First go.. Information Overload

[Alphachef]

So....
Bought 6 gallons of grape juice, no sugar added, put it in a bucket added sugar until I got to 14-15% potential alcohol. Threw in 5 campden tabs, it's sitting for 24hours. Planning on adding tannins by taste at this point? Then adding the wine yeast? I have yeast nutrient (DAP) should I use it? Should I check the acidity and adjust before the yeast or not at all? I also have Potassium Sorbet not exactly sure when it goes in... Ugh okay so I was planning on putting it in the bucket with a lid and vent, wait till the vent stops bubbling, rack it into a 6 gallon jug, put the vent on top and wait? Like I said information overload please help... Please

 

[Julie]

Welcome to winemakingtalk.

First off do you have a hydrometer? You are not going to know when fermentation has stopped unless you have one. Do not use the sorbate unless you are planning on backsweetening and that will be once fermentation has completed. You can add the tannins now, normally 1/4 tsp per 5 gallon of must. Also, yes to the nutrient. You don't need a bucket with a lid, just add a towel over top so nothing falls into it. And again, use a hydrometer to determine fermentation.

And what yeast are you using?

 

[NorCal]

Here are my notes for making Skeeter Pee (Vino Limone). May not be a step by step for you, but may provide some idea of the order of the steps.

 

[Alphachef]

Hi Julie!
Thanks for the input, and I'm very excited to be here I do have a hydrometer and it measured 15% after I added the sugar. I went ahead and added, tannins, yeast and nutrient. So i guess I'll just leave it to ferment until the hydrometer reads .9ish? Then rack into carboy? Then install the vent? Should i be adding anything at this time, also during the time in the carboy what exactly is it doing, just clarifying and aging?

 

[Julie]

yes 90ish and while in the primary, stir it once in a while, that will help fermentation. When you rack add about a campden tablet. While in the carboy it will be clearing and aging. Normally, I would rack once every 3 months and add campden. I normally bottle after a year but since this is your first I am sure you will want to bottle before that.

 

[JohnT]

So....
Bought 6 gallons of grape juice, no sugar added, put it in a bucket added sugar until I got to 14-15% potential alcohol. Threw in 5 campden tabs, it's sitting for 24hours. Planning on adding tannins by taste at this point? Then adding the wine yeast? I have yeast nutrient (DAP) should I use it? Should I check the acidity and adjust before the yeast or not at all? I also have Potassium Sorbet not exactly sure when it goes in... Ugh okay so I was planning on putting it in the bucket with a lid and vent, wait till the vent stops bubbling, rack it into a 6 gallon jug, put the vent on top and wait? Like I said information overload please help... Please

OK, Just a couple of notes...

- Definitely use your DAP. I would add half of the recommended amount before you pitch your yeast, then half again when your sugar is down to, say, 8%.

- Definitely check your acid before you pitch your yeast. If low, I would adjust so that you have a minimum of .55 g/l. This will get you in the neighborhood, close enough for fermentation. I would then test and re-adjust after fermentation is complete.

** please note that, once at .55, any further adjustments should be based on your personal tastes. You can protect higher PH wines with an appropriate amount of k-meta (to be added after fermentation)

- Sorbate is used to prevent further fermentation when you have residual sugar or plan to back sweeten. If you are going for a dry wine, you will not need sorbate.

 

[wineforfun]

I would also highly recommend going through some of the articles in the "Yeast, Additives & Wine Making Science" section and the "Tutorials and Reference Guides" section of this message board.
Very helpful information and answers/insight to most of your questions.

 

[Alphachef]

Thanks guys,
More questions. If the fermentation is done in the bucket why use the air vent on the carboy? When you rack do you try and leave All the dead yeast in the bucket ? Thanks again. You guys are awesome

 

[JohnT]

Thanks guys,
More questions. If the fermentation is done in the bucket why use the air vent on the carboy? When you rack do you try and leave All the dead yeast in the bucket ? Thanks again. You guys are awesome

The idea is this..

The rate of fermentation in the bucket is very high. A lot of co2 is produced. This positive pressure of CO2 actually protects the wine from outside elements.

