Very new to making wine not from kits.
Just made Bramble 9lb & Elderberry Wine 11lb (Internet recipe), using 20lb fruit to approx 10.5lbs sugar, 3tspn pectin enzym, 5 crushed campden tablets, 6 tspn yeast nutrients, 5tspn wine yeast (instructions state rounded & no need to activate), 10 tspn citric acid in 5 gallon fermenting vessel.
Crushed fruit, boiled sugar syrup separately & when cool added to fruit, then added rest of ingredients, stirred well.
Poss 1st mistake teaspoon used was probably a bit large. 2nd mistake then put fermentation lock on FV, prob for approx 2 days. Fermentation was very fast. Stirred each day. Realised mistake & took lock off and covered just with towel to allow air in. After 7 days fine seived & racked to demi johns with fermentation lock. 3rd mistake didn't read specific gravity initially!
Problem the demi johns have stopped fermenting after only a couple of days, they were in dining room where heat is approx 21deg C (70 deg F) and a bit colder at night. Have now moved them near the boiler.
Measured the gravity for the 1st time tonight and its .994 which is too dry??? Also had a brief taste of wine and its very, very tart.
Has the wine stopped fermenting because its got enough alcohol & can we bottle it & hope the flavour improves?
Or should we try to start fermentation again by adding more yeast - if so how much per DJ?
Also to sweeten the wine should we add more sugar syrup if so how much? Or would we better with some form of sweet natural juice? Also when do we add the sweetener?
Any advice would be really welcome.
Just made Bramble 9lb & Elderberry Wine 11lb (Internet recipe), using 20lb fruit to approx 10.5lbs sugar, 3tspn pectin enzym, 5 crushed campden tablets, 6 tspn yeast nutrients, 5tspn wine yeast (instructions state rounded & no need to activate), 10 tspn citric acid in 5 gallon fermenting vessel.
Crushed fruit, boiled sugar syrup separately & when cool added to fruit, then added rest of ingredients, stirred well.
Poss 1st mistake teaspoon used was probably a bit large. 2nd mistake then put fermentation lock on FV, prob for approx 2 days. Fermentation was very fast. Stirred each day. Realised mistake & took lock off and covered just with towel to allow air in. After 7 days fine seived & racked to demi johns with fermentation lock. 3rd mistake didn't read specific gravity initially!
Problem the demi johns have stopped fermenting after only a couple of days, they were in dining room where heat is approx 21deg C (70 deg F) and a bit colder at night. Have now moved them near the boiler.
Measured the gravity for the 1st time tonight and its .994 which is too dry??? Also had a brief taste of wine and its very, very tart.
Has the wine stopped fermenting because its got enough alcohol & can we bottle it & hope the flavour improves?
Or should we try to start fermentation again by adding more yeast - if so how much per DJ?
Also to sweeten the wine should we add more sugar syrup if so how much? Or would we better with some form of sweet natural juice? Also when do we add the sweetener?
Any advice would be really welcome.