Apple Wine Help

[davemo]

Ok i am pretty new to wine/mead making and have been pretty successful thus far.I have 4 or 5 5gallon batches that i have made to completion.But i got a question on this batch ,first detail of the batch.It is a 5 gallon batch of apple juice wine using apple juice with only ascorbic acid in it..i added sugar to get the sg up to 1.090 then pitched cote de blanc yeast with 3 tsp yeast nutrient,and 1/4 energizer.

One week ago at sg of 1.01 i racked to a secondary better bottle carboy and added 1/4 yeast nutrient.i noticed what i ASSUME was fermentation with small bubbles coming up the side and collecting at the top of the carboy and the airlock bubbling very lightly but steady.The temp in the fermentation room is around 55 degrees and i decided to end the fermentation instead of having it slowly drag on.So yesterday i took a ph strip test at around 3.2 and i believe around.75 tataric acid(i know that's high still getting used to the test kit titration kit i believe)so i added 1 1/4 tsp pf potassium sorbate and 1/4 potassium meta that i had gently heated to dissolve together to stop the fermentation and the wine started foaming like crazy enough to where i had to put my hand over the top of the carboy and let the gas escape.Now since i have always let my wine ferment completely dry before adding stabilizer i want to know is this normal for wines still fermenting? I checked today and i still have some fine bubbles at the top of the carboy so what do i have going on here????? Thanks For The Help All

 

[GreginND]

Hi Dave. I posted the same below on the other forum.

First, your gas volcano was due to the wine being super-saturated with CO2 and then trying to dissolve something in it. You need to be careful about adding things when the wine is saturated. Think mentos and coke!

Regarding the fermentation, it is extremely difficult to stop an active fermentation. AND sorbate/sulfite will not stop an active fermentation. Neither will kill wine yeasts. Sorbate only prevents the yeast from reproducing, not kill live yeast. It should be used only when a ferment is over and the wine is as clear as possible with as little population of live yeast cells as possible. So, I would recommend always letting your fermentations finish and let the wine clear before you try to do any adjusting for sweetness and sorbate.

If the wine is dry and you still see tiny bubbles, it's possible your wine has started a spontaneous malolactic fermentation. Once the sugar is gone, you could try to stop a ML fermentation with the addition of sulfite and lysozyme.

 

[peaches9324]

Call me crazy but don't you add yeast nutrient to aid in the fermentation process ie: the beginning of fermentation? Correct me if I'm wrong please

 

[jswordy]

Call me crazy but don't you add yeast nutrient to aid in the fermentation process ie: the beginning of fermentation? Correct me if I'm wrong please

Some people like to divide up the nutrient to provide a more consistent nutrient level for the yeast during the ferment. Especially in cooler fermentations, this practice may be necessary.

Sometimes it's necessary to add nutrient during the process if the fermentation slows or sticks, too.

 

[peaches9324]

sorry I was under the assumption that 3 tsp of yeast nutrient would be the full amount necessary for the said amount of wine but I have never added yeast nutrient to the carboy after transferring...