Wine gravity @ .995 in 7 days?

[Caltus]

Hi I'm new and only only my second kit. My first was a fruit wine and it turned out fine. but I have a few questions I can't find answers to.
The kit on now day 8. It's already at .995 and supposed to be racked at day 10 and it's reading almost done 12 days early. I'm concerned the the wine is done too fast for a secondary fermentation of 10 days it calls for and will not generate enough co2 to protect it.
So I racked it today for secondary and hope it still has a bit more to go.
If wine is 12 days early should I move right to clearing step ? Or still wait for more sediment to drop first?
I read somewhere that getting the wine off the sediment is important as it effects the flavour if sits on it for you long. Is this true? How long is too long?
After first transfer I sucked up some sediment not being able to see thru the red. Can this really mess up a wine having to let that settle out again?
should I be supplementing co2 to prevent oxidation in later racking?
Sorry for do many noob questions however any advise is appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[sour_grapes]

Don't worry, be happy. If you have it in a carboy now, it will be fine for some time. There is no rush to clear AT ALL. You don't ever actually have to do a "clearing" step. You can just let time do it for you.

The only real concern is when to add k-meta (potassium metabisulfite). This protects your wine against oxidation and spoilage. You don't want too long for this, but it will be fine for ~weeks in its present condition.

If it were my wine, I think I would wait the ~10 or 12 more days, let the sediment settle, re-rack, and add k-meta at that time.

 

[jgmann67]

Don't worry, be happy. If you have it in a carboy now, it will be fine for some time. There is no rush to clear AT ALL. You don't ever actually have to do a "clearing" step. You can just let time do it for you.

The only real concern is when to add k-meta (potassium metabisulfite). This protects your wine against oxidation and spoilage. You don't want too long for this, but it will be fine for ~weeks in its present condition.

If it were my wine, I think I would wait the ~10 or 12 more days, let the sediment settle, re-rack, and add k-meta at that time.

Absolutely!

Did your red wine kit come with skins? If so, take a look at some of the threads on extended maceration. Wine sitting on the skins undisturbed for 6-9 weeks before racking to maximize extracting all the grapey goodness - improved body, color and complexity.

A week or two in a primary really can't hurt your wine.

 

[Caltus]

no skins. It’s a basic kit with wood chips. Plan on better kits later after I work out any bugs in my process first. My carboy is a new wide mouth plastic and there is a a lot of extra air space. That is what I should have mentioned earlier. All that extra air space and it’s too early to top off I’m reading. ( from what I read so far, top off after secondary is complete and k- meta is added). So I think I’m on track. All that extra air space and so little activity left is a bit concerning tho.

 

[salcoco]

make sure you are under a air lock and you have added k-meta, should be okay.

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi Caltus - and welcome.
For what it's worth here is my thinking: wide mouth carboys are great for brewing beer and for using as a primary in wine making but I think the relatively large surface area of the wine does not make for a great vessel for use as a secondary or aging wine (beer is packaged about a month - six weeks after pitching). More "traditional" carboys and demijohns have very narrow necks so the surface area is quite small. Can you really "top off" a wide mouth fermenter?

 

[Caltus]

Think I’ll pick up a small mouth tonight. The batch is 6 gallons. I’m sure that would take 2 -3 liters to top off which is a bit more then I would like. The wine store sold this as a kit with a pail for primary. I don’t like the pail as you can’t see your siphon hose which don’t help. Your right. I’m thinking it’s designed better for primary with the extra headspace more for yeast.. thanks everyone for the input. I’ll leave it settle out for a day or 2 and siphon it off the sediment and add k meta in a better carboy. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

 

[Donatelo]

If you need a carboy, Wal Mart has 1, 3 and 5 gallon water jugs for sale. Usually near the water refill station. They are relatively cheap and food quality plastic. You'll need a #10 drilled bung and an airlock.

 

[BernardSmith]

Think I’ll pick up a small mouth tonight. The batch is 6 gallons. I’m sure that would take 2 -3 liters to top off which is a bit more then I would like. The wine store sold this as a kit with a pail for primary. I don’t like the pail as you can’t see your siphon hose which don’t help. Your right. I’m thinking it’s designed better for primary with the extra headspace more for yeast.. thanks everyone for the input. I’ll leave it settle out for a day or 2 and siphon it off the sediment and add k meta in a better carboy. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Not sure you really need to see the siphon and if you cannot then the bucket is not useful. You can always simply lower your siphon a few inches above the bottom and attach it to the bucket with a clamp or peg of some kind and when the level drops enough you can then push the siphon down further. But in any event even if you siphon up a little of the sediment that is not going to do any harm. Sure, you will need to rack this again before you bottle but IMO, you will want to rack your wine again - several times - before you bottle and the reality is (I think) that capturing some lees in fact helps with clearing the wine (ironic, I know).

 

[rustbucket]

My kit wines ferment at the same pace as yours. I live in Miami. My house is where fermentation takes place. While I keep the house at 76 degrees, the wine gets warmer than that during active fermentation.