WineXpert SG vs grape skin time in must

I tried my first kit with skins last week and I have another one waiting to start. The instructions said to rack at 7 days and that the sg should be below 1.010 by then. After 5 days my sg got to 1.001 so I was getting concerned and went ahead and racked. Now I am wondering if I should have given it the full 7'days to allow more time for the skins to be in the must.


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Norton, I think you did the right thing in racking at 1.001. Had you waited another two days, you could have been approaching a danger level from oxygen getting into your wine. There are many variables that affect the rate of fermentation and the guideline of 7 days is just that, a guideline. Have faith in your hydrometer.

I always give my wines a full 7 days in the primary fermenter, and they are typically still bubbling a bit when I rack. This is an indication that some CO2 is still being produced, protecting the wine. My SGs are typically in the .994 (or lower) range, and I have never lost a kit to biological or oxidation issues. As for the grape pack, if it was a rel gooey one, it might have still been fermenting in the bag, and at least you may have missed a little character. I agree with more skin contact in this case.

most of the benefit from grape skins color and tannin are derived in the first few days of the fermentation. racking when you did reduced the risk of spoilage a good trade against a small addition of tannin. if tannin is required it can be added during bulk aging with oak or powder.