Recent press, not bubbling.

[SantArsenio]

Got bored waiting for spring grapes, so I bought a frozen bucket of grapes. Field blend Sangiovese / Merlot / Cab Sav. Good yeast, Fermaid. Fermented like a dream for ten days. Smelled wonderful. Pressed six days ago and put into this carboy. Good tight seal for the bung and bubbler.

Not a single bubble since.

I’m in NJ so we’ve had a few cooler nights, but the days reach 70’s.

Bubbler looks like it has some pressure (liquid is primarily on one side).

What do you think is going on?

 

[salcoco]

check with hydromter could be done

 

[ChuckD]

Ten days? I’ve had fermentations finish in four… my guess is it’s done already.

 

[SantArsenio]

My eyesight isn’t what it used to be, and let’s just say no one will ever hire me for my hydrometer science knowledge, but I see something like 0.992.

But on Day 16 after I pitched the yeast?! And no bubbling since Day 10 (press day)?!

Might we be missing something? With my luck, I’ll exchange the airlock for a solid bung, and tick, tick, tick, boom.

I’m old school and typically just measure from San Gennaro to San Martino.

 

[Ohio Bob]

Sounds like everything is right on course. No solid bung though, atmospheric changes might just pop it off the carboy, and then we’re dealing with a whole new set of issues.

I’m old school too, actually a dinosaur, I measure SG at pitching yeast and at 1/3 sugar depletion. No other measurements taken. The wine decides when it is finished, it doesn’t need me to confirm it.

 

[winemaker81]

A lot of us have done ferments complete in 4 days. One that I recall went from 1.102 to 0.996. It happens.

Mother Nature and Dionysus are in charge, and they like to mess with us mere mortals. On the plus side, you're not dealing with a stuck fermentation, so I'd call it a win!

Keep in mind that bubbles in an airlock tell you nothing useful, as it may be from fermentation, degassing, and/or temperature/barometric pressure changes. Trust your hydrometer -- in most cases if the SG is <= 0.998 and is unchanged for 3 days, the ferment is done.

 

[Greg Corey]

Been there, done that with the frozen buckets in spring. I really enjoy making wine from those frozen buckets. Anyway, as others have said, it’s done with alcohol fermentation. However, you may be used to MLF kicking off immediately and causing more airlock activity but perhaps it has not kicked in yet for various reasons including temperature, acidity, temperature, etc.