"Emergency" Dilemma. Please help

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spleisher

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Hello All,

I have a little dilemma; I'm hoping you can help.

I have a Cabernet kit going at the moment that calls for racking, stabilizing and clearing on approximately day 14, which is today (I started it on the 1st) an SG .998 or lower.

I just checked the SG, and it is RIGHT AT .998. Certainly not much lower.

Here's the dilemma, and shame on me for putting myself in this situation :slp:

I have to go out of town in the morning, and will be back on Monday afternoon.

So the dilemma is this.... Is there any harm to be done in leaving the wine in Primary until then. I know that the general rule of thumb is patience, and it seems steps are better off taken a few days "late" than "early".

For what it's worth, my primary bucket does have a sealed lid with an airlock. It's not open, as is sometimes done with primary fermentation.

Anyway, I'm need to make a decision tonight, so any insight would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!
 
if there is very little airspace then in all likeliehood you will be fine for three days...there should be plenty of co2 in there.... you have an airlock so should be ok

my opinion
 
Cool, so that's a vote for most likely ok. I did open the bucket tonight to test SG, but it's sealed back up now with airlock in place.
 
I vote.... dump it and start over next week.

just kidding... yes I think it will be fine for that short a duration. and i should know, i stayed at a holiday inn express last night.

:h
 
...I should know, i stayed at a holiday inn express last night.

:h

LOL! Awesome. Thanks again for the replies. Looks like I'm building a consensus here.

I'd really prefer to leave it unless it poses a major risk, so I guess I'm hoping for that advice.
 
Oh I could, no doubt. It's not THAT big of a deal, but I'm not just racking, I'm degassing and adding the clearing "stuff" too, so it's a bit of a process. I'm pretty particular about making sure everything is clean, etc.

But don't get me wrong, if there's even half a chance that it's gonna "go bad" by Monday, I'll be whipping out the drill and everything.
 
Oh and one more thought.... This kit has been a bit slower to get to .998 than the Zin I have bulk aging right now.

I think it only got there today, which is leading me to believe I might be jumping the gun by doing it now. But I'm new at this, so that's really only a gut feeling.
 
Personally I would leave it. As you hinted, .998 is a bit high for most kits to finish, and since you didn't share the name of the kit with us (tsk tsk), I can't guess whether it's good or not. But there's a great chance that it's an RJ Spagnols kit (14 days in primary being a big clue), and most RJS kits have reached .995 for me.

Steve
 
Youll be alright, put the lid on tight with airlock full and shake it up some to get some co2 out of suspension to displac some of the 02 in the bucket! Rack it as soon as possible though!
 
Hi Steve,

Sorry to leave out important details. ;)

Yep, it's a RJ Spagnols Cellar Classic Cabernet.

Scott
 
Youll be alright, put the lid on tight with airlock full and shake it up some to get some co2 out of suspension to displac some of the 02 in the bucket! Rack it as soon as possible though!

Thanks Wade! I had already put the lid back on nice and tight, and topped off the airlock, but I just gave it a "sloshing" per your instructions.

Thanks again.
 
leave it and test the SG again to be SURE it's stable. It'll be fine just snap the lid down good and tight. Have fun.
 
Thanks for asking this question spleisher . I'm in a similar place with my WE limited edition Trio I started last Friday it's at the 1.010 they say but when I get off work today I wil be busy going to son's hockey game & supper so instead of rushing myself thought i would just get up & do it in the morning on Saturday.
 
I don't do kits but I know that a few extra days will not hurt. I've been much later with no problem.
 

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