Will my wine be OK? Did a few things wrong...

[candleboxcindy]

Hey all, I made my very first batch last week and I'm very worried about what the outcome will be. Let me enumerate the steps (and missteps) I took and would appreciate your feedback about whether it will be okay, you can be pragmatic and tell me if it's a waste and better throw the batch out (because I have about 50KG grapes left hanging in the vine that I should harvest) or if I can do something to salvage this.

a. 26-Sep harvested about 11kgs grapes. Some of the grapes are infected with fungus or mildew so I took the painstaking step of manually removing infested ones, also cracked/crushed ones and destemming and washing each and every single good grape. While the grapes are still wet from the rinse, I immediately crushed them in a giant stainless steel crackpot, and let it macerate overnight. I was doubting about adding sulphite. Decided not to, since I washed the grapes. I also 'heard' that sulphite could result in a bad hangover, not sure if true.
b. 27-Sep Handpressed the grapes and using a stainless steel fine sieve I put the juice in my 30L container with airlock. I guess I'll be making white wine
c. Once the juice - now measuring at 7L - sits cozy in the container, I measured SG using my hydrometer. It shows 1.050 which means potential alcohol is low. But I ran out of sugar.
d. 28-Sep I bought crystallized white sugar and put 490g to 7L to yank up the sugar g/L.
e. I then tried an acidity measurement with the acidometer. I am not sure if I did it right, because no matter how much I added (of the blue liquid, supposedly Alkaline) the color doesn't change much after I shake it. Ultimately it sort of 'changed' at about 9g/L. I have an instruction document (from the supplier of the winemaking kit I bought) that says for white wine it should be around 7g/L and deviations from this can be corrected by adding Mixacid or Desacid. I did not do anything about this.
f. I also then proceeded to add my yeast. I made a HUGE MISTAKE because I was not focused. I was supposed to add 1.5g of yeast and dilute it in 10x water (which is 15ml). Instead, I put 1.5L of water!!! :-(
g. I added 0.7g of Nutrisal. Probably useless because the yeast didn't take hold?
h. In any case, fermentation seemed to be starting. The container's lid is bloated and the water in the airlock is pushing out.
i. 30-Sep I added another 0.7g of Nutrisal.
j. I took a measure using hydrometer to see the SG and it's now around 1.035 or so.

Today 2-Oct there doesn't seem to be a lot going on with the batch. What, in your opinion, should I do next? Thanks in advanced!

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P.S. For my Batch 2 I harvested 21.5kg of grapes, and added Zymex as prescribed in the recipe. It immediately gave the crushed fruit/must a more vibrant reddish color. That batch is macerating now for 4 days and I have added the correct yeast-water ratio plus Nutrisal.

 

[candleboxcindy]

 

[Ohio Bob]

Welcome to WMT!

a. Sulphite does not cause a bad hangover. Some people are sensitive to sulphites, but as I understand it, that is a relatively small population. Sulphite is good protection from bacteria, wild yeasts, etc. that you won’t be able to see.

e. It’s not necessary to correct acid levels, unless they are way out of whack, which is possible. This can be corrected once the ferment goes to dry.

f. Calculate the amount of sugar you should have added to 1.5L of water, add that sugar as soon as possible. No need to dissolve it in more water.

g. Not useless, it will be there as the yeast needs it.

h. The lid is not bloated due to pressure. Pressure is relieved through bubbles in the airlock. By the way, bloating of the lid, or bubbles in the airlock, don’t tell you a lot about the state of the ferment. In fact, best practice is to NOT snap the lid down. The yeast needs oxygen, which it cannot get, if the lid is snapped down. Just lay the lid on, or drape a towel over the bucket. You also need to take hydrometer readings, as well as stirring the must 2-3x per day. No need to draw a sample of must, just drop the hydrometer into the must and take the reading.

I think you’re generally on a good path, nothing ruined yet.

 

[winemaker81]

From your description, things are going fine.

Some of the grapes are infected with fungus or mildew so I took the painstaking step of manually removing infested ones, also cracked/crushed ones and destemming and washing each and every single good grape.

Picking out bad grapes is good, but there's no need to wash them.

I also 'heard' that sulphite could result in a bad hangover, not sure if true.

Nope. Some folks may be sensitive to sulfite or actually allergic, sulfite does not cause headaches. Drinking too much wine causes headaches.

I also then proceeded to add my yeast. I made a HUGE MISTAKE because I was not focused. I was supposed to add 1.5g of yeast and dilute it in 10x water (which is 15ml). Instead, I put 1.5L of water!!!

That diluted your must, but it's not a fatal mistake.

In any case, fermentation seemed to be starting. The container's lid is bloated and the water in the airlock is pushing out.

Take the lid off. Yeast needs O2 for reproduction, and the best recommendation is to simply put a towel over the fermenter, and stir it 1-3 times per day.

Today 2-Oct there doesn't seem to be a lot going on with the batch. What, in your opinion, should I do next?

Let it ferment to 1.000 and rack into a container. At this point you want an airlock on it -- O2 may be yeast's friend, but it's wine's enemy. Keeping the wine away from air prevents oxidation.

 

[candleboxcindy]

OMG thank you both so much Bob and Bryan, I feel quite relieved! Is it an option to just remove the airlock itself (and the lid has a tiny hole) and drape a thin towel over it? I am afraid that any type of tea towel in my house cannot be trusted to be clean. I live with 3 boys and a giant hairy dog who scratches herself endlessly :-(

 

[winemaker81]

OMG thank you both so much Bob and Bryan, I feel quite relieved! Is it an option to just remove the airlock itself (and the lid has a tiny hole) and drape a thin towel over it? I am afraid that any type of tea towel in my house cannot be trusted to be clean. I live with 3 boys and a giant hairy dog who scratches herself endlessly :-(

Happy to be of service.

