Sweetened too soon

[cspice]

Hi,

I sweetened my wine too soon. Fermentation seems to have stopped, as I don't see any signs of yeast colonies, nor is there any bubbling in the bottle or the airlock. I used Sparkolloid about 3 weeks ago, but the wine is still clouded.

It tastes and smells good, measures 14% alcohol, it's not ropy, or anything odd, it just won't clear.

Is the sugar that I added (too soon) to sweeten the wine is keeping it from clearing?

 

[Runningwolf]

It's probably refermenting unless if you stabilized it.

 

[jamesngalveston]

I dont see where you said you degassed it, a wine that has not been degassed manually will clear very slowly.

 

[sour_grapes]

It tastes and smells good, measures 14% alcohol, it's not ropy, or anything odd, it just won't clear.

What do you mean, it "measures 14% alcohol"? How are you measuring this?

 

[Arne]

Maybe if you tell us what you have made and how you made it we can help. Go thru the steps you took, give us the recipe, and bet we can help. Without knowing it is kinda a crapshoot. Lots of things can be causing it, but maybe with some more info. we can narrow it down as to what is or is not happening. Arne.

 

[cspice]

Yes, I stabilized it with potassium sorbate 1/2 tsp to my gallon

 

[cspice]

It's probably refermenting unless if you stabilized it.

I did stabilize it with potassium sorbate 1/2 tsp to my gallon

 

[cspice]

I dont see where you said you degassed it, a wine that has not been degassed manually will clear very slowly.

Oh, I didn't! I will degass it.

Thank You!

 

[cspice]

What do you mean, it "measures 14% alcohol"? How are you measuring this?

I used a Vino-o-meter.

 

[Julie]

Do you have a hydrometer? If so what was your reading when you started and what was your reading prior to adding to adding sorbate. Like Sour_Grapes asked how do you know you have 14% ABV?

 

[cspice]

Maybe if you tell us what you have made and how you made it we can help. Go thru the steps you took, give us the recipe, and bet we can help. Without knowing it is kinda a crapshoot. Lots of things can be causing it, but maybe with some more info. we can narrow it down as to what is or is not happening. Arne.

Hi Arne,

Grew scuppernongs, harvested, froze for 4 days, juiced them, put pulp in a must bag, added campden tabs to juice and must in primary fermentor . Next day read hydrometer @ 1.030, brought sugar content up to 22%, hydrometer read 1.080, hydrated EC1118 yeast and added to batch, covered with cheese cloth let it sit 1 day, stirred daily for 3 days. Removed must bag, squeezed out juice, transferred to gallon jug with air lock. Let it ferment for a week, tested with a hydro, measured 0.990, vino-o-meter read 14% alcohol. I racked and stabilized with potassium sorbate. This is were I think I went wrong. A few days later, after seeing no activity in the airlock, I got antsy and tasted the wine. It was too dry for me so I added simple syrup. A few days after that, no sign of clearing I added sparkoloid. It has now been close to 3 weeks and no sign of clearing.

Another poster pointed out that I had not degassed. Is that all??

 

[Turock]

cspice--You should never add sorbate at this time. The wine is unstable and cloudy. The only time sorbate works is when the wine has the bulk of the yeast cells racked off it. The wine needs to be clear and stable,first. And you only sorbate if backsweetening. Wines need to be bulked aged in order to clear them and get them to a point of stability. I recommend bulk aging at least 9 months, but truthfully, most wines should be bulk aged for 1 year.

Never add clearing agents until--at least-- the 6 month mark. Always give your wines time to clear on their own. Only intervene with clearing agents after that time. Many clarity issues can be resolved by using better pectinases and bentoniting the primary.

Dry wines are no problem---you should always ferment to dry. THEN sweeten them when it's time to bottle. You jumped the gun with this wine. You have to learn that being patient, and allowing time to work on the wine, is a big part of winemaking. You can never evaluate a wine that is so young. You should expect it to not be very good tasting at this point. One year later, the wine has matured and then you can evaluate how much sweetness it needs to balance the acids.

 

[jamesngalveston]

If you started at 1.080 and finnished off at .990 then your alcohol abv is around 12 percent, using scale for hydrometer.
as turock said never add sorbate until the wine is cleared somewhat and the majority of yeast cells have been racked off....

I would degass it, and rack .
If you want to drink it early, rack everytime you see 1/2 inch of sediment for like 3 times, then hit it with super kleer wait a week and it should be clear enough to bottle.

