Did i mess up???

[kirkusn]

So i had 6 gallons of chardonnay in the primary before adding the yeast i added 6 camden tablets. The wine fermented for 5 days and i moved it into a carboy. when i moved it in to the carboy.

Here is where i think i went wrong....... i added 20ppm of SO2 when i moved it into the carboy for 2nd fermentation. Should i have not done that or waited to do that?? i dont know when i had got that from but something had told me to do it. So am i OK? or is there anythink i need or can do?

Thanks!

 

[Julie]

I am not sure I am understanding what you did. Can you tell us all that you did? And sg readings as well?

 

[kirkusn]

i guess my question is have i added too much SO2? i added 6 camden tablets before the primary fermentation and once i transfered the wine into a carboy i added a 10% solution on so2 equivelent to 20ppm. So im just wondering if by adding it the second time will hurt anything. i will give you the sg ready once i get home from work

Thanks!

 

[Tom]

Without gravity readings its hard to say.

If when you racked the wine was not dry .990 then YES you stunned the yeast and may have stopped fermentation.

We need the starting gravity, what it was when you racked and what it is now PLUS what you did by days and when you did it

Your question is like going to the doctors saying you dont feel good and then ask him if you will die. Not enough info!

 

[kirkusn]

Without gravity readings its hard to say.

If when you racked the wine was not dry .990 then YES you stunned the yeast and may have stopped fermentation.

We need the starting gravity, what it was when you racked and what it is now PLUS what you did by days and when you did it

Your question is like going to the doctors saying you dont feel good and then ask him if you will die. Not enough info![/QUOTE

Here is what ive done......

Started out with 10 gallons of juice/wine i strained out 6 gallons of only juice and put it in the primary fermenter. I then added 6 camden tablets and let it sit for about 20 hrs

The next day i added 1 packet of Lalvin D-47 yeast. The next day the juice started "bubbling" really heavy. The 5th day there was just a fue patches of bubbles on the top of the wine. I tested the wine with my hydrometer by putting it in the bucket and it showed .990 (heres where im lost i did not have a hydrometer during the first fue days "failure i know" and the .990 i saw kinda confused me was the number i was seeing right? i ordered a new hydrometer and thief that i will recive tomorrow)

So seeing the .990 and the wine slowed down i decided to transfer the wine into a carboy when i transfered it into the new carboy i added 20ppm... here is where i got that idea from.. i purchased some carboys and a bunch of wine supplies from a guy that was getting out of the wine making businness 5 gallon glass for $10 each he had about 15-20 of them i think i scored? so he told me once i moved the wine over to the carboy to add the SO2 i did it but after i did it i was reading on line and i thought that i may have messed up.

Today the wine in the carboy is has a steady bubble going out of the airlock everysecond or two with a ton of bubbles rolling up the sides of the glass.


Im sorry for all the post and confusion i found a great opportunity to get grapes for free so i figued i would just jump into it in the dark and hopfully make something i can drink and im defanitly learning alot!

 

[robie]

Don't feel sorry. If people don't ask questions, there is not much use in having a forum.

If the bubbling is that steady, it could still be fermenting, but if the SG is truly .990, I doubt it is still fermenting. Regardless, you can't go by bubbling; go by what your hydrometer says.

You possibly may have added a little too much Kmeta (campden tablets), but all is not lost. The wine still can recover nicely.

I am having a little problem with the SG reading you took. Make sure you are reading the specific gravity scale and not one of the other scales.

Do this:
Takes some of the wine and strain it through a coffee filter. This way the solids in the wine won't interfere with the SG reading. Strain enough to fill the cylindrical container in which your hydrometer came. Put the hydrometer in and spin it to dislodge any bubbles on the hydrometer. Once it stops spinning, take the SG reading in this cylinder and let us know what it is.

 

[kirkusn]

So i checked the SG tonight with a new hydrometer as well as the one i had been using i got a reading of .990 with both i then filtered the wine through a coffee filter and checked it with both again and got a .990....... So am i ok? What shall i do next or need to do? The wine has really slowed down bubbling quite a bit.

Thanks!

 

[Julie]

I think you will be ok, leave it sit, once it clears, rack it again.

 

[ffemt128]

I agree, you should be fine. Let it sit, let the sediment settle out, rack in 30 days, then continue to let sit until clear. Once clear and degassed you can stabilize with sorbate and back sweeten if needed.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Yup - you will be fine - with an SG of .990 - fermentation is complete. If you were seeing bubbles - good chance it might have been degassing a bit - or it might have started MLF naturally with the chardonnay. Chances are it was letting off some CO2.

 

[kirkusn]

So everything looks to be going good with the chardonnay i have a good layer of sediment on the bottom and the wine is clearing up good. I was thinking about racking today and add the oak spirals. Is it too soon and Is there any additives i should add when i rack ?


my next experiment will be starting so ya'll look forward to some new questions next week!

 

[robie]

I tried reading the previous posts, but I am not sure just where you are in wine making steps.
Did you rack after fermentation ended? If you did, I would let it fully clear before racking again. Being a chardonnay, setting on the lees won't hurt it, if it is sealed away from all air.
How long has it been clearing?
Did you degas the wine before starting clearing?
At what temperature is the wine while it is clearing?
Did you add Kmeta after fermentation ended and before you started the clearing process? You should have.

Again, make sure the wine is under an air lock during clearing.

