SG at 0.994 for two and a half days. Stuck or ready to rack?

[skyfire322]

So the wine has been fermenting for 11 days, and I've been checking SG and stirring twice a day since day 7 when it started to slow down. I checked on Monday night, and it dropped to 0.994 and has stayed there since. It doesn't smell like rotten eggs or vinegar, but more of a "carbonated" smell (taste as well) and there isn't a fizzy sound.

Wine kit says if it's at 0.998 or lower, I should be all good but 0.990 seems to be the go to number on the forums. Because it's staying at that SG (I'll be adding K-Meta when racked), is there a slim chance of re-fermentation or should I be good to go?

 

[geek]

If the kit instructions say 0.998 or less then at 0.994 you're ready to rack.
Personally I let my dry wine sit for a week or so before I go to the stabilization process.

 

[DoctorCAD]

.990 is not a target. Anything under .995 is pretty much ready to move on.

 

[Putterrr]

I agree, move on to the next step. I cant see how opening up your fermentor repeatedly to check the SG is helpful when its done. You are exposing it to O2 with no blanket of CO2 to help protect your wine.

cheers

 

[Floandgary]

Agree!! At .994 for 2-3 days says "I'm done"... let settle for another day or so then splash rack to carboy, K-meta, Sorbate if necessary, add oak if in the plan, put under airlock and write your notes!!!

 

[Boatboy24]

If you are below 1.000 for several days with no activity, you're done. Rack it to a carboy, make sure its topped up and leave it for a week or two. Then K-Meta.

 

[HMan2]

If you are below 1.000 for several days with no activity, you're done. Rack it to a carboy, make sure its topped up and leave it for a week or two. Then K-Meta.

So its fine to leave in the primary for a few days even with fermenting done/ below 1.000? I have some that read ~.994-.996 and will probably just leave for a few days under airlock and check s.g again before racking to carboy. I just worry a little about oxidation but think under an airlock it should be fine in the primary for a few days.

Why dont you go ahead and add k-meta when racking? I figure if fermenting is done and youre racking you might as well add it, just curious though im on my first batch currently

 

[Boatboy24]

So its fine to leave in the primary for a few days even with fermenting done/ below 1.000? I have some that read ~.994-.996 and will probably just leave for a few days under airlock and check s.g again before racking to carboy. I just worry a little about oxidation but think under an airlock it should be fine in the primary for a few days.

Why dont you go ahead and add k-meta when racking? I figure if fermenting is done and youre racking you might as well add it, just curious though im on my first batch currently

I don't like to leave it in the primary much below 1.000, but have gone down to 0.996. At that point, fermentation has slowed, if not stopped. But you do still have a lot of CO2 in the wine. I don't add KMeta at that first rack because even though you might be below 1.000, some fermentation might still occur. Sometimes, that racking can kick start things and you end up just a little lower.

 

[Smok1]

I leave it till 1.010 in the primary, rack it over and leave in a secondary with an airlock for a week or until its done, it will form a CO2 cap in the carboy and should be fine in there

 

[Ajmassa]

Boatboy24 said it just as I would. Even though SG seems to have bottomed out I've had my SG frequently drop some more after transferring into glass and letting sit about a week or two. ---- a little thing that the wine gods have deemed "Secondary fermentation".
And then I'd check SG in a week or 2. If it dropped to .992 or more then great. If still at .994 then that's fine too.
I also think that extra time in glass before adding k-meta helps the wine a good bit. There's a lot of settling and maturing going on in Those 1st couple weeks after fermentation.

 

[Rocky]

Are you correcting your reading for the temperature of the wine? Hydrometers are calibrated for a given temperature. Mine are for 60 degrees F. If you are getting a reading of 0.994 and the temperature of you wine is 80 degrees F, your adjusted reading would be 0.996. The SG may not be as low as you believe it is. I would rack it, put it under airlock and let it go for a few weeks.

 

[skyfire322]

Are you correcting your reading for the temperature of the wine? Hydrometers are calibrated for a given temperature. Mine are for 60 degrees F. If you are getting a reading of 0.994 and the temperature of you wine is 80 degrees F, your adjusted reading would be 0.996. The SG may not be as low as you believe it is. I would rack it, put it under airlock and let it go for a few weeks.

I totally forgot about that! After doing the calculations, it turned out to be 0.995. I just finished racking it a few minutes ago