2ndary fermentation....

[Fedoradude]

Does the juice in the carboy need stirred daily? It would seem to me that the yeast in the juice in the carboy would need stirred for same reason as in the PF.My kit directions didn't mention anything about stirring daily anywhere in the whole process. However, that advice was given by several of you during primary fermentation.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Thanks.

 

[wineforfun]

Yes, stir twice daily while in primary fermentation(fermenting bucket). Once racked to secondary(glass carboy), there is no need to stir. That is when it should be under airlock.

 

[Fedoradude]

Yes, stir twice daily while in primary fermentation(fermenting bucket). Once racked to secondary(glass carboy), there is no need to stir. That is when it should be under airlock.

That makes sense. As I understand it, part of this stage is to watch for the juice to lose its cloudiness. If I'm stirring it all the time aint' no way that could happen.

And it is under an airlock presently. Now I know not to break that airlock to stir. Thanks.

 

[Fedoradude]

Hmmm. Is it possible for Specific Gravity to INcrease during time in the carboy? I racked my Cab Sauv juice from the Primary Fermenter into the carboy 10 days ago and it was around 0.994 or so (see attached pic).

But now, after 10 days, the S.G. is up to just over 1.0 in the thief sample. Is that possible? If so, is it a good thing this is happening? The Winexpert kit instructions say don't begin degassing or refining until it's below 0.996....

Thanks for the insights I know you all will offer.

 

[cmason1957]

The sg in that picture doesn't look to me to be 0.994. It might be 0.998, but probably closer to 1.000. It is a little hard to see for sure.

 

[Fedoradude]

Either way, why would the S.G. increase?

 

[AZMDTed]

Either way, why would the S.G. increase?

I've never had mine increase, and it shouldn't. I can only think of a couple possibilities:

1. Theoretically, if the wine wasn't mixed well enough in primary then you could conceivably have layers of various densities of water, wine, must that could give you different readings depending upon which layer or pocket you pulled from. I think this is unlikely given the stirring you did.

2. The hydrometer is not, or was not, being read correctly. The proper procedure is to thief some wine into the 'test tube' type stand. Make sure that you have enough wine to float the hydrometer and it isn't sticking to one side or another of the tube. Spin it a bit to get rid of any bubbles and then do your best to read the bottom of the meniscus. If you read it in the bucket you can sometimes get mislead by all the foam and the angle you're viewing the hydrometer at.

3. If you added oak powder or something else perhaps that could throw off the reading if you captured it in the tube.

The good news is that no harm is done. After this much time you are likely just fine. I recommend taking some more readings to validate where you are. Whether you were at where you thought you were at the end of primary doesn't matter now, it would have keeped fermenting in secondary if you still had sugars to consume. So where you are now is all that matters.

Good luck

 

[DoctorCAD]

Taking an SG reading in the bucket with CO2 bubbles all around is not the correct method. The bubbles can cause the hydrometer to sit incorrectly.

Even so, nothing is wrong...relax and enjoy the process.

 

[Floandgary]

To me, pic is showing .996. Unless someone slipped in a bunch of sugar or an F-pac, there's no way Sg. can go up. Looks to be well on it's way. For definition ,,, Secondary fermentation is nothing more than a continuation of the fermentation process,, merely in a more protected environment. No need to stir daily at this point as you'll have left most of the lees behind when you racked over. Should not be too long that Sg. will bottom out @.990-.992 if you let it go. When no change is seen for 2-3 consecutive days, consider fermentation done and proceed to next step!! Might want to consider a couple of bottles of "like" wine to top up that carboy if you're thinking about aging... Good Luck and enjoy!

 

[jgmann67]

Taking an SG reading in the bucket with CO2 bubbles all around is not the correct method. The bubbles can cause the hydrometer to sit incorrectly.

Even so, nothing is wrong...relax and enjoy the process.

Agree 100%. You're absolutely fine. Thief the wine to a tube and test it separate from the fizz. You may have taken the reading on either the first (when it read 0.994) or second (now reading closer to 1.000) incorrectly.

As an aside: I wonder what a difference in temperature in the wine does to your reading? Is a reading of the same bucket of wine at 68* and 72* the same? My gut says no, it's not - the warmer wine should give a lower reading. But, I'm far from the expert.

 

[sour_grapes]

As an aside: I wonder what a difference in temperature in the wine does to your reading? Is a reading of the same bucket of wine at 68* and 72* the same? My gut says no, it's not - the warmer wine should give a lower reading. But, I'm far from the expert.

The density does depend on temperature, but it is really a small effect. It is negligible (<0.001) for a 4*F difference. It takes something like 6 or 7*F to change SG by 0.001.

 

[AZMDTed]

I also suggest that you calibrate your hydrometer if you haven't already. Do that my filling your test tube with water about 70 degrees. It should 1.000. if it doesn't then that's okay, but now you'd know what you're correction is. I had one that was off by .006, so when I was reading my wine at .990 the 'correct' reading was actually .996.

That mostly matters when you're given a specific SG point to shoot for, or for comparing when folks say that they get down to .990 or so. Hydrometers are cheap devices and generally give individually consistent readings, but they're not all calibrated so comparing one to another can be misleading.

 

[NorCal]

Either way, I'd So2 and just let it be. Let the magic of time transform your raw, bubbly alcoholic juice into a nice, clear wine by caring for it in bulk for a year or so.

 

[Fedoradude]

...relax and enjoy the process.

Thanks for all those tips, everyone. I am enjoying the process, having fun and learning so much from everyone's experience and wisdom. Just brand spankin' new at doing this. Up to now my expertise with wine was more in opening, pouring and drinking.

I'll calibrate the hydrometer tonight and do another retest and see what happens. As I mentioned, the kit directions had the possibility for it not to be down to 0.996 yet, but I didn't expect what I recorded as a rise.

Thanks again.

 

[Fedoradude]

Calibrated my hydrometer tonite. Water at 70 degs F it read 1.000. So, I re-thiefed a sample (if that's a word) and retested. Specific gravity was right where it should've been. So...onto the next step!