i am on on my first kit, wine expert chilean merlot. i think i screwed this whole thing up.
on 4/3 i started my primary fermentation. all seemed to be well, themust was fizzing along within 24 hours. the sg was at 1.10
on 4/10 fizzing had all but stopped and the must just bubbled about once every 5 seconds. sg reading was at 1.00
i transfered the must into my carboy. since then i have not noticed anymore visible fermentation, no bubbling in the airlock or in the carboy.
i tried to do as much reading on previous posts and on the winepress forums to find out what i had done wrong. i thought maybe fermentation had almost finished in the primary and tried not to worry too much.
on 4/12 sg reading was at .99
i decided to leave my wine alone and let it do what it had to do.
on 4/23 sg rading was at .99
4/24 sg at .99
i figured maybe it was time to stabilize and clear.
i added metabisulphite and sorbate as per the instructions. stir as much as my little arms could handle. there was some foaming but i don't know if i was actually driving off the c02 or i just just creatingfoaming from my rapid stirring. i decided to just continue on and add the chitosan and hope for the best. more stirring and i'm satisfied i've done what i can at this point.
oh, i forgot to add the temp has been a consistant 68-71 degrees
when i smell my wine at this point it still smells like, well rotting grapes. kind of a sweet nasty smell. is this normal?
i'm afraid i stalled my fermentation and proceeded too quickly with the next steps. can my wine be saved or should i just trash it and try another kit? should i try to restart fermenation or is it too late at this point?
on 4/3 i started my primary fermentation. all seemed to be well, themust was fizzing along within 24 hours. the sg was at 1.10
on 4/10 fizzing had all but stopped and the must just bubbled about once every 5 seconds. sg reading was at 1.00
i transfered the must into my carboy. since then i have not noticed anymore visible fermentation, no bubbling in the airlock or in the carboy.
i tried to do as much reading on previous posts and on the winepress forums to find out what i had done wrong. i thought maybe fermentation had almost finished in the primary and tried not to worry too much.
on 4/12 sg reading was at .99
i decided to leave my wine alone and let it do what it had to do.
on 4/23 sg rading was at .99
4/24 sg at .99
i figured maybe it was time to stabilize and clear.
i added metabisulphite and sorbate as per the instructions. stir as much as my little arms could handle. there was some foaming but i don't know if i was actually driving off the c02 or i just just creatingfoaming from my rapid stirring. i decided to just continue on and add the chitosan and hope for the best. more stirring and i'm satisfied i've done what i can at this point.
oh, i forgot to add the temp has been a consistant 68-71 degrees
when i smell my wine at this point it still smells like, well rotting grapes. kind of a sweet nasty smell. is this normal?
i'm afraid i stalled my fermentation and proceeded too quickly with the next steps. can my wine be saved or should i just trash it and try another kit? should i try to restart fermenation or is it too late at this point?