloth and let it sit overnight.
2. Next day, added 1 packet of yeast, stirred and transferred to sanitized Fastferment container which can hold 7.9 gallons of liquid.
2. Covered container with cap and air lock and watched airlock start to do it's thing.
3. Waited 7 days in the somewhat steady temperature of 68 to 70 degrees.
4. As expected, the airlock exhibited longer gaps between perks.
5. Fastferment has a sediment bowl at the bottom of the container assembly that can be isolated from the main container by simply closing a ball valve. After closing valve, I removed the sediment bowl, cleaned it out, sanitized it and reinstalled it. Then reopened the ball valve to begin what I think is the second fermentation process.
6. I am currently on day 14 and noticed very little to no airlock activity.

Planning on waiting a few more days to move forward. Here are my questions.
1. I never added a clarifying agent, is it necessary.
2. Do I need to degass, if so when?
3. Do I need to add sulfitees (campden). Grape guy told me sulfites are added to bucket of juice already for shipment.
4. Where do I go from here?

Thanks in advance.
Mike

Thanks for the quick response. Attached photos of hydrometer are on 7th day. Never took an initial reading.

 

[Mikey Gool]

@Mikey Gool - Welcome! I have nine FF conicals: seven 7.9G and two 14G - they work great.

I suspect that when you emptied the collection ball, what you dumped out was mostly wine and the gross lees (about an inch on the bottom) was in short supply. What say you?

In my experience, you can leave the collection ball untouched until the wine is dry - especially a juice bucket with no skins. You should be able to put the lid on tight under air lock from the beginning. It will ferment dry without problems.

I would not use the FF for primary of a frozen pail of must or fresh crush grapes. I would open ferment and then use the FF for secondary only when you rack for the first time. If you make a kit with skins make sure you use a muslin bag for the skins and any oak chips. And, don’t ever use oak dust.

Hit me up if you have any questions.

Yes, mostly wine in bulb. Seems like a waste. Was expecting much more sediment. Is there anything I should be adding at this time?

 

[NoQuarter]

Yes, mostly wine in bulb. Seems like a waste. Was expecting much more sediment. Is there anything I should be adding at this time?

Looks like your at about 1.030... Just let it continue to ferment down.. I would not add anything at this time.

 

[Mikey Gool]

Looks like your at about 1.030... Just let it continue to ferment down.. I would not add anything at this time.

Thanks, that hydro reading was from last week (7 days in). I'm 15 days total in now, is it safe to break seal to take a new measurement?

 

[NoQuarter]

No problem. Yes, take another S.G. reading to see where its at.....then again in a few days. If fermentation is done you could rack it off the lees and add k-meta and a fining agent if you want. or just start aging it and let it clear up with time. Try to make sure you properly sanitize everything that will come in contact with your wine and leave it topped up under an airlock....

 

[Mikey Gool]

No problem. Yes, take another S.G. reading to see where its at.....then again in a few days. If fermentation is done you could rack it off the lees and add k-meta and a fining agent if you want. or just start aging it and let it clear up with time. Try to make sure you properly sanitize everything that will come in contact with your wine and leave it topped up under an airlock....

 

[Mikey Gool]

You were a tremendous help, thank you so much..

 

[Mikey Gool]

Just took another hydro reading on day 15. Sp Gr 1.015., I think we're on our way.

 

[Mikey Gool]

No problem. Yes, take another S.G. reading to see where its at.....then again in a few days. If fermentation is done you could rack it off the lees and add k-meta and a fining agent if you want. or just start aging it and let it clear up with time. Try to make sure you properly sanitize everything that will come in contact with your wine and leave it topped up under an airlock....

Good morning, what do you think of this idea?
After 2nd fermentation in the conical. Instead of racking (removing bulb) i was thinking of isolating the lees by closing the valve. Then adding my bentonite mixture and mixing with a degasser wand. When finished mixing, letting wine come to a complete stop, then reopen the valve to allow bentonite and sediment to exit the wine and enter the bulb. Wondering if there is enough room in bulb for existing lees and the bentonite mix. Ever try this?

 

[NoQuarter]

I have not used a fast-fermenter but do understand the principal. adding bentonite and using de-gassing wand sound good. If you used a juice-pail, most of the lees will be spent yeast and the bentonite. I do not know the volume of your bulb.

 

[Mikey Gool]

I have not used a fast-fermenter but do understand the principal. adding bentonite and using de-gassing wand sound good. If you used a juice-pail, most of the lees will be spent yeast and the bentonite. I do not know the volume of your bulb.

I believe bulb capacity is 23.7 oz

 

[Ted Brumleve]

I use these conical fermenters too. I skip the bentonite. I also drum my fingers lightly on the sides to get stuff slide down.
Splash rack into a carboy at 4 weeks. Degas with a whip a month later and wait another month before bottling.

 

[SouthernVino]

Closing the valve on the FF and adding bentonite then waiting till it settles down before re-opening is almost a guarantee of a clog. i agree with Ted, skip the bentonite.

 

[Mikey Gool]

I use these conical fermenters too. I skip the bentonite. I also drum my fingers lightly on the sides to get stuff slide down.
Splash rack into a carboy at 4 weeks. Degas with a whip a month later and wait another month before bottling.

I use these conical fermenters too. I skip the bentonite. I also drum my fingers lightly on the sides to get stuff slide down.
Splash rack into a carboy at 4 weeks. Degas with a whip a month later and wait another month before bottling.

Hi Ted,
Thanks for the info. Splash rack? Not familiar with the terms, I'm new at the game. Is that to siphon from conical to carboy?

 

[Ted Brumleve]

Exactly. By splash rack, I mean don't run the tube to the bottom of the carboy. Let the tube "splash" against the carboy near the top to get some degassing action.

 

[Mikey Gool]

Exactly. By splash rack, I mean don't run the tube to the bottom of the carboy. Let the tube "splash" against the carboy near the top to get some degassing action.

Got it, thanks.

 

[Mikey Gool]

Hi Ted,
Thanks for the info. Splash rack? Not familiar with the terms, I'm new at the game. Is that to siphon from conical to carboy?

Do you add campden to the finished product? If so when is a good time to do it.