 

[kirkusn]

The wine was .990 when i moved it from the primary into the secondary i added potasium metabisufite at that time. its been 14 days since i put it from the primary into a carboy. I have not added or have done anything to the wine since then. I have not degassed it either. its in a room thats about 75*F It is under airlock. I also have a refridgerator i can put it in also if that is better

 

[robie]

The wine was .990 when i moved it from the primary into the secondary i added potasium metabisufite at that time. its been 14 days since i put it from the primary into a carboy. I have not added or have done anything to the wine since then. I have not degassed it either. its in a room thats about 75*F It is under airlock.

OK. For the next time you make wine, the wine should have been moved from primary to secondary when the SG was somewhere in the range of 1.020 to 1.010. The wine should be left in secondary until the SG is below about 1.000 and also as not dropped anymore for three days in a row. (The stabilizing dose of Kmeta should not be added until after the wine is dry from secondary.)

Different instructions say to do things a little differently after dry, but after dry, I would rack the wine to a clean carboy, add Kmeta, and degas with the wine at a temperature of about 75F. If you are going to use a clarifier, also add it in at this time. (Some clarifiers want lots of sediment present to work properly. If you add such a clarifier (I wouldn't), make sure you stir up the sediment some before you rack to clean carboy.)
....
This time:
Since you added the Kmeta after the wine was dry, you should be OK there.

If I understand correctly, you are in the clearing stage. Since you have not degassed, the wine may never clear properly. Let me know if I am not, but if all I have assumed so far is correct, here's what I would do:

I would rack to a clean carboy now.
If you want to add a clarifier, which is optional, add it to the wine in the clean carboy.
Degas the wine.
Let the wine clear. Because you need to taste test for oak, you shouldn't add the oak spiral until the wine is clear.
Once clear, rack again to start aging; add oak at that time and taste periodically to make sure wine is not over-oaked.

 

[kirkusn]

OK. For the next time you make wine, the wine should have been moved from primary to secondary when the SG was somewhere in the range of 1.020 to 1.010. The wine should be left in secondary until the SG is below about 1.000 and also as not dropped anymore for three days in a row. (The stabilizing dose of Kmeta should not be added until after the wine is dry from secondary.)

Different instructions say to do things a little differently after dry, but after dry, I would rack the wine to a clean carboy, add Kmeta, and degas with the wine at a temperature of about 75F. If you are going to use a clarifier, also add it in at this time. (Some clarifiers want lots of sediment present to work properly. If you add such a clarifier (I wouldn't), make sure you stir up the sediment some before you rack to clean carboy.)
....
This time:
Since you added the Kmeta after the wine was dry, you should be OK there.

If I understand correctly, you are in the clearing stage. Since you have not degassed, the wine may never clear properly. Let me know if I am not, but if all I have assumed so far is correct, here's what I would do:

I would rack to a clean carboy now.
If you want to add a clarifier, which is optional, add it to the wine in the clean carboy.
Degas the wine.
Let the wine clear. Because you need to taste test for oak, you shouldn't add the oak spiral until the wine is clear.
Once clear, rack again to start aging; add oak at that time and taste periodically to make sure wine is not over-oaked.

You are correct with everything. I didnt have a hydrometer when i started and once i recieved on after 5 days in the primary the wine was already .990 i bought another one thinking it was not accurate and it showed the same thing.

So will rack today, degass im not going to add a clarifier. When do you consider wine "clear" so i will know when to add the oak? I also have access to a filter/pump whenever i want to use it.

 

[robie]

You are correct with everything. I didnt have a hydrometer when i started and once i recieved on after 5 days in the primary the wine was already .990 i bought another one thinking it was not accurate and it showed the same thing.

So will rack today, degass im not going to add a clarifier. When do you consider wine "clear" so i will know when to add the oak? I also have access to a filter/pump whenever i want to use it.

Having two hydrometers on hand is always a good idea since they are so breakable.

Without a clarifier, it could take up to several months to clear. It will clear faster at a higher temperature; above 70F is best. I don't always use a clarifier, either.

When you can read a newspaper through the carboy of wine, it is clear. Basically, regardless of how natural dark the color of the chardonnay is, when you see no cloudiness and it looks nice and clear, it is ready for filtering.

Don't try to filter until the wine is clear. If not clear, it will stop up your filter very quickly and you will go through many filter pads before you are done.

Filtering really only polishes a wine; makes it look pristine and bright. It won't work well with a cloudy wine.

If you already know exactly how long you are going to leave the oak in the wine and don't need to do any taste tests, you can always add the oak in while it is clearing. This can be dangerous, since the wine could end up over oaked. I would wait, so I can taste test.

Since this is a white wine, it can be very susceptible to oxidation, so you will need to make sure your free SO2 levels are correct for the wine. If you have a test kit, use it. If you don't, when you rack after clearing, I would add between 1/8 and 1/4 tsp of kmeta to your cleared wine.

It's best if you can actually test for free SO2.

 

[kirkusn]

So since the last post i degassed the wine and let it start clearing when i racked it to let it start clearing it already had a thick layer of sediment on the bottom. So now Its been sitting in a closet around 75*. It is looking really good.

My quetion is the 2 week that its been sitting clearing to fast for it to actually clear? I compared a sample of it to a a bottle of chard i had in the fridge and they looked the same. Should i be letting it sit for a lot longer time or is this amout of time ok?

I was thinking about racking it and adding the oak. Another question how do i prepare the oak spirals to put in the carboy (soak them or anything)?