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Junior
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Nov 4, 2021
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I started a batch of cranberry wine made with fresh cranberries. I found a recipe that didn’t look complicated. It is: Fresh cranberries, sugar, dried cranberries, yeast nutrient, Lalvin D47 yeast. Starting SG 1.090. It fermented well in the primary. wrecked it to the secondary when the SG was 1.040. I did not use any Camden, or degass it as it wasn’t in the directions. May be a mistake? It’s been in the secondary for 6 weeks and the SG is 1.010. There are still fine bubbles rising. The directions are pretty sketchy from here. I do need to rack it again as there is about an inch of sediment in the bottom.
1. should I add the Camden when I rack it to a new container to slow down the fermentation?
2. The wine tastes pretty good, it’s a little bubbly, pretty color, and I don’t want it anymore dry. I may add a bit of sweetener later.
3. I just am not sure where to go from here, do I rack it, and then bottle at after a week?
Thank you for your responses,
 
Fermentation is still active, so I'd not add K-meta. I would rack off the sediment, as that much is gross lees (fruit solids).

What temperature is the wine stored at? If it's below 70 F, move it some place warmer. It might be a good idea to add a bit more nutrient to get the ferment to finish.

The easiest thing for a home winemaker to do is to ferment the wine dry, then stabilize and backsweeten. Trying to stop a ferment at the point you want does not work well.

Do not bottle yet -- you'll have sediment in the bottle. I suggest waiting at least 3 more months to let fermentation end and to let the wine clear. Patience is your friend.

If you choose to bottle with any CO2 still in the wine, use beer or champagne bottles. Regular wine bottles will probably blow the corks, and screwcap bottles can explode if the pressure is too much.
 
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