Have I ruined wine?

[PostToastee]

Sometimes I'm not too swift. I'm making a Winexpert California Merlot. Went through primary and racked to carboy. Winexpert instructions say to wait until hydrometer says 1.010 or less......I just realized I'm an idiot and it was 1.040 when I racked it! I wondered why it was still foaming so much, it's still fermenting!

Have I ruined it? What steps can I take to get back on track?

 

[TonyR]

If the readings are still 1.040 you can put it back in you primary, just think of it as a good stiring and degassing. No harm no foul.

 

[danr]

I,m no expert but...I,d let time do it,s thing.Is it foaming over the carboy?If not I,d just cover with cloth,watch,maybe tomorrow you will be able to put a drilled stopper in w/out airlock for a day.attach airlock and proceed as normal.If it's really foaming over decide weather to wrap towels around carboy or return to sanitized primary.
This is based on my experience(s).Again I'm no expert-perhaps we both can learn here.

 

[JohnT]

No doubt that it still is fermenting. The risk you now have is that the active yeast can clog up your fermentatio trap, resulting in a potential backup of pressure, a blown stopper and a volcanic eruption of wine. Be sure to check your fermentation trap often or, as suggested, rack back into your primary and rerack when the SG lowers to a much lower level.

You did not ruin your wine. You only need to give the wine a little more care.

 

[PostToastee]

ok, maybe not an idiot. i'm thinking how could I make a mistake like that? and I now believe that I didn't. I think I wrote it down wrong and it was 1.004, not 1.040, which would be right. That does not take away the fact that I do have some foam accumulated in the carboy right now. Not a great amount but some nonetheless. It sits in a dark room all day at 74 degrees. If it check before clarifying and it's less than 0.996. I should be OK? How about if I just recheck the specific gravity to make sure?

 

[AZMDTed]

ok, maybe not an idiot. i'm thinking how could I make a mistake like that? and I now believe that I didn't. I think I wrote it down wrong and it was 1.004, not 1.040, which would be right. That does not take away the fact that I do have some foam accumulated in the carboy right now. Not a great amount but some nonetheless. It sits in a dark room all day at 74 degrees. If it check before clarifying and it's less than 0.996. I should be OK? How about if I just recheck the specific gravity to make sure?

Hi,
Is it really foam that you're seeing or lots of small bubbles that you can see rise up from the wine along the side of the carboy? If it's just small clear bubbles then you're doing great. You're seeing the CO2 being released from the wine. If it's truly foam that would be unusual at this stage. Check your SG and let us know what it says.

 

[grapeman]

You can go ahead and check the specific gravity. A bit of foam is fine. Don't worry about following the directions exactly as time goes. A day or two here and there make little difference. Calm down and enjoy what you are doing.

 

[DoctorCAD]

All is well...remain calm.

It may take a bit longer to ferment all the way, but it should keep going. Worst case s that you might need to add some yeast if you didn't get enough when you racked.

Wine is really hard to "ruin"

 

[PostToastee]

whew! all is well!

i retook my hydrometer reading and i'm an idiot! it was 1.004, not 1.040. i know i'll be at or below .996 this evening. I am now ready to get to clarifying and de-gassing stage. i'm going to try 2 methods together. i bought a metal stirring stick w/wings that i'm going to attach to drill. hopefully that will do the brunt of the work. the other thing after that i'm going to try is i have a vacuvin and i bought a bung that i'm going to shave down to fit into the vacuvin and carboy. I saw a video where the guy pumped it about 40 times the first day, then about 40 the next, then released the air. anyone ever try this?

 

[Johnd]

i retook my hydrometer reading and i'm an idiot! it was 1.004, not 1.040. i know i'll be at or below .996 this evening. I am now ready to get to clarifying and de-gassing stage. i'm going to try 2 methods together. i bought a metal stirring stick w/wings that i'm going to attach to drill. hopefully that will do the brunt of the work. the other thing after that i'm going to try is i have a vacuvin and i bought a bung that i'm going to shave down to fit into the vacuvin and carboy. I saw a video where the guy pumped it about 40 times the first day, then about 40 the next, then released the air. anyone ever try this?

It's how I degassed when I started, it's a lot of work. Helpful hint: add all of your chems, clarifying agents, etc and top up some of the airspace before trying the vacuvin. Don't top up into the neck, leave some airspace for bubbles and foam. The less airspace you have, the easier it is to create the vacuum. Once you go through your few day process and feel that you are degassed, top up the rest of the way and plan to bulk age for a little while to allow your wine to clear and make sure all of your gas is gone, they go hand in hand.

