My SG is going up instead of down ,HELP !!!

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NSwiner

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I started a sparkling wine and didn't have trouble getting in going .The starting SG was 1.084 when it dropped to Sg - 1,010 I put it in the carboy as instructed . That was on March 24 been checking as it went along and it hadn't dropped just stuck around 1.008 .After I tried stirring and shaking it around nothing happened . So April 3 ,Saturday I added a pinch of yeast EC-1118 to see if it help it finish off .Well I checked it today and the SG is at 1.010 :slp so now what I guess I'll have to do is just wait to see if drops .I checked 3 others wines & the SG are where they are suppose to be so it's not because my hydrometer is reading it wrong ..Any ideas why it happened ? It's nice & clear . I don't understand why adding yeast would make it go up ,I didn't add any sugar .
Just a note I used the slurry from it to start another wine made from bottled juice and it's going fine .It's time to stablize it already .
 
Darlene,

I've noticed in the past that the SG reading of an activly fermenting wine may appear to go up as activity increases due to extra gas bubbles rising, pushing up on the hydrometer.. Try taking a measurement in a wine thief/test tube, and make sure you spin the hydrometer and that no gas is rising in the tube to get an accurate reading..

Same thing happened recently on my skeeter pee.. It got active again after stirring and the SG appeared to go up.. Just an idea.. Other than this, I can not see any reason it should rise after adding yeast..

:?
 
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I use the thief to take the reading .I did it 3 times to make I was reading it right . Maybe I'll try stirring it again see what happens .I really want to get this one out of the carboy because it has the bung in it that went through on me .
 
Yesterday I was racking some pear wine. I placed some in a test tube and noticed it was a higher s.g. reading than months ago. I gave the test tube a little tap and spun the hydrometer and Wa-la! The co2 bubbles came up and the reading went down.

Most likely your hydrometer is being held up. If you look closely you may be able to see but not always.
 
How about temperature differences? If the must was warmer in the primary where you measured it it would have a higher reading than the same must at a lower temp in the carboy.

I think that's right but maybe I have it backwards.
 
I don't think backwards Darren, I think Darlene put the hydrometer upside down. They measure things different in Canada, dont ya know?!! LOL
 
I don't think backwards Darren, I think Darlene put the hydrometer upside down. They measure things different in Canada, dont ya know?!! LOL

lol
I just went & picked up a 11.5 L carboy for another wine , so maybe I'll rack it off with all the stuff from the bottom along also .Then get that bung out and try soemthing I have great difficulty with ,having patients and wait to see if it drops .
 
Ok I have stirred it again yesterday & it still isn't moving .I have 1tsp ECX-1118 yeast , sugar and water mixed up waiting for it to get going , I used water because I didn't want any taste from a juice in the wine .It's on the cool side here today compared to what it has been so I moved the carboy to a chair and have it sitting over the register to warm it up a bit it's at 68 F right now . When it gets to atleast 70 F I'll add the yeast unless you guys come with a better idea .MY main concern is that it won't carbonate if there's no active yeast .
 
Well i think I ruined it now because since I added the yeast mixture on Friday it hasn't moved .And no it's not CO2 in it making it read that . Thinking I might get hold of the store I bought it from to see what they say but now that I added the yeast they probably won't cover any warranty .
 
Just out of curiosity, what was your target finishing gravity? I've not made a sparkling wine so have no idea of what you should expect. What kit was it?
 
Adding a pinch of yeast to a wine that is already that high in alc is a waste of time and money, it immediately dies due to that high abv. I highly dought you ruined anything. what is the temp of this kit when it stopped and since then? Now you know why most of the time I dont transfer my wine early or if I do I stir it all up and do it cause chances are you racked off most of the lees leaving lots behind I bet. SG's do not go up unless sugar is added and that very small amount that you have noticed in difference could very well have been just the hydro slighty stuck on the side of the test jar, a very small amount of gas in that sample, or even a temp differnce not acounted for. Either way that small difference is nothing at all! this wine could have basically run out of nutrients. Try taking small sample (enough that could be checked with a hydro) and add some sugar and some nutrient and see what happens! If it ferments again I would continue on with the Sparkling process. Sorry i did not notice this post and jump in earlier. If this is a kit then you really need to post this next time under the proper area of kit wines, if this is a kit let me know so I can move it to its proper home.
 
Just out of curiosity, what was your target finishing gravity? I've not made a sparkling wine so have no idea of what you should expect. What kit was it?

The final SG is suppose to be .996 .
 
Thats what is written on papre, Mother Nature doesnt look at that pice of paper nor care about it. Yeast is a living thing and is unpredictable.
 
Adding a pinch of yeast to a wine that is already that high in alc is a waste of time and money, it immediately dies due to that high abv. I highly dought you ruined anything. what is the temp of this kit when it stopped and since then? Now you know why most of the time I dont transfer my wine early or if I do I stir it all up and do it cause chances are you racked off most of the lees leaving lots behind I bet. SG's do not go up unless sugar is added and that very small amount that you have noticed in difference could very well have been just the hydro slighty stuck on the side of the test jar, a very small amount of gas in that sample, or even a temp differnce not acounted for. Either way that small difference is nothing at all! this wine could have basically run out of nutrients. Try taking small sample (enough that could be checked with a hydro) and add some sugar and some nutrient and see what happens! If it ferments again I would continue on with the Sparkling process. Sorry i did not notice this post and jump in earlier. If this is a kit then you really need to post this next time under the proper area of kit wines, if this is a kit let me know so I can move it to its proper home.

First off yes Wade it is a kit New Millennium Sparkling wine from WE sorry I was so frazzled that it's going up & not down I didn't think of putting it in the kit section . Again I'll say that i took the SG reading atleast 10 times and it's the same no matter if I danced around the room jumping up & down with it .I didn't rack it off the lees early I was late I should have done it at Sg - 1.010 and It went quicker then I expected down to SG - .996 . It's been between 68 - 70 F for temp after I racked it I put it back in the same spot it was at .We had a bit of a warm spell here but back to normal temps now for this time of year .At one point I thought the warm spell might have made it drop quicker to the .996 . So how long would I wait to know if it's going to ferment again like a couple of days ? What about this yeast I have floating around my wine now do you think it will settle out eventually ? Oh BTW i think I posted it when you weren't feeling so good thats probably why you missed it .
 
That yeast will settle out, yoiu may need to shake it out a little though. I made that kit in 2006 and still have a few bottles in my basement. It was ok but nothing great. I would not buy it again and would buy a wine that I did like and make Sparkling wine out of that. I hated this as a still wine but its ok as a sparkling wine. Maybe Im not reading this correctly, did thius wine make it down to .996?
 
Without adding some sort of sugar the laws of physics would have to cease to exist in that carboy!
 
I think it would help if you listed the steps this kit has gone through - it's a bit confusing, although maybe I just need my coffee!
Your OG was 1.084, racked to carboy at 1.010, it stalled and you added a pinch of yeast, later you added a yeast starter - at what point did it get to 0.996?
Like Wade said, unless you add some form of sugar ( yeast starter?) it can't go back up that much.
Edit - I'm not familiar with the sparkling wine process so that may be adding to my confusion!
 
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Ok what I've decided is maybe when we had the warm spill it threw the SG reading that gave me the .996 and it going to stay at SG - 1.010 . When i did the test you told me to try Wade it didn't do anything so I've decided to stablize it and back sweeten big time ,it's very tart .Maybe i'll even try some of the cherry flavour I bought to see what it tastes like .
 

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