How long should my airlock bubble?

[zrhanson]

Hello all! So here's my question. I am currently making 1.5 gallons of strawberry-dandelion wine and fermentation seems to be over really quickly...

I had it in the primary fermentation bucket for about a week, till I noticed fermentation going down, then I racked it into my secondaries. That was maybe a week and a half to two weeks ago. Since then, fermentation has been going well, and then today I noticed that the airlocks have stopped bubbling, and the pressure seems to have equalized (I use the s-shaped airlocks, if that helps). Now the wine suddenly seems to have gotten a lot clearer, and the sediment on the bottom of the secondaries has quickly amassed. Now, I was under the impression that once you moved it into the secondary that fermentation was supposed to continue for around a month or two... did I just read something wrong? Or did I ruin my wine? If not, should I rack it now? How long about should the yeast be actively fermenting my wine?

I also just ordered a hydrometer that should be here in a day or two, but I do not have one available at the moment....

Thanks in advance!

 

[Julie]

Having a hydrometer it the first piece of equipment you should have. This will tell you whether or not your wine is still fermenting. There is no specific time to a fermentation, There are several factors that are in play when your wine if fermeting, depending on what kind it is, the weather, how much nutrients, acid, will guide the speed of your fermentation. By the sounds of it the fermetation is done but I would wait until you have the hydrometer to check it.

 

[DoctorCAD]

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[shoebiedoo]

Ditto julie said. Also. I'm sure your wine is fine. It hasn't been in the lees long enough to do anything, that's for sure. the fermentation really slows down towards the end. it might bubble every minute or so. Be patient grasshopper, when your hydrometer comes you will be armed with better facts

 

[shoebiedoo]

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[winemaker_3352]

Julie's right - you need to take SG readings along the way. This will determine starting SG, when to rack to secondary, when fermentation is complete (ending SG), and the ability to calculate the ABV.

It sounds like you are close if not finished fermenting - get the hydrometer and take your SG readings.

When your SG is below 1.000 for 3 consecutive days - consider fermentation complete.

 

[JohnT]

Agree with all the above. I would also add that the amount of time your wine spend fermenting is reall a function of the sugar content and temperature of your must.

 

[zrhanson]

Thanks for all the info! I got my hydrometer and it was definitely done fermenting! I racked it all and now I'm just waiting to rack it again here in a few weeks!