WineXpert 2 Wine Xpert kits on the go!

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

diggerdan17

Self Made Thousandaire
Joined
May 19, 2009
Messages
176
Reaction score
2
Just finished adding the yeast to my newest box of juice, Wine Xpert Estate Series. Its a Stags Leap Merlot :h .I racked my first ever try at wine making (After 7 days of initial fermentation) on monday night ,It was also a Wine Xpert kit ,Vitners Reserve Chilean Malbec.I tested the S.G. on the malbec tonight when i was done putting the stags leap kit to bed and the reading was 1.000...little ways to go yet! I let the wife try some of the Malbec and considering how GREEN it was she said it was pretty good ( wait till it sits in my wine cellar for 6 months):b

Did i mention how much i,m enjoying my new hobby?:D
 
The Stags Leap is one of the best Winexpert kits there is IMo but this has to age well!
 
Its been 36 hours since i piched the yeast on the Stag,s Leap Merlot and i have not seen or herd any active fermentation. Only have done one other primary fermentation before and after 24 hours it was bubbling away like mad.

Any thoughts on why this may not be doing its thing?
Temperature was also measured this am and its at a constant 70 degrees.

Would stirring the must help activate the yeast?

I,ve got to head off to work right now , i,ll check the s.g. when i get home and see if its changed at all.

:b Diggerdan
 
The Stag's Leap Merlot is an excellent kit. It will need some age though. If you give it a couple years to age you will be very very pleased.
 
Just checked the s.g. and its reads 1.095....exactly what it read before i pitched the yeast. Thoughts?
 
Assuming that you followed the instructions I am guessing you may have bad yeast. Try another packet of one designed for slow fermentation. There are others much more qualified to answer your questions but in the mean time another yeast add wont hurt.
 
If you followed the directions and didnt add anything you werent supposed to you will be fine, maybe give it a stir or a dash o nutrient or a chopped up banana to get things going. What temp was it when you added the yeast? I always make it warmer like around 808 when i add the yeast and that makes it start very fast like in a few hours, always shoot towards the high end when getting it going and then let it cool down to normal temps tp ferment, this will get it going faster and keep it safe cause the faster there is alc. in there the faster it will become less viable to bacteria and the such. This is why yeast starters are a good thing especially if making beer as its more susceptible to bacteria.
 
At a 70 degree temp you should of seen some fermentation activity by now. If you have a local shop I would run down and get another packet. If you bought it local the shop they ought to give you a pack no charge. Just to clarify, you didn't add the Sorbate or Sulfite packet did you? I am sure not but had to ask. Adding another packet of yeast will not hurt it at all.
 
Went down to the shop i bought it from and they gave me a fresh pack of yeast no charge, they told me that after i added the 4 packs of oak that came with the kit that it may have helped float the yeast and keep it from doing its job.So i came home from work on my lunch break and when i sanitized my stir spoon to get ready to add my new yeast pack i noticed i heard signs of fermentation. so i left it alone and now at 50 hours after the start its fizzing away like mad!:b( i stirred it a bit to get things going.) The directions did say fermentation will start 24 to 48 hours after i made the wine and sure enough it took the entire 48 hours ( i should have listened to the wise wine people and exercised PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE!:re
 
Ahh The THREE "P's" again. Now who started that...:r
There are also the 3 "T's"
Taste
Taste
Taste
Thru the process.
Always taste before bottling.
 
I am wanting to start a Merlot and I believe this one is the one to try. I can let it age and it will be a wine few of my friends and family will enjoy as they dont care for the dry wines. My niece and I will have to drink the majority of it darn it anyway.:d
 
Glad to hear it got going for you. That must of been an older packet of yeast with a low cell viability count. It really should of been fermenting before then at those temps. They are right though, the oak chips could of suspended a lot if the yeast up out of the must.
 
I am wanting to start a Merlot and I believe this one is the one to try. I can let it age and it will be a wine few of my friends and family will enjoy as they dont care for the dry wines. My niece and I will have to drink the majority of it darn it anyway.:d
Sorry to hear you have such a heavey cross to bear. I mean just you and your neice will enjoy it :) We all should have that problem.
In the last 2 days I bottled 10 cases of wine. Everyone is already asking when they can drink it. :(
 
On my vintners reserve chilean malbec i,ve got 3 days before degassing and adding the packs 2,3,and 4.I,ve noticed zero activity in the airlock for the past few days and have taken s.g. readings to see whats going on.Its at 0.998. the directions say to wait till 996 or less.Because of the stable reading and no activity in the airlock should i stir up the sediment a bit to see if i can get things down to .996? I was told not to top up until after degassing but am worried that each time i,ve taken off the airlock to get a s.g. reading i have let what little co2 is in out and oxegen in.

Am i just being a paranoid newbie? should i stir it up, and if yes ,how vigorous of a stir should i do?
 
Wait the 3 days it cant hurt. It can be just the gas keeping it @ .998. Once you wine is below 1.005 you will not see much activity so this is where the 3 "P's" come in. Everything seem on track so continur to follow the directions. Keep us informed. Once you degas you will understand why they say to top off after degassing. :b
 
Or it is very possible it stopped where it is and that isnt very uncommon at all to stop .02 off.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top