October 2014 Wine of the Month Club

[sour_grapes]

I am no expert, but my $0.02: No problem having extra yeast. HOWEVER, Montrachet does not seem like a good choice. Too finicky, from what I have read. Not sure if you could wait this long, but do you want me to mail you some EC-1118? (I have plenty leftover from kits.)

 

[buffalofrenchy]

I am no expert, but my $0.02: No problem having extra yeast. HOWEVER, Montrachet does not seem like a good choice. Too finicky, from what I have read. Not sure if you could wait this long, but do you want me to mail you some EC-1118? (I have plenty leftover from kits.)

Thank you for the offer, I appreciate it.
I live 10 minutes away from a LHBS.
I was working on some other wines tonight and I noticed the "moving piece" of the airlock moved up against the top but no bubbles...
I guess I will get the EC-1118 tomorrow, make a starter to rule out bad yeast and pitch it. Is EC-1118 recommended over other yeasts for sluggish fermentation?

 

[sour_grapes]

Thank you for the offer, I appreciate it.

De rien!

Is EC-1118 recommended over other yeasts for sluggish fermentation?

Yes. Despite living in the spiritual home of Red Star yeast, I am not familiar with their products. I only "know" Lalvin products. (I put know in quotation marks because I am just an ignorant nearly newbie repeating what I have read elsewhere.) In any event, Lalvin EC-1118 is recommended for stuck fermentations over almost every other yeast. (The only yeast I know of that is more highly rated for stuck fermentations is UVAFerm 43.)

 

[the_rayway]

Hey there Frenchy,
I saw your other posting as well - here is my .02cents:

Pop that guy into a nice big bucket, ensure the must is warm/not too hot, use a strainer to press gently down on the sludge on top in order to get a sample for an SG test, and then whip the snot out of it.

This way we're addressing several issues at once:
1) primary fermentation requires air, and lots of it to ensure the yeasties are happy (big bucket and whipping)
2) if the must is too hot or too cold, the yeast will struggle to take off
3) SG test will clear up any uncertainty there (seems like it might be a bit low based on your sugar...but US gallons are a bit smaller than my UK gallons)

If nothing happen within 24 hours, re-pitch with a nice starter using the EC-1118.
Let us know how it progresses!

 

[vernsgal]

I was going to say the same thing - primary needs lots of air for a good ferment. You said Frenchy that it's really thick so even if my post came in late and you've already pitched another starter ,make sure to stir it well a few times a day.If you have it under airlock, remove it and place a damp towel over bucket (I dampen my towels because it stops those pesky fruit flies from finding a way in)
Also just want to mention another great yeast for those stuck ferments- Vintner's Harvest SN9. It's a high stress and ethanol tolerance yeast. It'll ferment to 18%.

 

[buffalofrenchy]

It's quite thick - kind of like a slurpee.
I moved it in the kitchen so I can mix it few times a day. I removed the cover/airlock and just have a towel over it.
To be continued...

 

[vernsgal]

There's still lots of time to get a recipe together for this month peoples
Hope everyones wines are going well so far. Frenchy let us know how your ferment is going.

Just thought I should touch base on my choice for the month. Had the flu the last few days so berries have been put in refrigerator til Tues. I'm seeking a bit of help on how to do this here:
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f137/any-experienced-port-makers-42453/index13.html
I know port makers all have their way and truthfully my WOTM for January this year has a lot of my friends vying for a bottle already lol, but I like to try different ways (reason for joing WOTM) So stay tuned

 

[buffalofrenchy]

No signs of fermentation after 24 hours so I pitched the EC-1118 and it is very active now but I am disappointed.
I wanted residual sugar and final SG under 14%. Now it might be 18% alcohol which is not appealing and dry. I can back sweeten sure but the alcohol bite at 18% might never go away... I actually considered dumping the whole thing just before adding the EC-1118.
Part of me is also considering trying to cold crash it in a few days and transfer/drain while cold into a jug then add k-meta/sorbate... easier said than done... I have never done it and read that cold crashing doesn't work well at stopping a fermentation. Finally with that sludge it is nearly impossible to measure accurately the SG so it will be a lot of guessing as to when attempting to stop it...

 

[vernsgal]

Frenchy, I''m not sure why you think adding more yeast will put your SG up.If it's because of the yeast strain I have to say no worries .Because a yeast is capable of fermenting to 18% doesn't mean it will. To reach that level you usually have to step feed more sugars and nutrients when it slows or stops. The lalvin 1118 should leave you with the same SG as you were going to get with your original yeast.Hang in there!!

 

[Stressbaby]

I actually considered dumping the whole thing just before adding the EC-1118.

