Help !!

[DaDzWinery]

I just started a batch of welch's grape, Btw I am using actual juice not the canned concentrate... But i have a quick question, i mixed it yesterday (5 gallons) wanted to do 6gal, cause that's the size carboy i got... ran out of sugar and campden tablets.. added the yeast ealier today, now i have more of the camden and the sugar.. and ofcourse the rest of the ingredients... can i added another 1gal recipe to the 5 gal batch, even though i've already sprinkled my yeast ? cause i am sure i will have to mix the batch up again.. i have more yeast to sprinkle on top.. just need to know pretty quick so i can put it in if i can.. thanks

P.S. There is another Question i have at the bottom of the forum, please scroll down. Thanks

 

[buddy]

I just started a batch of welch's grape, Btw I am using actual juice not the canned concentrate... But i have a quick question, i mixed it yesterday (5 gallons) wanted to do 6gal, cause that's the size carboy i got... ran out of sugar and campden tablets.. added the yeast ealier today, now i have more of the camden and the sugar.. and ofcourse the rest of the ingredients... can i added another 1gal recipe to the 5 gal batch, even though i've already sprinkled my yeast ? cause i am sure i will have to mix the batch up again.. i have more yeast to sprinkle on top.. just need to know pretty quick so i can put it in if i can.. thanks

I don't think that there is anything wrong with what you intend to do.
You don't even have to add any more yeast. The yeast that is there will handle the extra gallon without any problem.

 

[DaDzWinery]

I don't think that there is anything wrong with what you intend to do.
You don't even have to add any more yeast. The yeast that is there will handle the extra gallon without any problem.

Ok, so its ok to stir the must after adding the yeast?.. I didn't know if it was more effective sprinkled and left on top.

 

[buddy]

Ok, so its ok to stir the must after adding the yeast?.. I didn't know if it was more effective sprinkled and left on top.

Go ahead and stir it up that way the yeast is distributed throughout the must.
When I sprinkle my yeast I only leave it on top until I see that it is rehydrated and active then I stir.

 

[joea132]

I leave the yeast starter solution on top for a day so it can slowly acclimate to its new environment.

 

[DaDzWinery]

Go ahead and stir it up that way the yeast is distributed throughout the must.
When I sprinkle my yeast I only leave it on top until I see that it is rehydrated and active then I stir.

Alright well i did it.. went a little over the 6 gal mark just to have some top off material. Measure the SG.. and it's still sitting right at 1.080, that's ok right? for a sweet table wine?. I just love that feeling of measuring everything thing out and the different smells every few hours.. I'm already addictted and it's only day 2.. lol

 

[Rocky]

If it is sitting at 1.080 and you ferment it to "dry" at about 0.995 you will have an ABV just a little over 11%. As far as sweetening or not, you need to make that decision after it has fermented and is stabilized with Potassium Sorbate. A while back, I made a batch just as you did, i.e. from Welch's juice, not concentrate. I started at SG 1.098 and took it to dry, then back sweetened it just a touch (about 1 T per liter of wine). Later I added an f-pack of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries and oaked it too. It is not bad, not a vintage wine to have with dinner, but really nice to sip on a lazy afternoon.

 

[DaDzWinery]

If it is sitting at 1.080 and you ferment it to "dry" at about 0.995 you will have an ABV just a little over 11%. As far as sweetening or not, you need to make that decision after it has fermented and is stabilized with Potassium Sorbate. A while back, I made a batch just as you did, i.e. from Welch's juice, not concentrate. I started at SG 1.098 and took it to dry, then back sweetened it just a touch (about 1 T per liter of wine). Later I added an f-pack of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries and oaked it too. It is not bad, not a vintage wine to have with dinner, but really nice to sip on a lazy afternoon.

New to the forum but what is it when you say ( about 1 T per liter of wine ) and also "f-pack" i am assuming you mean frozen ? thanks btw.. i plan on oaking it a little before bottling, since it's my first batch i want to be able to taste the final product, instead of adding oak and over doing it. thanks again

 

[Rocky]

When I wrote "about 1 T per liter of wine" I meant I used "one tablespoon (of sugar) per liter or wine." I made 23 liters or so and added 23 tablespoons of sugar (about 1.5 cups). An f-pack is a mixture of fruit and juices, either of the same fruit that is in the wine or a complementary fruit, to give the wine more taste and body. I made mine from raspberries, blueberries and blackberries which I heated on the stove top, stirred to break them down a little (not too hot), added some potassium sorbate, put the mixture into a straining bag and hung the bag in the wine for about two weeks. This was just for personal preference to soften the Concord taste. For the oak, I used a half cup of medium toast American oak chips and had them in the wine for about two weeks, also. Note that after the addition of the f-pack, I had to re-clarify the wine. It is now in a carboy and I will bottle it soon. BTW, I call this wine "Berry, Berry, Berry Concord" for obvious reasons.

One final recommendation, always "bench test" anything you plan to do with your wine. Work with a liter or so, do your additions until you arrive at a mixture that you like and then scale it up to the total batch.

