[bhmjones]

I've read a whole lot on wine making and get more confused the more I read. For instance, I have read that when fermenting you should aerate the must in the beginning to give the yeast some oxygen, but then use airlock to prevent further oxidation, but then I read another place where it says just use a pillowcase or some other type of covering that will allow gas to escape but keep bugs out, not necessarily an airlock. That's the first thing that confused me since a pillowcase would seemingly certainly allow oxygen in the whole time and certainly would allow oxygen in if you had to open it to take a sg reading. Another thing that confuses me is that in one place I'm reading that splashing is good during the first racking, but then in another place I read where splashing is bad during the first racking.

Can any of you clear this up?

One other thing I'm worried about is that I'm currently attempting my very first wine batch and it fermented like crazy the first few days judging by the burping the airlock was doing, but now 5 days later the burping has all but ceased. Is that okay?

Thanks
Brad

[mikev63]

Just follow instructions from your Kit. Those are the best instructions you can use.

[Arne]

Splash racking, introducing oxygen to your wine can be benificial. If you have a ways to go on your ferment, the extra oxygen can help the yeast ferment to dry. The loose cover on top will allow oxygen to get into the container, but will keep bugs and dirt out. I have to put a lid on top as the wife has a new kitten, but do not snap it down. Just a tea towel and layt the lid on. As long as your wine is still fermenting, adding the oxygen to it should help it, and if you are getting any off oders in it, the oxygen can help to get rid of them.
You should be stirring the must every day, I usually stir it twice a day when the ferment is in the primary. Here again we are introducing oxygen to the must to help it finish fermenting. When the specific gravity gets down to 1.010 or so, then it is time to snap the lid and airlock on. Your wine sounds like you might be getting down to that point or lower. When it gets below 1.000 and stays the same for 3 days or longer, it is time to rack it to your secondary. At that time, you can stabilize it, add sulfite, and add a clearing agent. Then time to sit back and watch it for a while, let it get clear, sweeten if you like and down the road a ways bottle. Good luck with it, Arne.

[Rocky]

As Mike advises, look at the directions. You should see reference to primary and secondary fermentation. In Primary fermentation, the process is vigorous and gives off a great amount of CO2. Because of this outgassing, there is little to no possibility of oxygen invading the wine to any great (harmful) extent. In secondary fermentation (beginning variously at SG 1.020-1.040), the process slows somewhat so some protection against oxygen (i.e. an airlock) is needed. In primary fermentation, therefore, you do not need to cover the fermenter with anything other than a cloth to protect against foreign matter falling into the wine. In secondary, you need the airlock.

In your particular wine, what was the initial SG? What is the SG at present? It sounds like you had it in a carboy the whole time because you had an airlock on it. During primary fermentation (aeorbic) you do need some exposure to air to help the yeast work. Take the SG now and see what it is. You many have a stuck fermentation.

EDIT: Sorry Arne, I was typing while you were answering. I did not mean to step on your reply which was excellent.

[hobbyiswine]

Disclaimer: I am not a pro at this! But...from what I have heard and read it sounds like following the kit instructions is the best way to go for newbies. I put my first batch under an airlock in the primary and have just let it do its thing. Seems that if you mix it well and have the temperature right it will mostly take care of itself.

That being said it is hard to resist the impulse to mess with it

For non-kit wines it seems there are a million little changes you can make along the way. I would say try it and see if it works (stirring, not stirring, splashing when racking, airlock, no airlock, etc.). I am trying to keep good notes so that down the road I can look back and see what seemed to work best. It's all one big learning experiment!

[bhmjones]

Originally Posted by mikev63

Just follow instructions from your Kit. Those are the best instructions you can use.

Thanks Mike

[bhmjones]

Originally Posted by Arne

Splash racking, introducing oxygen to your wine can be benificial. If you have a ways to go on your ferment, the extra oxygen can help the yeast ferment to dry. The loose cover on top will allow oxygen to get into the container, but will keep bugs and dirt out. I have to put a lid on top as the wife has a new kitten, but do not snap it down.