Almost forgot, don't "release the air", you're just letting oxygen back into your carboy. As you vacuum, the headspace will be largely made up of CO2, which you want!!!!!!!

 

[PostToastee]

It's how I degassed when I started, it's a lot of work. Helpful hint: add all of your chems, clarifying agents, etc and top up some of the airspace before trying the vacuvin. Don't top up into the neck, leave some airspace for bubbles and foam. The less airspace you have, the easier it is to create the vacuum. Once you go through your few day process and feel that you are degassed, top up the rest of the way and plan to bulk age for a little while to allow your wine to clear and make sure all of your gas is gone, they go hand in hand.

Almost forgot, don't "release the air", you're just letting oxygen back into your carboy. As you vacuum, the headspace will be largely made up of CO2, which you want!!!!!!!

I don't get the topping up thing. I'm trying to make my own wine, not add some other wine to it that will make it different. It's a Winexpert Seleection California Merlot and it's above the top line into the curved part of the carboy. I'd prefer not to add anything.

The video I watched using the vacuvin, you do release the air, that sound is the gas going out. Plus don't I still want to put the airlock on for the next 2 weeks (at least) before bottling?

 

[Johnd]

I don't get the topping up thing. I'm trying to make my own wine, not add some other wine to it that will make it different. It's a Winexpert Seleection California Merlot and it's above the top line into the curved part of the carboy. I'd prefer not to add anything.

The video I watched using the vacuvin, you do release the air, that sound is the gas going out. Plus don't I still want to put the airlock on for the next 2 weeks (at least) before bottling?

If I understand your wine level, you're a bottle or so from full. You're going to have to top up at some point in time, or use a headspace eliminator, or rack down to smaller vessels, or add marbles, something to counteract the oxidation that will occur with excessive headspace. To minimize oxidation, your wine level should be an inch or so from the bottom of the stopper. If you top up with similar wine, it's still your wine and any effect on taste will be negligible. Topping up now, instead of later, will ease your work with the vacuvin, that's all I'm saying, and not all the way while you degas.

When you pump the vacuvin, it draws air out of the headspace and you create a vacuum inside the carboy which causes the wine to release CO2. It stops releasing CO2 as the pressure inside the vessel increases, due to the CO2 release, to a point of equilibrium with the pressure outside of the vessel and bubbles stop coming up. Then you pump more drawing more gas out of the carboy as you pump, recreating the vacuum. Do this enough and you can degas your wine.

The pumping removes the gas, if you release the vacuvin stopper while the carboy is under vacuum, air rushes into the carboy to equalize the pressure. If you do that repeatedly, you introduce air unnecessarily, just pump til you're tired of it and leave it be til you're ready to pump it more.

 

[Loner]

If you decide to use the drill stir method in a carboy you had best go easy. There isn't much room for the foam to go except out. Give it a two second stir forward and a two second stir in reverse. Stop and see what the reaction is. If you are still good repeat the two steps ... Try to not create a vortex as you don't want to add air to your wine at this point.

 

[PostToastee]

I bought the S/S Mix Stir, a metal rod with paddles. I have a drill. I'm not going top up but I'm going to add my clarifying chemicals and stir. I know that the WinExpert instructions so to give it approximately 14 days then be ready to bottle. It also states that if going to wait 6+ months you must add additional chemicals. In my reading it says degassing occurs naturally over time. I'm noticing even now, very little escaping of gas through the bung/airlock. If I were to simply rack again after the 14 days and then wait another few weeks or so, will that help to alleviate the issue? This is only my 2nd batch. My first it seems like a very slight effervescence upon opening the bottle but would dissipate after breathing and be fine. I'm just wanting to make those first sips not effervescent, without having to decant or let breathe. I know to be patient but .....

 

[jgmann67]

No buts, unfortunately.

Time and temp will naturally degas your wine; fastest way to degas is to put your wine under a vacuum (not recommended with plastic carboys); least reliable degas method is the stir.

For my first couple of batches I was like you. It's the hardest lesson in wine making - wine needs time.

The days prescribed in the instructions are for informational purposes only, your mileage will vary. Rack your wine every three months, dose with KMeta at each racking; and, don't bottle until it's clear of co2 and sediment.