How long can a slow ferment last

[Kramnuko]

Chilean Pinot Noir: yeast, BM4x4, (1) tbsb tanin,, started 6/11/13 on 7/7/13 moved from primary to secondary SG 1.010. Today 9/5/13 the SG is 1.000 and plenty of bubbles escaping the trap. So how long is too long?

 

[jpsmithny]

Kramnuko, what was the original gravity?

 

[spaniel]

Was this at room temp? If so it is curious that it is moving so slow, but it appears to have been very slow from the start (assuming typical starting SG and taking ~3 weeks to get to 1.010). That would not be unusual at 50-55F, but at room temp I've not seen one that slow.

 

[JohnT]

Almost 3 months???

Something is at play here. My guess is that your temperature is at fault. Is it possible that the wine is kept rather cool most of the time, and is allowed to warm up periodically? I would ensure 70 degrees (f) for a period of 4 or 5 days to get the wine to finish off.

The good news is that you do not have very much left in the way of fermentation.

 

[Kramnuko]

The starting SG was 1.080, the temp has been 70- 76 degrees. Just amazing to me that the air locks keep bubbling, one bubble every 5-10 seconds.

 

[Turock]

It looks like the ferm took almost a month--not 3 months. That is still plenty long.

To have a wine in the secondary producing bubbles is totally normal especially with an SG of 1.00 Secondary fermentation often takes quite a while. There is no rush on a wine like Pinot Noir, anyway. This grape is painfully slow to come to full flavor, requiring 2-3 years of aging.

Are you going to MLF this wine? Pinot Noir is harsh and ugly tasting (to me) when no MLF is done on it.

 

[Kramnuko]

It looks like the ferm took almost a month--not 3 months. That is still plenty long.

To have a wine in the secondary producing bubbles is totally normal especially with an SG of 1.00 Secondary fermentation often takes quite a while. There is no rush on a wine like Pinot Noir, anyway. This grape is painfully slow to come to full flavor, requiring 2-3 years of aging.

Are you going to MLF this wine? Pinot Noir is harsh and ugly tasting (to me) when no MLF is done on it.

I am still pretty new to wine making p, this is my second year. I do not know how to process an MLF ,your advice would be great as I have ten gallons of this wine.

 

[Julie]

Do you have another hydrometer? Your hydrometer maybe off. And the bubbles maybe nothing more than co2 escaping.

 

[jamesngalveston]

did you start this in a bucket with open top, are a carboy with an airlock on it.
rely on the hydrometer, not the bubbles you see.
as pointed out..it could just be the co2 escaping.

 

[JohnT]

It looks like the ferm took almost a month--not 3 months. That is still plenty long.

To have a wine in the secondary producing bubbles is totally normal especially with an SG of 1.00 Secondary fermentation often takes quite a while. There is no rush on a wine like Pinot Noir, anyway. This grape is painfully slow to come to full flavor, requiring 2-3 years of aging.

Are you going to MLF this wine? Pinot Noir is harsh and ugly tasting (to me) when no MLF is done on it.

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Kramnuko say that the wine was started on 6/11 and it was still bubbling on 9/5? Did I miss something or was it 3 months?

Kamnuko, Are you sure that the bubbles are sourced by the wine? In other words, do you see the bubbles in the wine itself? Is the wine clear? also, and most importantly, is the secondary completely filled?

 

[Turock]

Well, he said he started it on 6/11 and moved it to the secondary on 7/7. Our Pinot Noir is done with primary ferm in 5 days or so. Not managing nutrient properly may be reponsible for the long primary ferment.

Kramnuko---Pinot Noir is a tough wine for a beginner to make. It just is not a very good wine when done in fruit style--it needs that MLF. Now, it just could be that you would like it in fruit style. Adding some oak to it in the secondary may make it better, but it's gonna be a long road before you can fully evaluate this wine. It should bulk age in the carboy for about 1 year. You can bottle at that time, but then the bottles need to age at least one more year before drinking. The 3rd year is REALLY excellent, with nice chocolate notes coming thru. But that is with an MLF done on it. Pinot Noir takes lots of time for the hidden flavors to come forward.

You need to study before doing an MLF. If you Google it, you'll find lots of online white papers on the subject. E C Kraus has a pretty good one.