Newbie needs help

[Peterock]

Hi All, Newbie here in need of some advice. To give you all a little back ground, I made wine (from juice)last year at my friends house with his guidance with Great outcome. This year we went our separate ways and I don't want to screw it up. I've read many posts here already that have added to my confusion. I'll start from the beginning.

I bought

6 gal of Mosto Imperatore Lambrusco

6 Gal of Mosto Imperatore Barolo

5 gal of Regina Nebbiolo

I purchased them on Nov 13 and transferred them to carboys and air locked them and left them in my basement @ 50-60ish degrees



On Nov 24 I bought 6 gal of Lodi Gold Malbec (unpitched) and slightly frozen (slushy). I left this one up stairs at room temp 60-65ish degrees for a day and them sprinkled one packet of red star yeast on top along with 1/4 teaspoon of pectic enzyme and placed buckets top loosely back on top. At this time I brought my other wine carboys upstairs in thought that it was too cold in basement.

So I'm now on day 12 of the Malbec in which I should rack from bucket to carboy??? Right

The other wines are bubbling thru the air locks (which is normal) except the Nebbiolo.

I'm figuring you guys are going to ask me the S.G. Answer is I don't know. I just bought a hydrometer but still don't know what it was when I first got it. I read in forums about boiling and adding distilled water to get original SG problem being I'm not sure I can pull 250ml then boil down to 150 with any kind of accuracy.

Should I rack all my wine? and move them to basement? Should I add the pectic enzyme to my other juices? Is it to late? I've also read about adding Potassium Metabisulfite to my wine. Is it necessary? I haven't done it in the past (well last year) which was my 1st time. Forgive me if this doesn't make much sense as my mind has many questions but I can only ask questions on how far I'm along I am or my brain will start mixing all the answers together and really screw me up. Thanks in advance.

 

[djrockinsteve]

First and foremost, welcome to the forum. You've come to the right place for help and there are many here who can assist you.

Yes you do need to take a gravity reading when you get your juices. Glad you picked one up now. Your Nebbiolo from Regina would have had a reading of 1.092 That's 12% ABV

I get Nebbiolo each year from Regina. I like their wine/juices. It takes me about 6 days to ferment dry. The temps. are warmer in Sept. than now.

When you get your juices add the pectic enzyme several hours after you pick it up. Let it warm up a bit then add it. I add 21 drops per 6 gallons. Sulfite and yeast do not allow the enzymes to work together. After 12 to 24 hours add your nutrients and yeast. The Nebbiolo would have already been sulfited. Unless you have a problem don't add any when you pick it up.

Stir often daily, gently and mix up even the bottom lees. After 4 days start checking the gravity daily. I have started snapping on a lid w/airlock when the gravity reaches 1.000 or just below. I'll give it a good stir then snap it on to finish. The Nebbiolo probably stopped at .994 +/-

Add 1/4 teaspoon sulfite (Potassium Metabisulfite) in another carboy and rack to stabilize the wine and protect it from bacteria specifically acetobactor (vinegar bacteria). Degass, add a fining agent (I prefer Sparkolloid) and let it age 4 to 6 weeks. (Preferably in a warm area 68-75 degrees).

Rack again and add a pinch of sulfite then age, add oak if you like. I age my reds a year in a cool area. Most commercial wines will follow this basic time line but it's about the gravity/fermentation in the beginning and the clearing later on. These are rough guidelines.

Do you have to use sulfite, no but avoiding this addition could and eventually lead to problems later on. I know I would hate to spend money and all that time to open a bottle of crap a year later.

Hope this eliminates some confusion. Welcome again.

 

[Peterock]

Thanks djrockinsteve,

OK so I was supposed add yeast to my Nebbiolo?? Oops
Should I add the pectic to my other wine/juices??

 

[cpfan]

Peterock:

Before you make any decisions, get current sg readings. Don't add any sulfite until you are sure that the wine has finished fermenting (it will only slow down the ferment at that stage).

You only need the initial sg reading if you want to know how much alcohol is in the finished product, and many juice pails are partly fermented when you get them, so your initial reading could be wrong.

I've only made one Regina pail (a Pinot Noir), and it started fermenting on it's own without the addition of yeast.

Steve

 

[Tom]

1st Welcome
1st thing is get the wine ouyt of the basement. At that temp most yeast are almost dorment.
Like above give us some gravity readings. It's not the time its the gravity readings that are important at this stage. Get back with the readings and we can better answer.

BTW Wade lives in your area.

 

[Peterock]

Thanks for the helping. I'll take the SG readings when I get home. I'll post my findings so you guys can point me in the right direction from there. Thanks again everyone, this forum site is awesome.

 

[Peterock]

OK so here's my numbers.
The Nebbiolo is slightly lower than 1.000 (the 1.000 print on the hydrometer is covered) The Barolo,Lambrusco,and Malbec are all right smack dab in the middle of 1.000 and 1.010.

So now I was just thinking and I'm wondering my Barolo & Nebbiolo both have some head room in the carboy and I just opened it up to do SG readings, Are they still fermenting enough to not have to worry about the O2 inside the carboy? Also remember my Malbec is still in the bucket with lid loosely on top.

Oh yea almost forgot I took a temp reading of all of them with a infared gun of 63.5 degrees (its all I got to measure temp right now)
Thanks all, Pete

 

[Tom]

OK so here's my numbers.
The Nebbiolo is slightly lower than 1.000 (the 1.000 print on the hydrometer is covered) The Barolo,Lambrusco,and Malbec are all right smack dab in the middle of 1.000 and 1.010.

So now I was just thinking and I'm wondering my Barolo & Nebbiolo both have some head room in the carboy and I just opened it up to do SG readings, Are they still fermenting enough to not have to worry about the O2 inside the carboy? Also remember my Malbec is still in the bucket with lid loosely on top.

Oh yea almost forgot I took a temp reading of all of them with a infared gun of 63.5 degrees (its all I got to measure temp right now)
Thanks all, Pete

1st they are still fermenting
2nd 63* is still cold for fermentation. Should be 70*+
3rd what wine still in buckets snap the lid and add airlock
4th I would not rack with those readings. Leave them alone till dry .990.

 

[Peterock]

Just to make sure, the head room in carboys is OK?
Can or Should I add pectic enzyme to other juices?
Getting them up to 70* is going to be tough. It's been 30*ish here I could go with a heating blanket or something but it's going to be tough to control. What would the max temp be?

 

[Wade E]

I agree with Tom to just let them finish but get them warmed up now or they may stop early leaving you with this wine sweeter then wanted. You are almost there as you really want these types of wine to go down to around .994 ish and getting them warm will help them do that. Once done fermenting rack to carboy and get them topped up with a commercial wine if needed. Sulfites really should be used to keep ever present bacteria at hold and protect your win e from oxidation issues. Its very cheap and will protect your investment of time and money. 1/4 tsp per 6 gallons is all that is needed or 1 Campden tablet per gallon. I live sort of near you in Middlebury and work in Shelton. Dont bother with the enzymes at this point. Max temp would be around 80*