damson wine problems

[michaelesler]

hi all,

making damson wine, second attempt at fruit wine. had the damsons soaking for a week in water as per cjj berrys recipe and i put it into the demijohn 2 days ago with the yeast, nutrient and sugar with cotton wool to allow for the primary fermentation.
now when i made my rhubarb (which is nicely bubbling away in the demijohn) 2 weeks ago the yeast was active from the start which was nice to see. however after 2 days the damson has yet to show any signs of activity except the lees collecting at the bottom. its at a steady 21 degrees celsius.

any ideas?

michael

 

[djrockinsteve]

You need to use a hydrometer to see if fermentation is really active. Most often you will see evidence of fermentation.

Many of us ferment in an open vessel with a lose fitting lid. Yeast need oxygen to do their business. Lack of oxygen can lead to a stuck fermentation. Plus stirring a few times a day will redistribute the yeast to more food (sugar), nutrients and air.

 

[michaelesler]

i used the hydrometer today to test it and no change since i last took a reading 3 days ago. been stirring twice a day since i added the yeast.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Did you use pectic enzyme? Did you cut these so the yeast can get to the sugar easier? I have frozen mine in the past, then cut in half, removed seeds and added to buckets with pectic enzyme and even ascorbic acid to retard oxidation. Then 12 hours later I rehydrated my yeast.

Did you just add your yeast or rehydrate. What yeast did you use?

 

[michaelesler]

following the recipe i cut the damsons in half and pour over 5 litres of boiling water adding pectic enzyme when cool and stirring twice daily for a week before straining the juice from the pulp using a muslin bag over 4lbs of sugar stirling until dissolved. when it was in the demijohn, but with no airlock fitted i added the yeast and yeast nutrients as directed.
i used a burgundy wines yeast by young's. the recipe recommended a burgundy yeast.

 

[djrockinsteve]

if it hasn't moved i would add another (different) yeast. what was your starting gravity?

 

[michaelesler]

ok i have two sachets of bordeaux yeast on order would this suit? the SG was quite high at 1100.

 

[djrockinsteve]

That's a bit high but would work with lalvin yeasts. I'm not familiar with those yeasts. It may be high a gravity for them. Not knowing your conditions there move it to a little warmer area, stir in some oxygen and rehydrate some yeast. Help your yeast and make a good starter first.

 

[michaelesler]

i have i sitting beside the cooker now, (oil fired aga) and its a good 22 celsius. gave it a really good stir last night and got a good froth up to help oxygenate the wine. hopefully its done the trick as the yeast is now up top and I'm sure fermentation is underway finally.

 

[michaelesler]

made a small start yeast today and added it then added the rest of the sachet about 2 hours ago. got foamy bubble forming on top and i can hear it hissing away. maybe had a bad sachet of yeast! fingers crossed and thanks for your help

 

[djrockinsteve]

Fantastic. Always check the date of the yeast located on the wrapper. Store it in a refrigerator and once open use the entire packet.