Help me read my hydrometer!

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Siwash

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Hey folks,

this is the first year I am using a hydrometer... below are readings from two crush grape varieties. These are initial measurements. I am not sure how to read this and I find the reading s confusing.. Is this a proper initial reading? Do I need to add sugar to these musts? Thanks!!

Grenache:

IMAG1317_BURST003.jpg

Carignan:

IMAG1318.jpg
 
OK. Backstory first: An hydrometer provides information about the density of a liquid and wine makers use the density as a measure of the sugar content. The greater the density, the more sugar is in the must (fruit juice). The greater the density of the must, the higher the bulb at the bottom of the hydrometer will float and the lower the density the lower the bulb will float. Knowing that, the manufacturers of hydrometers etch lines on the stem that provide you with an idea of how high or how low the bulb at the bottom is floating. If you placed your hydrometer into a jar filled with distilled water the line at the surface would be 1.000. Water with added sugars would make the bulb float higher - 1.010, 1.040, 1.060, 1.090... the higher the number , the more sugar in the liquid. You can think of those numbers as "points" (so , 10 points, 40 points, 60 points and 90 points of sugar)

The readings you have are a little above 1.100 and so you have about 100 points of sugar from the grapes. If all that sugar fermented dry (to alcohol and carbon dioxide) your wine would be about 13% alcohol by volume (ABV). I cannot say whether you need or want to add any sugar because I don't know what ABV you were aiming for but IMO, a wine with 13% ABV is right on the money.

As the yeast converts the sugar to alcohol, the density will drop and so your hydrometer will slowly fall lower and lower into the liquid until the reading is at 1.000 or even lower (alcohol is less dense than water) so an hydrometer placed in a jar of dry wine might provide a reading as low as 0.996 - only an inch (a couple of cm) or so of the top of the hydrometer would be above the surface of the wine.

Hope that this helps. Good luck!
 
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@ Bernard Smith, 13% IS PERFECT! So raw juice should be in that range then if 13% +/- is the goal.. I thought it was off..

Will study that video sent and hope to learn more about this.

I did not add k-Meta though. Hope that is not going to be a problem. I did sterilize everything with it though

Thanks!!
 
what should the reading be at when I want to press if I want a dry wine?
 
what should the reading be at when I want to press if I want a dry wine?

Hi! I'm new to wine making but I think I can answer your questions! I received help on this site and finally I have a chance to pay it forward. From that picutre, I know your SG reading here is 1.104SG (you must read the bottom of the meniscus as liquids like to climb up walls. Usually climbs about 0.002SG.).

All wines at all SG will be fermented to complete dryness during the secondary before bottling or else you will creating risk bottle bombs. As the yeast eats up sugars, the yeast will excrete CO2 and alcohol. You will know when the wine is completely fermented by reading 3 same SG readings for 3 days.

Adding sugar to your must will increase the SG reading and therefore increase the alcohol content after fermentation.

higher pre-fermentation SG reading = higher alcohol content.

This means, you will be modifying your SG reading to modify how much alcohol will be in your wine NOT how dry it is.

Also note, if you are planning to backsweeten your wine, you must do this after your wine has completely fermented all the initial sugars and add k-sorbate before adding any sugars or else risk fermenting the newly added sugars.

Hope this helps :)
 
what should the reading be at when I want to press if I want a dry wine?

A dry wine results when the yeast you use is able to ferment all the sugars in the must (the juice). The initial reading is not very relevant as there is no grape - or indeed fruit - to the best of my knowledge that contains more sugar than any wine yeast can effectively ferment dry. (if you add sugar or honey or any sweetener then you may reach a sugar concentration that will damage the cells of the yeast and so prevent the yeast from fermenting). Wine yeasts can easily ferment dry to about 14% or 15% ABV without blinking... Check out the data sheets published by the companies that cultivate the yeast.. So you are looking for a starting gravity that is lower than about 1.120 which is about 16% - BUT a gravity of about 1.090 is what - I think - most wine makers look for.
 

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