complete novice winemaker-help please

[caroline]

I started strawberry wine on 15th June this year using
3lb strawberries (pectic enzyme & campden tab 24 hrs before yeast)
8oz raisins
yeast &yeast nutrient
Tannin
Vit B tablet
I added sugar in stages. I like sweet wine so have put in so far 2lb 12ozs sugar. There is now very slow ferment & the wine is really quite clear now. It seems to have been very quick. Have I overdone the sugar? Any advice please.

 

[smurfe]

First off, welcome to the forums. What size batch did you make? It is looking like a gallon batch from your description.

So about the sugar. You say you added it at various times during the fermentation? The way to do it is get your hydrometer and add sugar to a desired sugar level for the desired alcohol level of the wine. You let it ferment to dry and then stabilize with Potassium Sorbate to inhibit further fermentation. You then sweeten the wine with a simple sugar solution to taste.

The way you have been doing it so far will simply feed the yeast to continue fermentation. Yes, the yeast will eventually die off and you will have a sweet wine but you risk re-fermentation if no sorbate is used and a high alcohol content wine which particularly in a strawberry is not real pleasant to drink.

 

[caroline]

Thanks. Yes it was a gallon I made with 2lbs sugar to start. I suppose its best to leave it now to finish its slow ferment. The next lot I make I will get to gripps with the hydrometer. Being new to this, I will have to read up on it.

 

[St Allie]

welcome to the forum

Allie

 

[Nubz]

i could be wrong but
2 lbs of sugar for a gallon sounds like a lot to me

 

[St Allie]

my strawberry wine recipe has 2.6 lbs of sugar to the gallon.. so 2 lb sounds about right to me.

Allie

 

[Luc]

I was doing a test with apple juice for making wine for my web-log. And I was really amazed.

I made the wine last sunday and yesterday the SG had dropped from the initial SG of 1080 to 998 !!!!
So the wine had (almost) finished in about 4 days !!!
I have never had such a fast fermentation before.

So what you are experiencing might be the same.
It might just be finished.

However to make sure you should check your SG with a hydrometer.

Luc

 

[caroline]

I always thought fermentation took months to complete, maybe you're right. Will keep you posted

 

[smurfe]

I always thought fermentation took months to complete, maybe you're right. Will keep you posted

Not really. Now clearing can take months but fermentation can go from a few days to a few weeks. It really depends on the fruit used, yeast strain, temperature of fermentation just to name a few. Strawberry can ferment fast. Blueberry on the other hand can take forever. In wine making, particular non kit wines your hydrometer is your best friend. Keep us posted on how it comes out.

 

[Nubz]

my strawberry wine recipe has 2.6 lbs of sugar to the gallon.. so 2 lb sounds about right to me.

Allie

thanks for the info allie was more of a question than a comment

 

[Wade E]

Some fermentations can take months like my blueberry melomel. Some of my fruit wines and white wines can take some time als only because I ferment them cold to keep the fruity esters from getting lost during fermentation.