Cream Sherry - Kit conversion or Homemade

[hawkwing]

One of the benefits of making a yeast starter is that you can verify that your yeast is good before adding it to your must.

I know I should have waited longer but I wanted to go to bed.

I feel like I'm making more mistakes on this than I've made in a long time. I had to skim some white mold off the top. I guess I need to punch it down regularly.

It looks like it might be fermenting now but I'm still tempted to dose it with 1118 to make sure I know what's in there.

 

[hawkwing]

It took off finally. Now I'm hoping that the 30L fermenter has enough room to not make a mess overnight. It's mere inches from the top. I didn't add the 1118.

 

[hawkwing]

How long would you ferment with the raisins in?

 

[Raptor99]

I would take them out when you are ready to rack into secondary, which most people do once the SG drops below 1.010.

 

[hawkwing]

I have to go away for a week and am worried about them being on top and growing mold without punch downs.

 

[winemaker81]

I have to go away for a week and am worried about them being on top and growing mold without punch downs.

Seal the fermenter, as folks do with EM. Since EM works, your wine should be fine for a few days.

 

[hawkwing]

Seal the fermenter, as folks do with EM. Since EM works, your wine should be fine for a few days.

What is EM? I assume now that CO2 is being produced it should be ok. It was going fast yesterday so maybe everything will sink soon.

 

[winemaker81]

What is EM? I assume now that CO2 is being produced it should be ok. It was going fast yesterday so maybe everything will sink soon.

Extended Maceration. Look at the Finer Wine Kits (FWK) threads, as the red kits with skin packs call for sealing the fermenter around 1.010 and letting it set another week or 2. In that context, and in others, folks are doing EM up to 8 weeks.

Between the CO2 and humidity, your wine should be fine.

 

[hawkwing]

Is a sherry not a white wine? Have I already broken the rules by fermenting on the skins?

 

[winemaker81]

Is a sherry not a white wine? Have I already broken the rules by fermenting on the skins?

Sherry is a white wine. However, there are no rules -- only suggestions and guidelines.