Muscadine Wine

[Ernest T Bass]

I'll try again, I just spend about 30 minutes typing this post, and like my wine making, I did something wrong and it didn't post.

Please hold your laughter off until the end.
A friend gave me 5 quarts of muscadine preserves, they were probably 8 or 10 years old, don't really know, but the jars were dusty and the caps rusty, but still sealed good.
Here is what I did:

9/17 5 quarts of muscadines
5 pounds of sugar
1 package of bread yeast
3 gallons of well water
mixed all of this up real good
9/19 SpGr 1.080
Added 1/4 cup of sugar--trying to get it to 1.085
9/20 SpGr 1.065
9/22 Put in 4 gallon jug with air lock--don't know why I moved it then,
if I took a SpGr I didn't log it in. Probably didn't take one?
Tasted it, taste pretty good to
10/3 SpGr 1.010---bubbling about every 6 seconds
10/5 Racked---didn't take a SpGr, but it had not bubbled for 2 days
Lots of krud settled out, probably about 3 inches
Ended up with 3 1/2 gallons of wine, or what ever it is?
I racked it into 3 one gallon jugs and a 1/2 gallon jug, the last
half gallon had lots of krud, probably should have thrown it away
Racked it back to the 4 gallon carboy, well not really, I poured it
back, but I was very careful and let it just run down the funnel.
Added 1/2 gallon of water to bring level up to with-in 1 inch of
air lock.
10/6 Not working--raised temp in room to about 75* and added 2 cups of
sugar
3 hours later - Still nothing happening - Added 1 pack of yeast (Lalvin 71B- 1112) and stired gently
3 hours later - Added 4 teaspoons of yeast neutrient, 4 teaspoons of acid
blend and threw in a 1/4 teaspoon of tannin for good
measure, I guess if I had had anything else I would have
added it to.

When you get thru laughing, how about some help, or should I just
Chunk it ??????????

Semper Fi

 

[djrockinsteve]

Bud what are we gonna do with you.......just teasing. Hats off to you for starting this wine.
You had a nice starting specific gravity. I see no enzymes added. No nutrient in the beginning. You started with bread yeast. Why not a wine yeast? Your fermentation had just started and you put it under airlock.
Yeast is a living breathing organisim. You probably chocked it and if it's not stirred daily if not twice daily the yeasts struggled for sugar. Then added more sugar which if fermented would yield a higher alcohol content.

If I understand everything correctly, (it's late) I would put the must into a bucket, stir it and if no action add another yeast packet from starter. Use what you used earlier Lalvin &1-B or Lalvin E-1118

If it doesn't take off you are risking oxidation. Oxygen is slowly working on this now be it so little. Don't dump it yet. Let's try to get this up and running again.

Let us know.

 

[winemaker_3352]

If you haven't sulfited it yet - do so. It will help prevent some oxidation - might be able to absorbic acid as well.

Like stated above - you may have just choked it out.

Have you taken an SG reading? You racked on 10/5 at 1.010 - curious to know what it is now - are you sure it isn't done?