Other What should I do now?

[Spikeidaho]

My must has been fermenting for nearly a week, but the reading is still at 10 per cent, whatever that means. I am only allowed to put the must into the secondary fermenter at 4 or 5 per cent. Should I just allow it to continue to ferment and take daily readings, I assume?


What's the danger of moving it to a secondary fermentation bucket now? Wouldn't that merely increase my alcohol content if I do?


What's this poor teacher to do? Get another hooker and just forget about it? Hmmmm....

 

[Joanie]

Scott, leave it where it is until your specific gravity is what they say it should be before racking it. I hope your "secondary bucket" is either a 6 gallon glass of Better Bottle carboy and not a bucket at all.

Your alcohol content won't change as that is determined by your first specific gravity reading when you stated your wine. It has to do with how much sugar is in your juice to start with. If your juice (now "must" because it's fermenting) is still bubbling away, you risk a wine volcano if you move it to a carboy too soon.

Teach, leave the hookers alone--they are bad for your health and your police record.

Welcome to the winemaking clan.

 

[Spikeidaho]

OK, will do. Thanks for the advice.


SRT

 

[robie]

Let us know what kit you are making.
It is easier for us to relate to the SG scale on your hydrometer, rather than the alcohol (?) scale.
What is the SG reading now?
What is your room temperature? It needs to be at least 70 F or even a little higher at 75 F. I use a brew belt to get about 75 F.
Is the wine fizzing at all?

As Joan said, don't move to secondary until the SG reading is where your instructions say it should be for secondary. Once the wine starts foaming, it could spew all over the place from a full carboy.

 

[Spikeidaho]

It's still fizzing, alright. I am using a Vinifera Noble kit from Quebec. It will allegedly end up being a Barolo (sp) red wine. It still have a specific gravity reading of 10.


Is it cool that I added blackberries and my oak chips for about 24 hours? I'm having a blast, and this is only my second time that I've done this. The first batch ended up being...uhm...well...a "white wine" if that's what you want to call it. I had a bottle last night, as did my lady friend. She actually liked it, which surprised me.

 

[Wade E]

What are your temps as I bet it is a bit chilly making the fermentation slower then a usual kit. If below 75* try and get the temp up to around there to make sure your yeast finishes doing what it is supposed to do and your next step is to degas your wine which really should be done at this temp or it will most likely not get done properly cause C02 is held in suspension much more at cooler temps. Cooler temps will usually make a fermentation stop early also ad thats called a stuck fermentation

 

[Bert]

Welcome Scott to the forum....I have been just following along and wondering what fermentation temp is??......These Vinifera Noble kits usually move right along, this seems kind of slow....Good Luck

 

[Spikeidaho]

I will bet that the low temp in my bathroom is to blame for this. It's been anything but 75 degrees in there. My guess is that it's in the mid-60's. That explains everything. I assume that I left the blackberries and oak chips in long enough, but time will tell.


Thanks everybody.

 

[Wade E]

Try to get it warmer by maybe putting your bucket in your bathtub with some warmer water and leaving it there until the temp comes up and try to hold that temp at least until your wine is clear.

 

[smurfe]

I will bet that the low temp in my bathroom is to blame for this. It's been anything but 75 degrees in there. My guess is that it's in the mid-60's. That explains everything. I assume that I left the blackberries and oak chips in long enough, but time will tell.


Thanks everybody.

I doubt you will get much of anything from the blackberries and oak with only 24 hours contact in the must. Maybe some from the berries but little to none from the oak. Particularly if the temps were in the lower 60's.

 

[xanxer82]

Get yourself a good thermometer. And keep your must between 68 and 75 deg. F. and you'll be ok.
Don't forget the 3 P's!

 

[Spikeidaho]

I will buy a thermometer and see what it says. I will also buysome more blackberries and steep them in the must for three days or so. I will also stop writing sentences starting with "I will."