This helps tremendously as I also have a new kitten. I had my lid snapped tight and wasn't allowing any oxygen in, so I think I now know why my fermentation has slowed so dramatically.

Just a tea towel and layt the lid on. As long as your wine is still fermenting, adding the oxygen to it should help it, and if you are getting any off oders in it, the oxygen can help to get rid of them.
You should be stirring the must every day, I usually stir it twice a day when the ferment is in the primary. Here again we are introducing oxygen to the must to help it finish fermenting. When the specific gravity gets down to 1.010 or so, then it is time to snap the lid and airlock on. Your wine sounds like you might be getting down to that point or lower. When it gets below 1.000 and stays the same for 3 days or longer, it is time to rack it to your secondary.

Is this true even if the instructions say to wait 14 days? If I understand you correctly, it isn't the amount of time that matters, it is simply the hydrometer readings that matter.... correct?

At that time, you can stabilize it, add sulfite, and add a clearing agent. Then time to sit back and watch it for a while, let it get clear, sweeten if you like and down the road a ways bottle. Good luck with it, Arne.

Thanks for the reply

[PCharles]

I appreciate your confusion. The practice of using a sheet or cloth over the must is legitimate. This practice is usually used with freshly crushed grapes and fruit wines. For example, this past year I helped out at a local vineyard. After crushing red grapes, the must was pumped into a large fermenter (say about 250 gallons). Sheets were draped over the fermenter to keep bugs out. Keep in mind that freshly crushed red grapes have the skins in the fermenter. The skins float to the top forming a very thick cap that is often a 12-24 inches thick. This cap is punched down about three times per day. Pumps are used to pump the juice onto of the plug. These pumps are usually controlled by a timer so the winemaker does not need to be there in the middle of the night. The sheet is kept over the wine for about a week until the SG is 1.000 or lower. At that point the wine below the cap is pumped out and the remaining skins that made up the cap are pressed. This wine is now placed in a keg or carboy and air locked. At this point malolactic fermentation is initiated by adding MLF bacteria.

I used a sheet on top of my 12 gallons of apple wine during its initial fermentation also. After 7-10 days, when fermentation is complete, the wine was moved into a carboy and air locked.

Kits are different in that most instructions have the wine in your primary fermenter with a closed rather than using a cloth. I figure the closed lid provides a level of protection for the wine… keep in mind you will not have a cap like you normally would with fresh grape wine or fruit wine. As the others suggested, follow kit instructions.

[bhmjones]

Originally Posted by Rocky

As Mike advises, look at the directions. You should see reference to primary and secondary fermentation. In Primary fermentation, the process is vigorous and gives off a great amount of CO2. Because of this outgassing, there is little to no possibility of oxygen invading the wine to any great (harmful) extent.

Okay, see this is confusing to me since Arne above states that oxygen during primary is not harmful, but if I'm reading you correctly, you are saying it potentially is.

In secondary fermentation (beginning variously at SG 1.020-1.040), the process slows somewhat so some protection against oxygen (i.e. an airlock) is needed. In primary fermentation, therefore, you do not need to cover the fermenter with anything other than a cloth to protect against foreign matter falling into the wine. In secondary, you need the airlock.

In your particular wine, what was the initial SG?

Initial sg was 1.055

What is the SG at present?

It is now 1.000

Should I add more sugar?

It sounds like you had it in a carboy the whole time because you had an airlock on it.

No, I had it in a 6 gal fermenting bucket with a tight lid and airlock.

During primary fermentation (aeorbic) you do need some exposure to air to help the yeast work. Take the SG now and see what it is. You many have a stuck fermentation.

EDIT: Sorry Arne, I was typing while you were answering. I did not mean to step on your reply which was excellent.

[PCharles]

Here are a few pics of red wine being made. One pic shows wine being pumped into a large plastic fermenter while the other shows wine that has been kept in a large stainless steel tank. In both cases you can see the skin cap. It would be normal practice to have a sheet over both of these fermenters.