Can this be Salvaged?

[donna1630]

Back to wine making after accident and sickness.
First day back and checked the blackberry wine I started Sep 2022. Last time I did anything with it was near the end of Nov 2022 when I was transferring the wine into fresh containers. The first thing I did today was take the specific gravity and my hydrometer reads 0.988. I can't remember enough about wine making to know what I should do with this other than transfer it to clean containers to clarify the liquid.
Can anyone point me in the correct direction ? If you need more details I have them.

 

[ratflinger]

If those containers were airlocked then you should be okay. It should be clear by now, but it would be okay to rack it one more time, be sure to add kmeta. I'd have a taste, see how it's coming along.


I'm glad that you feel good enough to get back into the wine.

 

[donna1630]

Thanks for the reply.
I have to ask what is kmeta and do you add it a day before racking or???
Seeing that my hydrometer reading today was 0.988, does that not mean there is no alcohol in this batch?
And, yes, everything was air locked and I was surprised that the air locks still had the water in them. So that part seems to be okay.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Taste?
Wine is a food preservation system. Microbiology wise once we are over 5% ABV it is low risk. The question then turns toward taste or off flavor creation. You are lucky the air lock was good, if you let air in then you probably made blackberry vinegar, ,,, which could be really tasty.

 

[ratflinger]

Thanks for the reply.
I have to ask what is kmeta and do you add it a day before racking or???
Seeing that my hydrometer reading today was 0.988, does that not mean there is no alcohol in this batch?
And, yes, everything was air locked and I was surprised that the air locks still had the water in them. So that part seems to be okay.

Potassium Metabisulphite - generally every 3 months during bulk aging. At least when you rack. 1/4 tsp per 6 gal. If your hydrometer is at 0.998 then you have no sugar, it's all been converted to alcohol.

I think that studying the following section will help you greatly:

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/forums/beginners-wine-making-forum.5/

 

[donna1630]

Thank you for enlightening me re the kmeta. Ihave gone back to the site Beginners' Wine Making Forum ;ike you suggested; of course I had read it before, but it is just what I needed now to get clear about a lot of things. Of course, some of the things I remembered, but I definitely needed this refresher. Thanks for pointing it out.
I really do appreciate your answering my questions; it is very kind of you to give up your time. Thanks.

 

[donna1630]

I've gone back to re-reading a lot of stuff about wine making Rice_Guy and some things are again falling into place. Thanks for your comments. Since I've re-read stuff and my notes from 2022 and if my calculations are correct, this batch of Blackberry Wine is running around 13%(%Vol.)
Had a drink last night just to see and it certainly seemed okay to me.
This stuff had very little waste at the bottom {really have to re-read the site Common Wine Terms) so I may be into bottling next time I rack.

 

[ChuckD]

I've gone back to re-reading a lot of stuff about wine making Rice_Guy and some things are again falling into place. Thanks for your comments. Since I've re-read stuff and my notes from 2022 and if my calculations are correct, this batch of Blackberry Wine is running around 13%(%Vol.)
Had a drink last night just to see and it certainly seemed okay to me.
This stuff had very little waste at the bottom {really have to re-read the site Common Wine Terms) so I may be into bottling next time I rack.

Sucess! Did you try back sweetening a little? A little bit really brings out the fruit flavor.

 

[donna1630]

No, as of yet did not back sweeten. I should have a friend in so together wcan voice our opinions. Sounds like that could be a fun evening

 

[ChuckD]

No, as of yet did not back sweeten. I should have a friend in so together wcan voice our opinions. Sounds like that could be a fun evening

Yes indeed. Make sure to add potassium sorbate so you don’t get renewed fermentation