Stuck fruit must

[Cristo]

Year 4 for homemade fruit wine. Very consistent. This year, primary went well. Secondary did not.
So I have 5 gallons of unfinished pear/berry must. Have successfully made wine and mead previously.
Suggestions? Can I convert to mead? Can I restart?
Must has been settling in carboy for weeks. Attempted to restart with yeast earlier. Tastes okay but sort of flat. Any help appreciated.

 

[BigDaveK]

Bummer.
I had a similar situation very recently. My wine was dead in secondary, added a bit of nutrient and more yeast, nothing. Last week I poured, literally poured it into another carboy. I had another active fermentation in primary (seems like I always have something in primary) and stole about a cups worth. Fermentation has restarted.

 

[Jim Welch]

Year 4 for homemade fruit wine. Very consistent. This year, primary went well. Secondary did not.
So I have 5 gallons of unfinished pear/berry must. Have successfully made wine and mead previously.
Suggestions? Can I convert to mead? Can I restart?
Must has been settling in carboy for weeks. Attempted to restart with yeast earlier. Tastes okay but sort of flat. Any help appreciated.

What is your OG, current SG, and what yeast(s) did you use? Any nutrients added?

 

[Cristo]

What is your OG, current SG, and what yeast(s) did you use? Any nutrients added?

Ec-1118. Yes on the nutrients. And I do not know my SG. Still learning. Clearly, I need to learn my hydrometer.
Def didn't get too cool. Was consistent 73-74 F throughout.

 

[winemaker81]

Ec-1118. Yes on the nutrients. And I do not know my SG. Still learning. Clearly, I need to learn my hydrometer.
Def didn't get too cool. Was consistent 73-74 F throughout.

Post your recipe, including the amounts used. Is the wine sweet or dry tasting? If it's dry, there is nothing to "restart".

Buy a hydrometer -- it's the one item folks on this forum 99% agree is necessary. With it you can determine if the fermentation is complete.

When you say "flat", do you mean it lacks taste, or it lacks zing?

 

[Jovimaple]

What is your indication that it's not done?

By "settling in the carboy" do you mean clearing?

The only way I know of to know that the fermentation is complete is by using the hydrometer - when the SG is below 1.000 and stable for at least 3 days. (Mine usually end up at .995 or below.)

Bubbles in the airlock aren't a good way to measure fermentation activity because after fermentation, the wine offgasses for a long time. If it has started to clear, it's probably done.

As far as the taste, most fruit wines benefit from backsweetening. Of course, you don't want to add more sugar until you know the fermentation is done.

 

[Jovimaple]

Buy a hydrometer -- it's the one item folks on this forum 99% agree is necessary. With it you can determine if the fermentation is complete.

Get 2 of them for when you inevitably break one right when you need it. (Personal experience speaking!)

Also, I recommend getting a test jar /wine thief to use with it. This is handy when you can't simply float the hydrometer in the must due to the fruit solids. Sanitize everything so you can pour the sample you are measuring back and not waste it.

 

[Cristo]

Post your recipe, including the amounts used. Is the wine sweet or dry tasting? If it's dry, there is nothing to "restart".

Buy a hydrometer -- it's the one item folks on this forum 99% agree is necessary. With it you can determine if the fermentation is complete.

When you say "flat", do you mean it lacks taste, or it lacks zing?

It is dry, not sweet. Has taste, def lacks zing.
Simply never bubbled once I moved to carboy, which was different from my prior experience. Primary went as it had before.
I follow this recipe to the letter.
By settling, I mean it has cleared in the carboy with the airlock.
Have back sweetened my previous efforts after racking.
Hydrometer will def tell the tale.
No excuse for not learning about SG. If I'm going to do this, gotta do it right.

 

[winemaker81]

No excuse for not learning about SG. If I'm going to do this, gotta do it right.

No and yes. No, you can't know what you don't know without knowing what you don't know. [This actually makes sense, but you may need to read it several times to understand it. ]

Yes, you are learning new things and improving your process.

10 lbs sugar in 5 gallons should give you a reasonable ABV, so that isn't likely the problem.

Pear wine is not the strongest flavor, so that can be an issue, especially as you used 4 lbs/gallon. For light flavored fruit you may want double that amount. A lot of popular fruit wine recipes are low on fruit.

Fruit wines benefit from at least a bit of backsweetening. If you can get pear juice, you can backsweeten with that to boost flavor. If you don't mind a radical flavor change, you can backsweeten with a strong flavored juice such as cherry.

Another possibility is it needs more acid. Do a bench test -- pour 4 oz in each of 3 glasses. In #2 add a pinch of acid blend, and in #3 add 2 pinches. Stir well, and taste #1, #2, and #3 in order. If a bit of acid perks the flavor, that is a good indicator.

If adding more acid, go very lightly, stir well, and taste. It's far easier to add more than to take some out.

 

[Cristo]

Current SG is .996
No idea what I started with.
So am I good potentially?

 

[winemaker81]

Current SG is .996
No idea what I started with.
So am I good potentially?

Yup. Your recipe indicates that the OG was probably in a good range (+/- 1.090). The current SG indicates fermentation is probably done. Bulk age in a carboy for a few months, and if it's not quite done, it will be.

 

[Cristo]

Just reracked into a clean carboy. Covered and sitting for a while. SG still .995-.996
This forum has been very helpful and inspirational. Thank you all for the responses and the ideas.
This is my first batch with 100% homegrown fruits. Was a big deal to save this one.

 

[meadmaker1]

Get 2 of them for when you inevitably break one right when you need it. (Personal experience speaking!)

Also, I recommend getting a test jar /wine thief to use with it. This is handy when you can't simply float the hydrometer in the must due to the fruit solids. Sanitize everything so you can pour the sample you are measuring back and not waste it.

Get 2 of them for when you inevitably break one right when you need it. (Personal experience speaking!)