Has my wine stopped fermenting too early?

[REDRUM]

I'm just wondering if it's possible to get an accurate visual idea as to when fermentation is complete.

My wine has been fermenting for around 72 hours now. It started fairly slow and then really sped up, but now it has slowed right down again / possibly stopped.

I don't have a hydrometer. The wine is in a 30L fermenting tub and when I seal the lid there are no longer bubbles coming through the airlock. To taste, the wine seems quite dry... but it seems like 3 days is way too short a time for the fermentation to have completed.

The fermentation temperature has fluctuated a bit, according to the crappy adhesive thermometer on the side of the vessel - started at 22C, went up gradually to around 30, when I started dropping frozen water bottles in - these brought it back down and now it's sitting at about 24. So it should have at least stayed within a normal temperature range the whole time.

What do you reckon - should I just assume it's still going and leave it to do its thing?
Should I chuck in another packet of yeast and see if that kickstarts it?
Should I buy a hydrometer?

Cheers

 

[sour_grapes]

Should I buy a hydrometer?
Cheers

This. .

 

[MrKevin]

My fermentations usually start slow, get really going for a few days, then slow down for up to a week. Not having a hydrometer, is like not having gas for your car.

 

[REDRUM]

This. .

lol, I was expecting that response!

I have added more yeast and bought a hydrometer. If there's no visible action in a day's time, I will test the vino! And another question: if it HAS chewed through all the sugar and stopped fermenting altogether after 3 days is that within the 'normal' spectrum or does it mean something is wrong?

 

[Pumpkinman]

The biggest issue is not having known what the starting gravity was, we have no idea what it has done. That said, before you added more yeast, did you take a SG reading?
Adding more yeast to a wine that may not have any sugars left to convert will not help you in any way.

 

[REDRUM]

Yeah, I figured that more yeast wouldn't hurt though & would just drop out if it had nothing to feed on.

I added some more yeast and I believe the wine is still fermenting, albeit slowly. I will just let it do its thing and will start taking SG readings when I think it's stopped again.

 

[mkjennison]

Not having a hydrometer, is like not having gas for your car.

More like not having a gas gauge...

 

[jpsmithny]

What kind of wine are you making?
What yeast did you use?
Did you add any nutrients?

The ONLY way to tell when the ferment has finished is to use the hydrometer.

Ok, it's not the only way but is the best way for a home winemaker.

 

[REDRUM]

Hi jpsmithny,
The wine is Grenache / Shiraz, cofermented using Lalvin Bourgovin RC212. No yeast nutrients added. Looks like the additional yeast did the trick, it's still bubbling away slowly. Will test SG once it looks like it's stopped.
Cheers!

 

[grapeman]

If you have a hydrometer check the SG now to get an idea where it is at. It takes the guessing out of the equation.

 

[altavino]

It would take less time to take a hydrometer reading than to post your question. Bubbles mean nothing .