sour_grapes
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I hear you, my friend!
Other Extended Maceration Eclipse Lodi 11 Cab
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I hear you, my friend!
Great thread. Started my first EM about 2 weeks ago on an RJS Australian Cabernet Shiraz. Planned to do it in a 7 gallon glass wide mouth carboy from Kegco - but it wasn't big enough - so I started it in a primary bucket instead - and ordered a 7 gallon FerMonster. At an SG of about 1.010 I transferred EVERYTHING to the Fermonster and put it under an airlock. Airlock was bubbling once evey 3 seconds for a couple days then started slowing down - so enough CO2 should have been produced to adequately blanket the wine. Now I'm just waiting. It's still bubbling every 45 - 60 seconds.
Plan to do an 8 week EM, but - do I start that 8 week clock from initial start of fermentation? Or from the end of fermentation?
Plan to do an 8 week EM, but - do I start that 8 week clock from initial start of fermentation? Or from the end of fermentation?
jgmann67
Rennaisance Man
I always start from the start... so start counting on the day you dropped yeast in your wine. [emoji16]
OK I thought I'd play with the big boys and do an EM on a Chilean Malbec. I cut the kit down to 5 gal, fermented in a 7.9 gal bucket, read this thread and got worried about excessive headspace so I racked into a 6.5g Big Mouth. But by then fermentation was complete, so I added 1/4 tsp KMeta. Problem is, minus the heavy sludge I now only have 5.5g in a 6.5g container, including skins. Airlock bubbles maybe once every 2-3 minutes. What would you do? Should I abort this mission and get it in a carboy?
Ha, I see, you're trying to get me to answer my own question! Put in all the water and you won't have that problem, junior! Well, everyone here says to experiment. I love a rich, concentrated wine. My first couple of kits I felt like I was diluting just to increase volume, thus thinning the wine. So this time I wanted to keep it thick. I got the idea from Joeswine and his Tweaking threads. Not much experience under my belt so perhaps I'm rolling the dice, we'll see.
Anyway, I think I found a solution. As I'm reading here about filling the void with CO2, I'm thinking, Where can I find a CO2 canister on short notice? Hmmm. HOW ABOUT THE ONE IN YOUR KEGERATOR, DUMMIE? Oh ya, that should work just fine.
Anyway, I think I found a solution. As I'm reading here about filling the void with CO2, I'm thinking, Where can I find a CO2 canister on short notice? Hmmm. HOW ABOUT THE ONE IN YOUR KEGERATOR, DUMMIE? Oh ya, that should work just fine.
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jgmann67
Rennaisance Man
jgmann67
Rennaisance Man
That’s about 16% ABV. That’s pretty hot.
Bubbles are probably just CO2. If you check your SG over the next few days and it remains at that 0.994, for sure..: it’s just CO2.
As for racking. You can do 8-9 weeks on an EM and that CO2 will help protect the wine from oxidation. As long as you keep those grape skins wet till the submerge on their own (which should happen any day now if it didn’t happen already), you’re fine.
But... (and this is just my opinion. YMMV) I don’t know that I would run two experiments at one time. You’re shorting your water AND doing an EM on the same wine, without knowing how you like either. Suppose your finished wine isn’t to your liking. It’s hard to know which experiment is the culprit.
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