Top up to much?

[Skyshark93]

Hi all,
I am new to the wine making process. So far I have enjoyed watching the progress. I do have a question though, after I added the yeast to the must, bubbles were flowing, I checked the sg at 1.040, siphoned to the carboy and installed the air lock. Well I had some must left over so I put it in another carboy, thus added water to top up. First carboy is still fermenting, second has stopped. My question would be is it possible the topping up diluted the wine or should I add more sugar to restart the fermentation? Any information would be grateful.

Thank you

 

[Arne]

When you added water, you diluted the specific gravity. That means there is not as much concentrated sugar in the mix as there is in the undiluted one. It depends on how much water you added. What you have in the second one will probably be ok to use to top up the first one on the next rack. You didn't say how much water you added. If you had half a carboy with the wine in it and added half water it would be like taking a half glass of wine and filling it the rest of the way with water. Would be pretty weak. If your glass was mostly full and you added just a bit of water, you mite not even notice it. It will work the same with the bigger amounts. Arne.

 

[DoctorCAD]

How do you know it has stopped?

 

[Skyshark93]

Arne, thank you for your response. When I topped up it was half and half, I figured that it would dilute. This will help on my next racking.

DoctorCAD, thank you for your response. To answer your question, there are no bubbles forming and the sg reads 1.000. The first carboy is still working as of now.

Thank you both again.