 

[DaDzWinery]

When I wrote "about 1 T per liter of wine" I meant I used "one tablespoon (of sugar) per liter or wine." I made 23 liters or so and added 23 tablespoons of sugar (about 1.5 cups). An f-pack is a mixture of fruit and juices, either of the same fruit that is in the wine or a complementary fruit, to give the wine more taste and body. I made mine from raspberries, blueberries and blackberries which I heated on the stove top, stirred to break them down a little (not too hot), added some potassium sorbate, put the mixture into a straining bag and hung the bag in the wine for about two weeks. This was just for personal preference to soften the Concord taste. For the oak, I used a half cup of medium toast American oak chips and had them in the wine for about two weeks, also. Note that after the addition of the f-pack, I had to re-clarify the wine. It is now in a carboy and I will bottle it soon. BTW, I call this wine "Berry, Berry, Berry Concord" for obvious reasons.

One final recommendation, always "bench test" anything you plan to do with your wine. Work with a liter or so, do your additions until you arrive at a mixture that you like and then scale it up to the total batch.

Thanks alot..

 

[DaDzWinery]

OK.. one more question.. My yeast hasn't seemed to really kick off after 2 days... there are a small layer of bubbles on top, but nothing impressive.. Here's my worry.. the yeast i bought has on the back of the pack to soak in 100 deg water before adding.. My supply store told me to just sprinkle on top.. should i do another pack of yeast the way it says on the pack or am i good and being impatient ? I just wonder if i should have gotten the dry active yeast ( i think thats what you call it ).. ?

 

[DaDzWinery]

Bump for anybody,, Just wondering if i need to do something before i ruin it or is it ok ? my question is above.. the type of ingredients is in my first post.. thanks

 

[Wade E]

What type of yeast is this. Cotes Des Blanc and a few others will not be a huge foamy mess like others and are picked for this reason for a nice slow ferment so as to not burn off all the fruity esters with a vigorous fermentation. Did you add any nutrient and or yeast energizer to this batch? If not you really should be doing so!

 

[DaDzWinery]

What type of yeast is this. Cotes Des Blanc and a few others will not be a huge foamy mess like others and are picked for this reason for a nice slow ferment so as to not burn off all the fruity esters with a vigorous fermentation. Did you add any nutrient and or yeast energizer to this batch? If not you really should be doing so!

The yeast i used is the Lalvin 71B-1122 .. for a red/rose wine.. I did use yeast nutrients, not energizer as i am looking at letting this one sit and doing a few racks.. I'm just not getting much reaction as fast as i thought i would, there is a small layer of bubbles/muck on the top, i stir it once a day ( 2 days now) I figured it might be too cool in the closet, I don't have a thermometer right now, so i put an outdoor thermometer in there and the closet temp was right at 70, I put one of those Clamp on lights in there to bring the heat up and that seems to keep the closet right at 75-77 degrees.. and i've seen more action.. Should i hydrate a pack of yeast, is it too late, am i just expecting too much too soon .. lol . ? it's smells fermenty ( my word ). .. Also would like to add that the SG level has not moved off of 1.080 in three days.

 

[SBWs]

Just wondering...

I just started a batch of welch's grape, Btw I am using actual juice not the canned concentrate... But i have a quick question, i mixed it yesterday (5 gallons) wanted to do 6gal, cause that's the size carboy i got... ran out of sugar and campden tablets.. added the yeast ealier today, now i have more of the camden and the sugar.. and ofcourse the rest of the ingredients... can i added another 1gal recipe to the 5 gal batch, even though i've already sprinkled my yeast ? cause i am sure i will have to mix the batch up again.. i have more yeast to sprinkle on top.. just need to know pretty quick so i can put it in if i can.. thanks

P.S. There is another Question i have at the bottom of the forum, please scroll down. Thanks

Just wondering, did you add more campden tablets after the yeast started to ferment?

 

[Wade E]

Sounds like you have fermentation going. But are you sure you are getting accurate readings with the sg as that makes it sound like it hasnt done anything yet. Maybe you should get another yeast started to get it going good or get it going at all. Not every batch of wine will be all foamy and frothy. Are you sure there werent any preservatives in the juice you used? It is still a little early so maybe this yeast will start making some wine faster in a few especially by bringing the temp up.

 

[DaDzWinery]

Just wondering, did you add more campden tablets after the yeast started to ferment?

No just added 1 per gallon at the begining then let set for 24 hours before yeasting..

 

[DaDzWinery]

Sounds like you have fermentation going. But are you sure you are getting accurate readings with the sg as that makes it sound like it hasnt done anything yet. Maybe you should get another yeast started to get it going good or get it going at all. Not every batch of wine will be all foamy and frothy. Are you sure there werent any preservatives in the juice you used? It is still a little early so maybe this yeast will start making some wine faster in a few especially by bringing the temp up.

I said the heck with it and went ahead and hydrated a pack of yeast and as i added it to my must.. I started to stir and it was fizzing like a coke just poured into a glass.. Does that mean the yeast is finally active and if so did i mess up by putting in that extra hydrated pack ?

 

[SBWs]

One more question...

How did you add your sugar?

 

[DaDzWinery]

How did you add your sugar?

In the begining just stirred in a cup at a time as i stirred.. everything was very blended..