stuck on the 3rth day

[Kivanc]

Fermentation stuck on the 3rth day

I started with 10kilograms of red grapes. The 1st fermentation went well. But it stopped fermenting during the 2nd fermentation. What can I suppose do to start up the fermentation if it stuckes on the 3rth day after the must is racked into a 2nd fermenter vessel. It has got a huge portion of sediment gathered at the bottom.

Any idea would be appreciated.

 

[m_lapaglia]

We need a few bits of information first.

What was the recipe including the type of yeast?
What was the Original Gravity (OG) and the current Specific Gravity (SG)?
How long was it in the fermenter before it was racked to the secondary?

It is possible that its just done fermenting and its not stuck. the OG/SG info is the most important. All the stuff at the bottom could just be the yeast falling out of suspension now that it is done.

No matter way, Relax and don't worry. Nothing will harm the wine if you just leave it alone for a while. Don't repitch new yeast yet. Most of the times when people think a fermentation is stuck it is not.

 

[Wine Maker]

The only way to know if you really have a stuck fermentation is by measuring the brix or specific gravity with a hydrometer.

 

[Kivanc]

We need a few bits of information first.

What was the recipe including the type of yeast?
What was the Original Gravity (OG) and the current Specific Gravity (SG)?
How long was it in the fermenter before it was racked to the secondary?

It is possible that its just done fermenting and its not stuck. the OG/SG info is the most important. All the stuff at the bottom could just be the yeast falling out of suspension now that it is done.

No matter way, Relax and don't worry. Nothing will harm the wine if you just leave it alone for a while. Don't repitch new yeast yet. Most of the times when people think a fermentation is stuck it is not.

I boiled a tea glass of water and poured this water in a flat plate. I waited it to come to 37-38 centigrade. Then I put 1 tea spoon yeast and 1 tea spoon sugar into this water and covered with a thin piece of cloth. Later on, I waited the mixture to swell (approximatelly half an hour). Then I poured this mixture into the must and covered it with a thin piece of cloth. The yeast is from France but I don't remember its name.

Unfortunately, I didn't pay attention to OG. Should I need to track the fermentation (SG) with a hydrometer anyway?

I kept it in the first fermenter for 7 days.

And this morning I observed that a yeast like organism which forms a film on the surface of my wine.

 

[Kivanc]

We need a few bits of information first.

What was the recipe including the type of yeast?
What was the Original Gravity (OG) and the current Specific Gravity (SG)?
How long was it in the fermenter before it was racked to the secondary?

It is possible that its just done fermenting and its not stuck. the OG/SG info is the most important. All the stuff at the bottom could just be the yeast falling out of suspension now that it is done.

No matter way, Relax and don't worry. Nothing will harm the wine if you just leave it alone for a while. Don't repitch new yeast yet. Most of the times when people think a fermentation is stuck it is not.

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply.
The s.g. was .998 (I mean its a bit below 1.000). This is yesterday's reading. Anyway, when I attached the airlock again I see that it still keeps on fermenting.

Thanks in advance.

 

[m_lapaglia]

I will bet that you are pretty close to done. The activity you see in the airlock is more likely trapped CO2 in the wine. 0.998 is pretty much a done ferment.
Test it again tomorrow and if its still 0.998 you are done and its time to take the next step.

From the looks of this you were not stuck. It finished just fine. If you get the same reading again rack it.

 

[Reluctant Chemist]

Hello, I'm a little confused. You mentioned the 2nd fermentation was stuck. Are you referring to the sugar fermentation, or to the malolactic fermentation?

It sounds like you are almost done with the sugar fermentation. Have you tried testing for sugar with Clinitest tablets, or with the Accuvin Residual Sugar test? Are you truying for a dry wine or an off dry wine?

If you are referring to malolactic fermentation, there are several nutrients you can add to help completion of MLF. (They are usually added before the MLF culture is added.) The nutirents include Fermoplus Malolactique, MicroEssentials Oenos, Opti'Malo Plus, and Malostart.

 

[Kivanc]

I am referring to the sugar fermentation and I am trying for a dry wine. As I'm a newbie it seems that I don't have much equipments to end up MLF. So I'm gonna take the reading, probably rack more time and wait till it gets stable and completely clear.

Thank you all