 

[cspice]

Do you have a hydrometer? If so what was your reading when you started and what was your reading prior to adding to adding sorbate. Like Sour_Grapes asked how do you know you have 14% ABV?

Yes, I have a hydrometer. When I started it was 1.080, when finished it was .999 prior to adding sorbate. When I added simple syrup, I brought the hydrometer reading back up to 1.030, and I use a vineo-o-meter to measure the ABV.

 

[cspice]

If you started at 1.080 and finnished off at .990 then your alcohol abv is around 12 percent, using scale for hydrometer.
as turock said never add sorbate until the wine is cleared somewhat and the majority of yeast cells have been racked off....

I would degass it, and rack .
If you want to drink it early, rack everytime you see 1/2 inch of sediment for like 3 times, then hit it with super kleer wait a week and it should be clear enough to bottle.

Hmm, I'm getting the impression that the vino-o-meter readings may not be useful. Does the meter give an accurate ABV reading??? It measured 14% well.. I guess that's close enough to 12.

I really just want to know have I messed up the wine, or will it clear up if I just let it sit.

 

[cspice]

cspice--You should never add sorbate at this time. The wine is unstable and cloudy. The only time sorbate works is when the wine has the bulk of the yeast cells racked off it. The wine needs to be clear and stable,first. And you only sorbate if backsweetening. Wines need to be bulked aged in order to clear them and get them to a point of stability. I recommend bulk aging at least 9 months, but truthfully, most wines should be bulk aged for 1 year.

Never add clearing agents until--at least-- the 6 month mark. Always give your wines time to clear on their own. Only intervene with clearing agents after that time. Many clarity issues can be resolved by using better pectinases and bentoniting the primary.

Dry wines are no problem---you should always ferment to dry. THEN sweeten them when it's time to bottle. You jumped the gun with this wine. You have to learn that being patient, and allowing time to work on the wine, is a big part of winemaking. You can never evaluate a wine that is so young. You should expect it to not be very good tasting at this point. One year later, the wine has matured and then you can evaluate how much sweetness it needs to balance the acids.

OK, do you think my wine will be okay if I just let it age? Or have I messed it up?

 

[Turock]

The vinometer is not accurate but it gets you in the ballpark. When you adjust the brix at the primary, shooting for your potential alcohol content is sufficient. We shoot for 12.5 ABV but never check it later on.

I would definitely let it bulk age--it may resolve all the issues. If not, you can post then if you have an issue. Always let your wines bulk age--don't be in a hurry to manipulate a young wine and try to get it ready to drink early on. That's not what happens with wine. Let it sit, at least, to the 9 month mark. If the flavor is still young tasting, let it go to 1 year or beyond. You'll be surprised how that aging time firms up flavors.

 

[jpike01]

I did the same thing with my first attempt at making wine. Got worried about leaving the baby home alone while on vacation and got in a hurry.
I put it away, out of site and out of mind, and it cleared in about four months. It is now bottled and hidden. I will see what I have in the bottle next year.

 

[cspice]

I did the same thing with my first attempt at making wine. Got worried about leaving the baby home alone while on vacation and got in a hurry.
I put it away, out of site and out of mind, and it cleared in about four months. It is now bottled and hidden. I will see what I have in the bottle next year.

Okay! I was afraid I had ruined it for all time! I have put it away in a basement closet. Should I leave the airlock on it or is it okay to put on a screw cap?

 

[cspice]

The vinometer is not accurate but it gets you in the ballpark. When you adjust the brix at the primary, shooting for your potential alcohol content is sufficient. We shoot for 12.5 ABV but never check it later on.

I would definitely let it bulk age--it may resolve all the issues. If not, you can post then if you have an issue. Always let your wines bulk age--don't be in a hurry to manipulate a young wine and try to get it ready to drink early on. That's not what happens with wine. Let it sit, at least, to the 9 month mark. If the flavor is still young tasting, let it go to 1 year or beyond. You'll be surprised how that aging time firms up flavors.

I am a complete beginner.

Funny thing, my husband and I can buy a bottle of wine, and it will sit in the fridge for a month! So, to hide away my little experiment until next holiday season would be just fine, and I will do! Should I leave the airlock on it, or can I put on a screw cap (gallon bottle).
In the meantime, I think I want to try sweet potato or ginger wine.