RJ Spagnols S.G. dropping too fast??

[Flem]

RJS Winery Series, Washington Merlot. I racked to secondary (carboy) on Day 7 @ 1.010. It's now only Day 15 and my S.G. is .998.
The instructions estimate that it should be below 1.000 at around Day 28, when I should stabilize and clear. I'm almost 2 weeks early. I don't have a problem with waiting for awhile or degassing (in the primary bucket) now.
Your suggestions would be appreciated.

I could have posted this in the beginners section, but I thought it might be kit related.

Thanks!!!

 

[Julie]

Mike, is this still in the primary, I would rack into a carboy and get it under an airlock and leave it sit for about a week and check the sg again.

 

[Flem]

Mike, is this still in the primary, I would rack into a carboy and get it under an airlock and leave it sit for about a week and check the sg again.

Julie,
No, it's been in the secondary carboy under airlock for about 8 days.

 

[mmadmikes1]

there are a lot of variables to how fast fermentation goes.Use the SG as your guild but don't be afraid to wait extra time. You already have it off the gross lees so no worry about funky taste. Your doing fine. Fast is way better than to slow

 

[cpfan]

RJS Winery Series, Washington Merlot. I racked to secondary (carboy) on Day 7 @ 1.010. It's now only Day 15 and my S.G. is .998.
The instructions estimate that it should be below 1.000 at around Day 28, when I should stabilize and clear. I'm almost 2 weeks early. I don't have a problem with waiting for awhile or degassing (in the primary bucket) now.
Your suggestions would be appreciated.

My approach is to wait until the # of days has passed, and then check the sg. If the sg is acceptable, then proceed. So I would wait till day 28 or later.

Other people will say when the sg is stopped for 3 days, then go ahead.

If I was making this kit, I wouldn't be planning to drink it till at least a year after starting it. (OK maybe a bottle early just for fun.) So there is no reason for me to stabilize and clear before day 28. Call it procrastination (it is a lot of the time). Or call it patience. Why be in a rush? After all, maybe it will drop to .995 in that time.

Steve

 

[Flem]

My approach is to wait until the # of days has passed, and then check the sg. If the sg is acceptable, then proceed. So I woud wait till day 28 or later.

Other people will say when the sg is stopped for 3 days, then go ahead.

If I was making this kit, I wouldn't be planning to drink it till at least a year after starting it. (OK maybe a bottle early just for fun.) So there is no reason for me to stabilize and clear before day 28. Call it procrastination (it is a lot of the time). Or call it patience. Why be in a rush? After all, maybe it will drop to .995 in that time.

Steve

I'm okay with waiting the full 28 days as long as I'm confident it is well protected.

 

[ibglowin]

Sounds to me like its right on track. I usually transfer to secondary around SG ~1.000 usually day 6-7, then leave it in secondary for approx 12 days in which time it has reached the lowest SG it's likely to reach. As long as its under airlock and full or as full as you could get it (another reason to pour as much from primary to secondary) you should have plenty of CO2 in the wine to protect it.

 

[phermenter]

I'm okay with waiting the full 28 days as long as I'm confident it is well protected.

I think Steve has it exactly right here. There is no benefit in rushing it. The fact that it's in the acceptable range doesn't mean it's finished fermenting. Like Steve, I would not even check the SG until day 28. Part of the reason is that the protection you want comes from the layer of gas created by the last stages of fermentation. Why let it escape with premature gravity checks?

Jim