what's next?

[PadmaKidul]

Okay, we are beginners. Our first batch of jackfruit wine has gone like this-
Everything was going good at the start. Our jackfruit and sugar and yeast mixture was foaming and bubbling and smelled like fermentation. After about a week we transferred it into a big glass jug and put the airlock in place. I think we mixed it up a bit too much when removing the pulp, but besides that all seemed good.
But, fermentation from that point on seemed slow, now two weeks later its bubbling about every 20 seconds. Is that okay? How long do we keep it like this and what's the next step?
It's still really cloudy. When do we bottle it?
What else do we have to do before bottling it?
Do we add Campden tablets again?
Thanks for any info.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Hmm - it is hard to tell without and SG readings. You might have transferred to the secondary to soon and left a lot of the yeast behind. That is one of the reasons we stir must a few times a day - to get the yeast back in there and to bring in some O2.

The only sure way to tell if it has completed fermentation is with a hydrometer - you might be done and it is degassing or you might have a sluggish fermentation from racking too soon.

Are you backsweetening this? If so you want to add sorbate and campden in - wait 3 to 4 days and then add your simple syrup mixture.

Time will clear all wines, but there are some fining agents that we sometimes use for troublesome wines. I prefer the Super Kleer fining agent.

After you have backsweetened you can add in your fining agents - wait about 3-4 weeks then rack.