It would not have been the first pumpkin wine to go down the drain.

 

[buffalofrenchy]

Frenchy, I''m not sure why you think adding more yeast will put your SG up.If it's because of the yeast strain I have to say no worries .Because a yeast is capable of fermenting to 18% doesn't mean it will. To reach that level you usually have to step feed more sugars and nutrients when it slows or stops. The lalvin 1118 should leave you with the same SG as you were going to get with your original yeast.Hang in there!!

Reading the yeast description and original recipe notes that I am following, I was under the impression that the cote des blancs would have stopped much earlier than the EC1118 fearing that the latter one would go dry all the way... I guess I have to wait and see.

 

[the_rayway]

I have to be honest: I always expect my yeast to ferment to dry. Unless I'm making a port where I stop it at my desired sweetness level with hard alcohol. Even 14% is a very high alcohol content for a wine if you're thinking about store-bought.

Admittedly, I don't really trust residual sugars not to re-ferment. Un-fermentable sugars, sure.

My thoughts are that unless you are starting at an exceptionally high SG (over 1.100), in which case the yeast would have a hard time getting started, it might leave residual sugar. Alternately, I also know some mazers who continually step feed their yeast until they poop out, thus ensuring no further re-ferementation after backsweetening.

Again, just my opinion. I'm super anal that way as I've had renewed ferments in the bottle. My father in law also had a batch of red the sprung its corks all over the basement.

 

[vernsgal]

Frenchy, the hard part with your wine is that you never got a beginning SG. The good part is, doing the WOTM, it's not a large quantity so working with it is a little easier.If you have the patience I would allow it to continue to ferment for about 5 days, then I would rack it off the pumpkin and take a reading.Now racking will be an issue. You may have to just strain it into another pail.Because it's still fermenting, doing it that way won't hurt the wine with the added oxygen.Then rack to your carboy and allow it to continue ferment.
Personally, I still wouldn't give up yet!

 

[buffalofrenchy]

Yes that is the problem with solids recipes (well in this case on day 1 it was mostly solids: shredded pumpkin), the SG cannot be measured. All I know is the water + sugar that I added corresponds to 1.114 (2lbs of sugar in 0.8 gal). Hard for me to quantify how much the pumpkin brings once it breaks down.

I need to start dialing down the amount of sugar added from the original recipes that I find. It is not the first time that I follow a recipe to the T and after the fact realize it was way too much sugar hence too much alcohol. By now I should know better...

 

[the_rayway]

I agree: I learned early on that you never take a recipe at its "word" on sugar amounts. Add until you reach your target S.G. Also, to get into the right ballpark, I use a wine calculator.

Something I'm noticing with my own Pumpkin Mead is that it's definitely taking some time to come around. Then I remembered that it's a vegetable and they can take a few years according to what I've read.

Keep with it!!

 

[vernsgal]

Wow this month went quick! Sure sign of old age when time just flies lol

How is everyone's wines going? frenchy were you able to rack yours? aryoung did yours ferment dry?waynep you had trouble getting yours to start.Did it go dry for you?

I was reading through here tonight and realized I never even posted mine yet so here's what I've done.
Blackberry Port
7 lbs blackberries
1 L pinot noir grape concentrate
1 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
bentonite
yeast nutrients
sugar
vintner's harvest sn9 yeast

I did the usual,putting pectic and a bit of water over blackberries while defrosting.added concentrate, 1/3 nutrients, bentonite and enough water for 1 1/2 gal.Added sugar to SG 1.100.pitched yeast.
I added another 1/3 tsp nutrient today and tomorrow it should be down to 1.030 where I'll feed more sugar

 

[buffalofrenchy]

Thanks everyone with the suggestions last week end when I was stuck.
I transferred into a jug on Thursday evening - 4 days after the second yeast pitch.
During these 4 days, I mixed the wine twice a day very well.
Below are some pictures of the wine in fermentation when I would mix it and one picture from today in the jug.
SG was at 0.994 when I transferred. I tasted it and to my surprise it was not "hot" tasting.

 

[vernsgal]

That actually came out looking pretty good! Did you add any k-meta when you racked?

 

[buffalofrenchy]

That actually came out looking pretty good! Did you add any k-meta when you racked?

No, should I have added some? I was thinking about adding it at the second raking roughly a week later along with sorbate... kind of mapping the kit wine schedule that I am used to.

 

[vernsgal]

I noticed you added a campden tablet at the beginning,I'm not really familiar with those and what the equivalent amount to k-meta is so hopefully someone can steer you right on that one.I think because you already added at beginning you should be good for now.
I just failed to notice you added at beginning when I made comment.