SG 1.005 close enough?

[maddog]

I started a batch of skeeter pee June 17th. SG was 1.07. By the 26th the Sg had dropped to 1.01. Everything was according to recipe at this point. On the 30th I left for a week to visit family over the 4th. With temperatures forecast in the 90's I had to throw my carboy in the "wine fridge" in the garage. I added the kmeta before I left. I was afraid it may pick up some bad bacteria while I was gone. Temperature inside was 60 degrees till today.

The SG is now 1.005. Is this close enough to bottle or is there enough active yeast to restart fermentation till completely dry? The airlock is not showing any bubbles and the yeast has droppped to the bottom of the carboy.

 

[PCharles]

Sp sg

MD, I've never made SP, but have made other fruit wines. If I were in your position, I'd stir the blend and give it another few days.

You talked about bottling. Is not your next step to rack it into a carboy for a month or two? I'd think it was way to early to bottle.

Paul

 

[maddog]

Yes. I got a little ahead of myself. Adding the sorbate to stabilize and then Sparkolloid to clear for a couple weeks would come before bottling. I should have asked if it's a problem to try and stabalize at this point.

 

[Julie]

Rack it first, then take another reading.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

I'd presume that the yeast have gone dormant while in the fridge. With the high acid and now some alcohol content to overcome, I wonder if the yeast that do come out of hibernation will be on the sluggish side. Slow ferments can extend the time it takes to get into bottles and can keep your batch from clearing quickly.

I think I'd try to get the batch to finish if possible.

 

[maddog]

Thanks for the reply's. I'll give it a few weeks. I was hoping to sample soon, but I'll be Patient.

 

[Arne]

You can sample it now. Use your wine theif, take a little out and taste away. It will probably be dry enough that you will want to add a touch of sugar. Arne.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

You can sample it now. Use your wine theif, take a little out and taste away. It will probably be dry enough that you will want to add a touch of sugar. Arne.

yeah, I drink mine dry. I just imagine what it will be like with a little sugar . If I like it dry, it will be great with just a tad of sugar. Adding sugar will bring other flavors foward. Not sure why, but some wines need it and some only because people like sweetness, but it won't as much to bring out the flavor in those wines. I have added some sugar in some cases to see if a batch was even worth bottling. Very rare to do that, but when you experiment like I do, it happens. lol.

Everyone has got their own methods. I would recommend tasting it after a month or two in the secondary, once as you are adding sugar or acid and again right before you bottle. Use the knowledge of your tasting from previous batches and you can do things to tweak the wine to become even better of a winemaker.