That will work fine. Don't bother to snap the lid down, just place it on top.

 

[candleboxcindy]

I also forgot to mention, that since I panicked, I corrected the 'mistake' and added 1g of yeast diluted in 100ml water. So I had the 1.5g yeast there already diluted in 1.5L of water PLUS another 1g. Must/juice is 7L. This would not be a big problem either?

 

[winemaker81]

I also forgot to mention, that since I panicked, I corrected the 'mistake' and added 1g of yeast diluted in 100ml water. So I had the 1.5g yeast there already diluted in 1.5L of water PLUS another 1g. Must/juice is 7L. This would not be a big problem either?

No problem. Within reason, you can't add too much yeast.

I've been making overnight starters for a few years, which ensure the yeast is viable and gets fermentation off to a rapid start.

https://wine.bkfazekas.com/how-to-make-a-yeast-starter/

 

[Rice_Guy]

welcome to WMT

* wine making is an ancient process and reliable enough that 2000 years ago folks could do it by accident.
* I describe wine making as cleaning the food. We filter, we ferment which removes sugar, we age which lets small stuff settle, we rack off the small stuff. Washing grapes isn’t needed. Washing can reduce the sugar and potential alcohol.
* metabisulphite improves shelf life. If you want it to taste good for more than a year, plan on using meta.
* sweet and acid flavors balance each other. We can make it taste pleasing by adding sugar to taste. This is safe if you do it as you serve it or on bottled wines add potassium sorbate. ,,, Actually we have another option, beer folks frequently store the beverage refrigerated.

Wine is cooking, taste, ,, learn, ,,, and enjoy.

 

[candleboxcindy]

When would be the (next) best time to add sulphite, since I didn't do it at the beginning of the process? I measured SG today and it's at 1.020 so I guess it'll need to ferment some more. Should I do it now, or when fermentation ends? Or as I siphon it into the carboy?

 

[Rice_Guy]

I do some meta every time I manipulate / oxygenate the wine. ie. racking introduces oxygen into the wine, bottling introduces oxygen into the wine, stirring to degas introduces oxygen into the wine. At 1.020 your wine should still be producing CO2 and a reduced (low ReDox potential) chemical soup. , , ,
Some home wine makers follow a time based schedule. My guess is that this started from kits which are controlled enough that events as racking are based on time. , , ,
Another way would be to run a Vinmetrica to look at free SO2 and add based on the specific number. This possibly reflects that the carboy was opened to do a manipulation. If I look at whites and country wine a reading often is low. Reds / tannic apple holds free SO2.

Good question. I know others do a better job, because they win blue ribbons at contest. I will be interested in the answers.

 

[winemaker81]

When would be the (next) best time to add sulphite, since I didn't do it at the beginning of the process? I measured SG today and it's at 1.020 so I guess it'll need to ferment some more. Should I do it now, or when fermentation ends? Or as I siphon it into the carboy?

I don't add K-meta until fermentation is complete. The yeast may be struggling to eat that last bit of sugar, so I wait on K-meta. After that, each time I manipulate the wine, and every 3 months during bulk aging.

 

[candleboxcindy]

Thanks for the responses so far. So today is 7th Oct which meant that batch 1 has already been sitting in the bucket for a while. Yesterday I measured SG again and it's about 1.010. There's not much happening anymore, looking like fermentation is done. So I put the airlock on. I tasted a bit of the wine and it doesn't taste like there's much alcohol in it, really tasted like just a nice juice.

I'm thinking to already put it on a carboy with airlock. Should I do that? Would it get better this way?

 

[winemaker81]

Thanks for the responses so far. So today is 7th Oct which meant that batch 1 has already been sitting in the bucket for a while. Yesterday I measured SG again and it's about 1.010. There's not much happening anymore, looking like fermentation is done. So I put the airlock on. I tasted a bit of the wine and it doesn't taste like there's much alcohol in it, really tasted like just a nice juice.

I'm thinking to already put it on a carboy with airlock. Should I do that? Would it get better this way?

With the SG at 1.010, unless you used a low potency yeast and/or the original SG was high, the ferment is not complete.

What yeast did you use, and what was the OG?

Fermentation can slow way down the in final stages. If the SG is dropping, fermentation is happening.

The act of racking from the primary into a carboy may spur activity, and it won't hurt anything. Actually, folks making wine from juice and some fruits may do the first racking at any SG from 1.000 to 1.050.

 

[candleboxcindy]

I used this yeast that came with the starter kit. SG at first measure was not high but after I added sugar it went up to 1.070. When I diluted it by mistake adding 1.5L of water, I tried to correct by adding about 300G of sugar.

 

[winemaker81]

I used this yeast that came with the starter kit. SG at first measure was not high but after I added sugar it went up to 1.070. When I diluted it by mistake adding 1.5L of water, I tried to correct by adding about 300G of sugar.

The SG is a bit low, but that's not a source for fermentation problems. The yeast could be anything, but it's unlikely to be a problem.

As a beginner, patience is hard, especially as you don't have a good understanding of all that happens, and it's a lot of things.

The good news is that your wine is probably fine. Rack it and put it under airlock in a carboy. Ignore it for 2 weeks, then check SG again.

 

[candleboxcindy]

It is very true that patience and ignorance combined makes me anxious about this project luckily you guys patiently answer my questions. Thanks so much!

 

[Christopher Anderson]

As WM81 has stated multiple times: Patience Padawan, Patience. Good things happen to those who wait. Great wine occurs to those who wait much longer.