Fermenting to dry in the primary.

[UglyBhamGuy]

I have searched and only found where someone mentioned that Wade fermented to dry in the primary. Never could find where Wade actually said this.

Does anyone ferment to dry in the primary?

 

[winemaker_3352]

I usually ferment close to dry - I transfer at about 1.005 to carboy to finish.

 

[Brian]

I always ferment to dry in the primary. I stir until it gets around 1.01 then leave the lid on and let her go till she won't go any lower.

 

[robie]

I have no experience specifically with Skeeter Pee, but

I ferment summer wines and some Mosti Mondiale wines to dry in my fermentor bucket. RJ Spagnols calls for doing this with some of their kits.

Some don't like this because doing so leaves the wine on the grape skins and/or gross lees about twice as long. I don't see it as a problem unless you are going to extend the fermentation time by fermenting at a very cold temperature.

Some Mosti Mondiale kits come with a yeast nutrient, that sometimes causes a wine volcano (heavy foaming). If this happens in the fermentor bucket, you generally have some room at the top to provide for the extra foaming. It can get really messy if it happens in a carboy at the start of secondary fermentation.

Just make sure you seal the lid and add an air lock when the SG gets down around 1.002 (approx).

 

[ffemt128]

Lately I've been fermenting to under or around 1.000 in the primary. It doesn't usually take more than a 7-10 days even in the cooler temperatures to achieve this then off to the carboys for aging and racking as needed.

 

[djrockinsteve]

I ferment dry. Once it gets to 1.000 I stir real well, then snap on a lid with an airlock. After 2-3 days I'll splash rack to a carboy with sulfite and sparkolloid to clear.

I average 6-7 days to ferment dry.

 

[Wade E]

I do all my wines like this, it helps let the wine naturaly degas better and also prevents you from leaving too uch viable yeast behind. It also allows you to leave more heavy solids behind and not have to deal with it in your carboy.

 

[cpfan]

Typically when I make a wine kit (especialy Vineco), on day 7 when I check the sg for the first time, the sg is below 1.000, often .992. So, yep, I ferment to dry in the primary. BTW, I think some of the Vineco kits say to ferment in the primary for 10 days. I've made so many kits that I'm not real good at reading the instructions anymore.

Steve

 

[Flem]

Since I'm still a rookie, I've been following the kit instructions. As I get more experience, I'll venture out with more experimentation. I am varying from the instructions in that I plan to bulk age in the carboy for several months.