when is it time to go to next stage?

[kirknotes]

Making red wine with home grown grapes.
I had primary must going for about 4 days - then transferred into two 1 gallon carboys, and it has been a good 7 days bubbling away....the bubbling slowed down considerably so I tested the SG. It is at 1.0....still bubbling but now only once every 5 minutes or so.

Question 1. Do I need to bottle this right away now and cork it and then let it age in the bottle or what is the next best step?

Question 2. I used 2 cups of raw organic honey as for sweetener in the initial must...when I tasted it just now it has a very citric flavor - what can I do to sweeten it more at this stage?

Thanks for any and all help or ideas.

 

[stickman]

If you try to bottle the wine now the bottles will probably explode. Any type of sweetening you do now will ferment to alcohol and co2.
Here is a good link to fermentation instructions.
http://www.morewinemaking.com/public/pdf/wredw.pdf

 

[Scooter68]

1) Rack to a carboy and wait until the SG holds steady for at least 3 days.
2) At that point rack again and add K-Meta or 1 well crushed Campden tablet per gallon (Put the WELL crushed tablet into the new carboy before racking)
3) That's when the aging begins. Most wines should be aged a minimum of 6 months (12 months is the most popular bulk aging time used by home wine makers) before you even think about bottling or sweetening. (During the aging most folks rack every 3 months and add additional K-meta to protect the wine as it ages.)
4) At the end the aging time you will do one more racking and at time add the k-meta and potassium sorbate. Let it sit at least a week before back-sweetening.*
5 After backsweetening you would do well to wait one more week before bottling.*

* Anytime you make changes to your wine, it's a good idea to let it sit for at least a week in the event the changes prompt sediment or other changes in the wine that you may not expect. That way you can plan the next move needed if something unexpected happens.

 

[kirknotes]

1) Rack to a carboy and wait until the SG holds steady for at least 3 days.
2) At that point rack again and add K-Meta or 1 well crushed Campden tablet per gallon (Put the WELL crushed tablet into the new carboy before racking)
3) That's when the aging begins. Most wines should be aged a minimum of 6 months (12 months is the most popular bulk aging time used by home wine makers) before you even think about bottling or sweetening. (During the aging most folks rack every 3 months and add additional K-meta to protect the wine as it ages.)
4) At the end the aging time you will do one more racking and at time add the k-meta and potassium sorbate. Let it sit at least a week before back-sweetening.*
5 After backsweetening you would do well to wait one more week before bottling.*

* Anytime you make changes to your wine, it's a good idea to let it sit for at least a week in the event the changes prompt sediment or other changes in the wine that you may not expect. That way you can plan the next move needed if something unexpected happens.

Okay so today I took them from their current carboy - and transferred them to a new carboy and made sure to leave off as much of the solid sediments as possible. This left about a cup of space at the top which i filled with water...and now I have replaced the airlocks and I am allowing it to continue
like this. Is now the time to add a campden tablet?

 

[Ajmassa]

Yerp Never used em, but pretty sure it's one tablet per gallon

 

[Scooter68]

NO ! DO NOT add a campden tablet now or k-Meta.

IF your SG reading is 1.00 Fermentation is STILL going on albeit at a slower and less visible way but it is still going on.


Allow to ferment until the SG reading remains the same for 3 Days. Normally that will be somewhere around .995 to .990 It can stop higher but be sure it has not changed for at least 3 days.

 

[Ajmassa]

Apologies for being vague. I saw you ask the proper time for adding sulphites directly after quoting Scooter68 which said:

1) Rack to a carboy and wait until the SG holds steady for at least 3 days.
2) At that point rack again and add K-Meta or 1 well crushed Campden tablet per gallon (Put the WELL crushed tablet into the new carboy before racking)
[/I]

And thought scooter explained it in a great way without much left to interpret. When that SG is done dropping and you rack you can add. Or even wait a lil longer if you want.
Really Hoping you didn't add those Camden tabs to a wine still fermenting.

 

[heatherd]

Okay so today I took them from their current carboy - and transferred them to a new carboy and made sure to leave off as much of the solid sediments as possible. This left about a cup of space at the top which i filled with water...and now I have replaced the airlocks and I am allowing it to continue
like this. Is now the time to add a campden tablet?

I generally do not add water, but use a similar wine to top up.

 

[kirknotes]

NO ! DO NOT add a campden tablet now or k-Meta.

IF your SG reading is 1.00 Fermentation is STILL going on albeit at a slower and less visible way but it is still going on.


Allow to ferment until the SG reading remains the same for 3 Days. Normally that will be somewhere around .995 to .990 It can stop higher but be sure it has not changed for at least 3 days.

Ok great thank you

 

[kirknotes]

Apologies for being vague. I saw you ask the proper time for adding sulphites directly after quoting Scooter68 which said:



And thought scooter explained it in a great way without much left to interpret. When that SG is done dropping and you rack you can add. Or even wait a lil longer if you want.
Really Hoping you didn't add those Camden tabs to a wine still fermenting.

no i didn't add campden tablets yet....however the one jug that I topped up with a bottle of wine has stopped fermenting.....it is reading SG .995....but there are still lots of minor lees at the bottom. What should I do with that one?

 

[Scooter68]

Just watch it for 3 days, if no change in SG rack to fresh carboy & drop some K-meta/Campden Tab and

 

[kirknotes]

Ok sounds good - what if I want it sweeter - do I wait for 30 days in the carboy and then back sweeten?

 

[Scooter68]

Once you've added the K-Meta/Campden Tablet clearing should begin and you will probably want rack it again in 2-4 weeks.

At this time the appropriate song is "We've only just begun."

Bulk aging the wine should be done for at least 10-12 months, from the time fermentation stops. THEN you can start thinking about back-sweetening.

Between then and now you should be racking about every 3 months and adding K-Meta/Campden Tablets (n o more than 1 per gallon) each time you rack.

The last steps are:
1) About a week before back-sweetening add your last dose of K-Meta AND Potassium Sorbate - to stablize the wine. That should still keep to the 3 months between racking and adding K-Meta.
2) After a week Back-sweeten to taste and then wait another week to allow for any final sediment to form/drop out. Remember to stop the back-sweetening a little before it's perfect because as the wine continues to age it will begin to lose more of the edge/bite and seem even sweeter that when you first back-sweeten.
3) Bottle.

 

[Turock]

You should do some reading on the benefits of bulk aging. Lots of magic goes on in the carboy during the 1st year of aging--especially reds.

 

[kirknotes]

Once you've added the K-Meta/Campden Tablet clearing should begin and you will probably want rack it again in 2-4 weeks.

At this time the appropriate song is "We've only just begun."

Bulk aging the wine should be done for at least 10-12 months, from the time fermentation stops. THEN you can start thinking about back-sweetening.

Between then and now you should be racking about every 3 months and adding K-Meta/Campden Tablets (n o more than 1 per gallon) each time you rack.

The last steps are:
1) About a week before back-sweetening add your last dose of K-Meta AND Potassium Sorbate - to stablize the wine. That should still keep to the 3 months between racking and adding K-Meta.
2) After a week Back-sweeten to taste and then wait another week to allow for any final sediment to form/drop out. Remember to stop the back-sweetening a little before it's perfect because as the wine continues to age it will begin to lose more of the edge/bite and seem even sweeter that when you first back-sweeten.
3) Bottle.

Nice - great information - thank you