Time frames

[kaluba]

THis question was probably answered somewhere else but. About how long after you add the yeast do you transfer to the secondary? Then how long before usually before you rack again?

 

[Wade E]

there really is no time frame. Kits give you an idea but will always specify an SG to do this as some fermentations go fast and some slow. I recommend racking to glass at 1.020 if 6 gallon and 1.030 if it is a 1 or 2 gallon batch as these ferment very fast and yo could miss the window easily and lose the desirable C)2 cap and also stall the fermentation if transferred to late.

 

[kaluba]

I would be fermenting at about 72 to 76 degrees in my situation. Would that make 3 days 1 week, 2, or .....?

 

[kaluba]

Also how long can wine sit in a glass carboy until it goes bad.

 

[Wade E]

Kaluba, you really have to play it by ear as some yeasts and even different kinds of batches will ferment faster then others. If it is a 1 gallon batch Id say about 3 days then check it.

 

[Wade E]

If you keep up the SO2 level in the wine, a year or so. This also depends on the tannins in a wine, a good red wine like a Bordeaux will last many years while an apple wine may only last 2 or 3 years.

 

[kaluba]

so what your telling me is anywhere from 4 days - 2 weeks

 

[Wade E]

What size batch are you making kaluba as 1 gallon batches are typicall done fermenting in that time frame and will be in the clarification process. Ive seen you on this forum for some time but you still have to learn some patience as wine takes as long as it wants to take.

 

[kaluba]

im so patient i havent even started notuntil i have all the facts. I dont come home every day so i want to make sure i have the ideal time frame to insure a good quality wine. These questions are to make sure I can give them enough time to do what they must<

Edited by: kaluba

 

[Wade E]

That makes more sense now, sorry to say that there really is no time frame. All I can say is to make a bigger batch as it will give you a little more time. Small batches really go fast and catch you off guard but they will still be fine so dont fret. If for some reason you miss the fermentation youll still be Ok, youll just have to limit your open time a little more and protect it better by properly sulfiting it. You do have a hydrometer right as I wouldnt try this with out one and they are cheap enough?

 

[kaluba]

yes i do have a hydrometer. My wife and i were just discussing a peach tea wine. I have every thing i need for that minus the sugar. I got the recipe out of the purple handbook. I usually change my mind more than my close so bear with mefriends. I really enjoy the hobby mainly because of this site and the good people here.

 

[pelican]

im so patient i havent even started notuntil i have all the facts. I dont come home every day so i want to make sure i have the ideal time frame to insure a good quality wine. These questions are to make sure I can give them enough time to do what they must<

For what it's worth, I make 1 gallon batches, too - the last one was 48 hours from pitching the yeast in the primary bucket to moving it to the secondary glass jug ! SG started at 1.085, transfered it to the secondary at 1.008. That was pretty fast....

I had used a 3/4 of a packet of EC-1118 yeast and had made a yeast starter. Since the packet is good for 1 to 5 gallons, it's probably that if it's good enough to do 5 gallons in the "usually suggested time frame" it's a lot faster for nearly that same amount of yeast to gobble up only 1/5th the amount of sugar. That's my theory at least.

The batch before this one I had used 1/4 of that same packet of yeast, and it was all of 5 days in the bucket before I transfered to the secondary.

The one before that, it was again a whole packet and took all of 3 days to get the SG down to where it should be transfered.

You might try a whole packet if you can be home the next couple days and get it into the gallon before you "aren't home" again, or if it's going to be say, 5 days, use just a tsp of the yeast from the packet.

If you don't make a yeast starter (ie rehydrate the yeast in a jar of sugar water and get it going before you add it to your must), you might buy yourself another day's grace period while the yeast struggles to get going.

On the other hand, you did say "good quality wine" and I'm not sure if any of mine are "good quality" since I'm a newbie here too so

... and I also have underfloor heat where I set my fermenting bucket ... so your mileage, your yeast, and your wine's time from the bucket to the jug may vary!!

 

[kaluba]

Thanks thats exactly what I was looking for. Just guidance nothing concrete. Thanks again for your help.