My first batch of wine is still bubbling away...how to know when to rack it for secon

[skbrothers]

I was given a Merlot making kit for Christmas and excitedly started
making my first ever batch of wine on Feb 11th. The instructions say
that fermentation should have slowed dramatically by day 10 and that I
should rack the wine for secondary fermentation.

Well I gave it an extra day to see if things would slow, but these
little yeast seem to be eating and metabolizing away in there. My
airlock will release a bubble every 20 seconds or so and I can see
streams and streams of bubbles rising from the wine.


I do not have a way to measure specific gravity so that may narrow my
options, but can someone offer a first timer a bit of advice?


Should I wait until the bubbling truly slows before racking and
starting secondary fermentation?
....or....
Should I just Rack it today as the instructions call for?


FYI: This is a small (1 gallon) Merlot making kit from Vino
Corporation.


Thanks in advance gang!

Steve

 

[cpfan]

Steve:

First welcome to a great (but addictive) hobby.

Second, get yourself TWO hydrometers. Having a spare decreases the odds that you'll break the first one.

Third, thank you for introducing me to a new line of kits, I have never heard of these, and I have a mild interest in making some one gallon kits, especially if the variety is right. (http://www.vinoinc.com/)

Unfortunately, their web-site is rather incomplete.

Without a hydrometer reading and not being familiar with the brand, it is hard to guess what the situation might be. I guess you'll have to take a chance and transfer the wine at some point.

Can you provide a temperature reading for the wine?

Steve

 

[Wade E]

I have Kaspersky security in my computer and when i click on that link that CPfan posted i immediately get a Trojan downloader warning so be advised!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CP, I hope you didnt just get infected!

 

[arcticsid]

I hope not either Steve, keep your security up to date. I spend as much time harrassing you guys in here as I do keep my computer safe from "unwanted bacteria", if you spend alot of time on the net spend at least the same amount of time keeping your system safe.

On another note, do they really make one gallon kits?
Troy

 

[skbrothers]

Thanks for the reply all.

My fermenting wine reads an even 70degrees. It has been brewing right under our thermostat which hovers between 70-71 degrees. It has been consistantly at this temp for 11 days now.

Funny, I lifted the jug to look at the sediment building at the bottom of the jug and apparently I excited the yeast a bit more as bubble activity has increased. The airlock is releasing bubles about every 17 seconds now vs the 20 seconds it was previous to my temperature measurement.

I will get a wine hydrometer at some point, as I can see myself making more wine with a better kit in the near future. But for this batch I will wing it a bit and hope for the best.

I'm going to let it keep fermenting beyond the 10days called for in the instructions, in the hopes that I'll see the bubbles slow down. If they do not slow in the next two days I guess I should just start the secondary eh?

Anyone have any thoughts or words of wisdom?

Not sure what the deal is with the trojan warning you are getting. Why would such a (retail) site jam a trojan on potential customers?

Anyway thanks for any an all advise...I'm flying blind here
:-(

Steve

 

[cpfan]

Guys:

Thanks for the concerns. Norton didn't go haywire. I'm not a big Norton fan, but haven't got around to improving my security. Actually given some of the things I do with my computers, it's kinda surprising that I don't get hit.

Steve:

I don't think that the wine is still fermenting much. At that temp, 10-12 days is probably enough. The increased bubbling when you moved the jug is just CO2 coming out of solution due to the slight "shaking".

Troy:

The site was so incomplete that I couldn't see much about their products.

Steve

 

[Wade E]

Norton missed a lot on my computers until finally when t did say something it was too late and had so many problems at athat point that i had to wipe out everything and reboot windows from the beginning, luckily I have everything on a few computers and just transfer but it takes alot of time and aggrevation.