Low Starting SG

[smcalli1]

I'm doing things a little different with a WE 15L Chianti kit. I had some frozen Sangiovese skins from making wine earlier in the year. I added those to the WE juice along with some Lallzyme EX enzyme and 1/2 tsp of k-meta. 48 hours later he temp is in the range to pitch yeast (74) but my SG is only 1.072. I thought my hydrometer might be bad so I used my unused spare and came up with the same reading. By my estimate, that an alcohol content of around 9% which isn't going to help the character of the wine. Any suggestions?

 

[smcalli1]

Ummm, sorry. Disregard. It was too early for me to be thinking straight. I added 48 oz of sugar to bring the SG up to 1.095.

 

[WI_Wino]

I've done a number of the cheaper WE kits over the years and never had an SG that low. One thing to consider is if you don't stir the water and juice concentrate well the sugars from the concentrate will not get mixed up and can throw off your SG readings. Adding in the sugar may have boosted you into rocket fuel territory.

 

[smcalli1]

I've done a number of the cheaper WE kits over the years and never had an SG that low. One thing to consider is if you don't stir the water and juice concentrate well the sugars from the concentrate will not get mixed up and can throw off your SG readings. Adding in the sugar may have boosted you into rocket fuel territory.

I'd been stirring the juice with the bag of skins since the beginning so I think things were probably good and mixed. I'll take another reading just to see if things have changed.

 

[robie]

I'm doing things a little different with a WE 15L Chianti kit. I had some frozen Sangiovese skins from making wine earlier in the year. I added those to the WE juice along with some Lallzyme EX enzyme and 1/2 tsp of k-meta. 48 hours later he temp is in the range to pitch yeast (74) but my SG is only 1.072. I thought my hydrometer might be bad so I used my unused spare and came up with the same reading. By my estimate, that an alcohol content of around 9% which isn't going to help the character of the wine. Any suggestions?

You didn't really need to add the Lallzyme EX enzyme and certainly not the 1/2 tsp of k-meta. I'll be surprised if fermentation starts readily with all that added k-meta. You may have to stir in a lot (lots!) of oxygen in order to bind up some of that k-meta.

Were those skins from a fresh/frozen batch of grapes or from another kit?

 

[smcalli1]

You didn't really need to add the Lallzyme EX enzyme and certainly not the 1/2 tsp of k-meta. I'll be surprised if fermentation starts readily with all that added k-meta. You may have to stir in a lot (lots!) of oxygen in order to bind up some of that k-meta.

Were those skins from a fresh/frozen batch of grapes or from another kit?

The skins were from wine I made using M&M frozen must. I saved the skins to use them one more time. I did the kmeta based on an article I read somewhere but I didn't really feel comfortable doing it.

 

[robie]

The skins were from wine I made using M&M frozen must. I saved the skins to use them one more time. I did the kmeta based on an article I read somewhere but I didn't really feel comfortable doing it.

Those skins should still have something to contribute. One-half TSP of k-meta is a lot for a six-gallon kit. If fermentation doesn't start, you will need to stir in some air and prepare a yeast starter and use some of your must to acclimate the yeast. (I am only assuming you haven't started your fermentation, yet. It may be going great-guns.)

 

[smcalli1]

Those skins should still have something to contribute. One-half TSP of k-meta is a lot for a six-gallon kit. If fermentation doesn't start, you will need to stir in some air and prepare a yeast starter and use some of your must to acclimate the yeast. (I am only assuming you haven't started your fermentation, yet. It may be going great-guns.)

Thanks. Yeast has been pitched. I used BM45 with Go Ferm. I plan on using Fermaid K during fermentation. It hasn't started rolling yet.

 

[smcalli1]

Happily, the must is bubbling right along and the SG has dropped to 1.080. When the SG gets in the range of 1.05 to 1.04, I'll add some Fermaid-K to keep it going strong.

 

[robie]

Happily, the must is bubbling right along and the SG has dropped to 1.080. When the SG gets in the range of 1.05 to 1.04, I'll add some Fermaid-K to keep it going strong.

Good to hear! Just follow the Fermaid K instructions and you should be fine.
I like the results of BM45, but it can sure create an H2S problem if it doesn't get the necessary nutrients.

With BM45, I also would lightly stir the wine regularly until it is time for alcoholic secondary. The bentonite being present during fermentation will help this.

 

[smcalli1]

Good to hear! Just follow the Fermaid K instructions and you should be fine.
I like the results of BM45, but it can sure create an H2S problem if it doesn't get the necessary nutrients.

With BM45, I also would lightly stir the wine regularly until it is time for alcoholic secondary. The bentonite being present during fermentation will help this.

Thanks. I'm punching down the bag of skins three times a day.

 

[smcalli1]

Wow! It's dropped from 1.094 to 1.034 in two days. I added another dose of Fermaid K today. At this rate, it'll be dry by Sunday.