Once fermentation is nearly complete, and the amount of c02 produced is drastically reduced, you want to transfer the wine to a carboy and put the wine under an airlock so that the wine remains protected.

.. and yes, when you rack you leave behind the dead yeast.

 

[Alphachef]

Okay, got it, so by nearly complete you mean what reading on the hydrometer?

Once in the carboy, do i still take readings with the hydrometer? If so at what reading is it done fermenting.

Once done fermenting in the carboy do I just cap and rack it every so often while it ages and clears or can it age and clear in bottles

 

[sour_grapes]

I look to transfer from the primary bucket to the carboy ("secondary") at SG between 1.000 and 1.010, probably on the lower side of this.

Then I just let it sit for two weeks or so. No sense checking it every day -- you are in no rush of getting it out of there.

After 2 weeks, I check the SG. If it is 0.994 or below, I will call it done. If it is higher, I will leave it another week or so, perhaps monitoring it once and again to see if it is still coming down.

I then rack it to another carboy for bulk aging, degassing it, adding k-meta and sometimes fining agents.

 

[JohnT]

Okay, got it, so by nearly complete you mean what reading on the hydrometer?

Once in the carboy, do i still take readings with the hydrometer? If so at what reading is it done fermenting.

Once done fermenting in the carboy do I just cap and rack it every so often while it ages and clears or can it age and clear in bottles

Usually, you rack into the carboy when it dips below 1.000. This is all but complete.

You want to bulk age for at least 6 months (IMHO) and rack it at least twice more, once in about 3 weeks, then again 2 months later. You can also do a third racking a couple of weeks prior to bottling.

 

[Alphachef]

On a good note, the fermenting has really taken off and done good!

 

[Floandgary]

Typically when no changes in SG are noted for 2-3 days, fermentation is considered finished. You should see SG. @.990-.992. At this point there'll be no sugars left but there will be a lot of CO2 dissolved in the wine. When you rack to the carboy and allow to age, the CO2 will be dissipating out, ( like if you opened a bottle of soda and let it sit on the counter, it would eventually go flat) thus the need for the airlock! Most of us simply allow our product to age for a year or so with rackovers @3 months. You'd be surprised how much sediment there can be even after 6 months, so it's either get it out in the carboy or see it in your bottles! Good luck.....

 

[heatherd]

Your wine needs to be clear, degassed, and done fermenting before you bottle. None of those things will happen in the bottle. That's why most folks bulk-age the wine in a carboy with an airlock for several months - it clears, degasses, and finishes fermenting on it's own over time.

 

[JohnT]

+1 to heatherd..

During the aging process, sediment will continuously form. If you bottle too early (even though it might currently look clear), you will find that sediment will continue to form over time. This is not much of a problem if you don't mind cloudy wine or the need to decant.

 

[Alphachef]

Thanks everyone, I got another question,
I racked the wine yesterday because the SG was @ 1.0 I left the lees in the primary fermenter and put a air lock on the carboy. The problem I'm having is there is like 6-8" left in the carboy before its full, I was thinking I read somewhere that the carboy should be full if so how do I make up the difference?

 

[barbiek]

Rack into a smaller carboy, top up with like wine and some add marbles but you do need to do something with that headspace once fermentation is complete preferably before then

 

[Alphachef]

I did some more reading and now I'm thinking I'm okay with the little extra head space, I'll post a pic just so you guys know where I'm at.
Thanks!!

 

[ceeaton]

That still looks like it is fermenting okay. Short term you will be fine. By the time it quits you will have some more lees on the bottom and that should fit nicely into a 5 gallon carboy if you have one.

I just moved a chardonel that I made in September that had that kind of head space (maybe an inch or so less) for a few weeks into a 5 gallon carboy and bottled two bottles for early consumption.

It had gone through MLF and clarifying so I had previously moved it to a 6 gallon carboy and had a bit of extra room. I think a few weeks is okay, especially since I had just kmeta'd the heck out of it. Just wouldn't leave it that way for a few months or you might have some issues.