blackberry & raspberry beginner no secondary

[danlilley2000]

Would anyone offer some advice? Ive just transferred my first ever batch into a glass demijohn for the secondary fermentation. Ive followed instruction and ingredients from blackberry wine guide detailed in c.c.j berrys first steps in winemaking. I transferred it yesterday and there seems to be no airlock activity

 

[jamesngalveston]

how long was it in the primary, what was starting sg, what was sg when you transfered to secondary.

 

[Turock]

Very often, when the ferment has gone to dry--an Sg of 0.99--- there will be no airlock activity, or very little. Of course, if you've inadvertently killed the yeast, then this could also mean no airlock activity because the yeast wasn't alive to produce the CO2, which is what you're seeing during the bubbling of an airlock. Need more info on the ferment.

 

[danlilley2000]

The first ferment was for 5 days. There is some airlock activity, maybe a bubble every 5 minutes. Ive just checked with hydrometer and saw 1000 exactly. I also tasted a thimble and alcohol is clearly present

 

[Turock]

OK--well then you're doing fine. Don't depend on bubbles--this is the CO2, a by-product of the yeast. An SG of 1.000 is esentially dry, and if you are storing it in a warmer area, it will continue to go to dry,an SG of .099

Be sure to bulk age this at least 9 months.

 

[danlilley2000]

Thanks for that. Im unsure how much longer to keep it in its second fermentation, ive racked it once and wondering when to finish and bottle it?

 

[jpsmithny]

You can rack it again in another month or two if you like. This will help with clarification. Be sure to check the sulfite levels at that time.

As far as fining and degassing, that's up to you.

My friend who makes wine the "old fashioned" way, he was told by his
father ( many generations of making wine) that it should not be bottled until after the waning moon in February.

 

[Turock]

You want to be sure the wine is clear and all the CO2 is out of it---on blackberry, this means at least 6 months as jp eluded to. I've been making wine 24 years, and have had the experience that 6 months can be too early because the wine still can have some CO2 in it. It's wiser to wait about 9 months. This also firms the flavor up better. I think it's a big mistake to manually degass fruit wines because you risk oxidation.

A big part of winemaking is understanding what is going on in the bulk aging of a wine. Most wines contain micro-debris of proteins and potassium, which precipitate out and produce haze. You have to allow enough time for these to fall out, or else your wine can cloud back up under storage conditions and refrigeration.

And if you are backsweetening, you need to use sorbate. And sorbate will not work until as many yeast cells as possible are racked from the wine. You go thru all the work and expense of making a good fruit wine--then you want to hurry the bulk aging step and run into problems. Don't be in such a hurry---the result of doing things correctly pays off in a nice, clear wine with no problems.