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[mudhead]

sugar

I recently made a batch of red zinfandel. the hydrometer reading was 1.070 and I added only 5 tablespoons of sugar because i don't know what i'm doing, then added wine yeast. after researching i found that i need a reading of 1.090 for red wine. is it to late to add more sugar after or during my yeast as it's doing it's fermenting? I would like the alcohol content to be at least 12%. have i ruined this batch of wine?

 

[lilith]

Not enough juice

I bought some wine juice and put in a 5 gallon carboy after primary fermentation, but the carboy is only about 4/5 or so full.
I asked the winemaker and was suggested that I add water to the juice to fill the carboy to the top, but I fear that adding 20% water would make the final wine taste really watered-down.

If I were to add something to the juice, what can I add to fill it to the top? Can I add some fruit juice (extracted from real fruits), for example?

I guess another option is to get a smaller carboy, if I can find one. Is there somewhere in Toronto I can get a smaller carboy? however I wonder if I can actually find a carboy that's just the right size.

 

[jtstar]

What kind of wine juice and how much did you have is it grape juice was it a kit what kind of kit did you have direction with juice we all need more infor in order to help you along the right path try and give all the information that you can

 

[lilith]

What kind of wine juice - white riesling
how much did you have - about 4/5 of a 5-gallon carboy
is it grape juice - yes
was it a kit - no
what kind of kit - not a kit
did you have direction with juice - no, just a book called "getting started in winemaking - basics for beginners" by JE Underhill

 

[Tom]

For a primary I see no problem. If you got wine juice it usually comes in 5 .3 or 6 gallon buckets. Get smaller carboys or buy some like wine and add once the wine is stabilized.
Never add water

 

[lilith]

Thank you, I thought adding water did not sound right.
I will see if I can find a smaller carboy.

 

[Eyeguy]

Newbie...new smell

Hi I am VERY new to wine making. I have read a lot but started just recently producing. I am using a CC red mnt Cab kit which began primary fermentation on 3/11 (3days). Since it is my first time I only followed the kit instructions. I did test the must though. It was lower acid 0.42 with SG of 1.131 and brix I dont have on hand at the moment.
Fermentation began well and is heavy now. Today I began to smell what I thought was the dreaded FAINT rotten egg smell...but after reading online I wondered if it is an early fingernail polish smell...something chemically mized with the wine. First I thought sulfur now maybe fingernail polish. But I also read about "kit smell"..now very confused since treatment is so different. This kit has a grape pack and I added it loose. I stir 3 times a day now in my 8 gal ferment bucket under air lock and so2 soln in lock. The kit currently has oak (french) shavings in it as well.
Any advice on what that smell could be and how to proceed..I dont want to over react but I dont want to blow it either

 

[Tom]

You are smelling what the yeast do. Relax and have a glass or 2 of wine.
Just follow the directions and you will have good wine.

 

[Tom]

Eyeguy,
Welcome to a great forum!

 

[Eyeguy]

Thanks

I am very excited. Wine making fascinates me and I have always wanted to do it. I am a bit of a chemistry nerd combined with a gardener so this is a perfect hobby..plus I love wine.
So the smell yeast makes in wine is very different then that "yeasty" smell you get when making a fresh bread. Good to know. The cab smell is great it just began to get mixed with this chemical like odor of some kind that sorta burnt the nose when I sniffed close. My sense of smell, as my wife will say, is a quite sensitive.
Thanks for the fast reply, I can rest now

 

[Eyeguy]

Need a quick Kit answer

I have the CC red mnt cab in primary fermentation currently in a 8 gal bucket with lid and air lock (day 8). It is fermenting on the loose skins from the grape pack. It SG is at 1.007 at the moment. I am about to begin a very busy week at work; the earliest I could, if I wanted to stay up late, address racking this wine would be in about 30hours (really I dont want to rush it so it probably more like 48). I was planning on just racking it tonight off the sediment and grape skins into carboys with air locks and allowing it to finish in their so i did not have to worry as much. IF I do this should I wait to add the enzyme pouch until the SG is below 1 still or add it at racking like recommended? and would I even want to do this or could I just wait the 36-48 hours?

 

[Wade E]

I ferment all my wines to dry in the bucket so yes you can wait 48 hours no problem. At this point you should have a bung and airlock on the bucket and snap the lid shut though if it isnt already! I ferment grape skin kits for about 14 days on the skins in the bucket.

 

[Eyeguy]

So if it is not totally dry just keep it in there? It is under tight lid and airlock (the entire time). Should I continue to open it to stir or just leave it alone in the bucket. Every book has me so paranoid about air....
Also if my hydrometer is spotless is there any reason I can't test directly in the bucket since most of the skins have settled...dumb question but I will be so busy lazy thoughts came into my head

 

[Wade E]

You really dont even have to open it up. Some days I just swish the bucket good leaving it snapped down. You really just want to get the skins wet. If you were making wine from all grapes the cap (all the skins) can actually rise up almost 1' out of the wine so this little trick does not apply there but for these kits it works just fine. This will also help your wine degas easier and also help it to finish fermenting as racking it can sometimes leave behind too much of the viable yeast resulting a fermentation that gets stuck just a little too early.

 

[Eyeguy]

Do you even take SG readings daily then near the end? and it is fine to splash the wine up on the lid and sides that has some dry juice on them?

 

[Wade E]

If you sanitized the bucket before putting your wine in there then its fine. No I and most people who have been doing this for awhile dont take frequent sg readings like that anymotre but I assure we did when we were just starting. Once youve been doing it for years youll know that wine is very forgiving and doesnt need baying as long as you have a blanket of gas in there to protect the wine and dont try pushing it too long in primary. This small amount of time is nothing. If you left it in there for 2 months after fermentation then thats another story!

 

[WineyMe]

Another newb question!

Hi...very new to this. Have my first two wine kits on the go. My white wine has just been stabilised and airlocked again for another 14 days. My question is, should there still be gasses trying to escape? I can tell in the airlock that nothing's coming out, but I can still see a few bubbles on the surface of the wine and wondering why the airlock has no activity. I know that the stabilizing stage kills the yeast, so I would have thought that there wouldn't be anymore gas, until I noticed all of those little bubbles.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Well first of all were you sure fermentation was complete. Only a hydrometer will know for sure. Did you gas when/if fermentation was complete? You need to get the excess CO2 out of the wine. You may have some excess SO2 from the sulfite.

My guess would be excess CO2

Adding sufite does not kill yeast. It kills many bacteria and stuns others allowing yeast to get a foot hold.

Sorbate only prevents yeast from budding (breeding) so any yeast that are still alive will continue feeding on any sugar in the wine. They just won't have children.

 

[WineyMe]

Yes, I had checked it with the hydrometer...it was .994 two days in a row, which I would have thought to be sufficient. I have a drill mounted whip for it and I 'whipped' it to death!! At this stage, SHOULD it be still engaging the airlock, or should the gas be pretty much out of it? As well, is it normal to still see little bubbles now? Thanks for your help!!!

 

[djrockinsteve]

yes it will finish on it's own or it could be sulfite gas. Temperature changes will cause air to escape as it gets warmer plus changes in atmospheric pressure.