I racked to secondary fermentation 7 days ago into glass carboy. I had starting SG of 1.095 and now today's SG is 1.000 after 14 days of total fermentation time. I used Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast and was trying to get a drier wine. Using the formula of (starting SG-Final SG)/7.32 would give me an alcohol equiv. of about 12.2% which was my goal. I don't see any more bubbles in my carboy any longer. This sounds stupid but would I consider this fermentation done? My next step is to re-rack with sorbate and k-meta to stop any more fermentation that might occur? Would that be right? I am using fresh grapes too, if that helps.
Secondary fermentation done?
- Thread starter mr2step
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At 1.000 it may not be completely done. The last bits of sugar may very slowly be digested by what remaining yeast you have.
If you are making a dry wine you DO NOT need to add sorbate. And you should not add sorbate. It does not stop fermentation. Sorbate only prevents yeast from multiplying. It will not kill the yeast that is present. They will happily munch away on any sugar left.
The best process for making a wine that is not completely dry is to ferment to dryness, let it clear and rack as normal protecting with k-meta. A few weeks before you plan to bottle you can sweeten and add sorbate. Make sure it doesn't start refermenting and then bottle.
If it is only 14 days since the beginning I would leave it be for a couple more weeks or even longer. Then rack the clearer wine off any lees that have settled and add k-meta at that time. Rack every couple of months or so until it is clear. If you are not testing for SO2 I would recommend adding a minimum dose of k-meta every other racking. But follow your nose and taste to make sure you are not over-sulfiting.
If you are making a dry wine you DO NOT need to add sorbate. And you should not add sorbate. It does not stop fermentation. Sorbate only prevents yeast from multiplying. It will not kill the yeast that is present. They will happily munch away on any sugar left.
The best process for making a wine that is not completely dry is to ferment to dryness, let it clear and rack as normal protecting with k-meta. A few weeks before you plan to bottle you can sweeten and add sorbate. Make sure it doesn't start refermenting and then bottle.
If it is only 14 days since the beginning I would leave it be for a couple more weeks or even longer. Then rack the clearer wine off any lees that have settled and add k-meta at that time. Rack every couple of months or so until it is clear. If you are not testing for SO2 I would recommend adding a minimum dose of k-meta every other racking. But follow your nose and taste to make sure you are not over-sulfiting.
GreginND-Thanks for your input! This is my first go at this wine thing. Will leaving the airlock on be ok at this point or should I top it off and put a solid bung on it? I only filled carboy up to the shoulder because I had read that foaming may occur. I never got any foam and have a good 8 inches of headroom left in the carboy. Just wondering if I should top it off with a smaller jug I have from same pressing and cap with solid bung.
If you don't see bubbles it would be best to top it up. But you should not seal it with a solid bung. Leave the airlock on. I keep my wines under airlock for months (even more than a year) until I bottle it. You do want the dissolved CO2 to evaporate out of it which takes significant time.
mmadmikes1
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Only you hydrometer can tell you if fermentation is finished. I also do not over rack wine. Fine lees dont hurt anything but you loss wine with every racking and expose to O2 every time as well. This is not ment as a argument, it is just a different way of doing thing and why I do what I do
