Plum wine questions

[MEISTER]

I am making plum wine. I started this batch at the beginning of September. Between each step I sterilized everything very well. Here is what I did so far in this order:

1. Rinsed, cut and pitted 20 lbs of plums
2. Let plums sit in 4 gallons of water and Pectic Enzyme for 3-4 days
3. Removed the fruit
4. Transfered into a 5 gallon carboy
5. Dissolved 10 lbs of sugar in 1 gallon of warm water
6. Added sugar/water to carboy
7. Added yeast to carboy
8. Capped with a s-shaped airlock and rubber stopper

The recipe I followed said to do all of the above and let sit for 6 months and it would product some pretty strong wine.

I started reading more recipes and it says to siphon the wine off, getting as much wine as possible 5-7 days after starting.

At 2 months, I got really concerned after reading the other recipes and immediately siphoned the wine into another sterile carboy and recapped with the s-shaped airlock.

I took a reading with my hydrometer and it reads:

4.5% alcohol
9% sugar
35% specific gravity

I am wondering if I did this correctly? Did I mess up the entire batch or am I not being patient enough. I tasted the wine and it is very sweet and does have a hint of alcohol. It' s not bad by any means, just lacks the alcohol content.

Please help.

 

[MEISTER]

I just realized I should have posted this in the "Fruit Wine" forum, Oops.

 

[RedNeckWino]

Sounds like everything should be just fine. Although reading the hydrometer, SG should be 1.XXX or down to .990. The 35% sg is not a normal reading. When you put the meter in the must....just read right where the liquid is on the meter scale that should start with .990 at the top. Jeff

OH, most but not all, like to do primary fermentation in a food grade bucket covered with a towel. The yeast needs oxygen that the airlock does not let in.

 

[MEISTER]

Sounds like everything should be just fine. Although reading the hydrometer, SG should be 1.XXX or down to .990. The 35% sg is not a normal reading. When you put the meter in the must....just read right where the liquid is on the meter scale that should start with .990 at the top. Jeff

OH, most but not all, like to do primary fermentation in a food grade bucket covered with a towel. The yeast needs oxygen that the airlock does not let in.

You are correct I wront down the reading wrong. I double checked the meter and the reading was 1.035.

 

[Julie]

Hi Meister,

When you initially start a wine it is best that you start in a primary bucket and stir daily, the yeast need oxygen to work. You did not state what the beginning hydrometer reading was. Can you post that? Normally I will cut up my fruit, place in a strainer bag, put in the peptic enzyme and k-meta, wait 24 hours and add yeast, I leave the fruit in for another 4-5 days.

Please post up what your starting sg was and what yeast you used.

 

[MEISTER]

Hi Meister,

When you initially start a wine it is best that you start in a primary bucket and stir daily, the yeast need oxygen to work. You did not state what the beginning hydrometer reading was. Can you post that? Normally I will cut up my fruit, place in a strainer bag, put in the peptic enzyme and k-meta, wait 24 hours and add yeast, I leave the fruit in for another 4-5 days.

Please post up what your starting sg was and what yeast you used.

Unfortunately I did not have a hydrometer when I started so I did not get any readings. This is my first time making any kind of wine, so I'm still very new at this.

It looks like the problem was I put the yeast in and then put the s-shaped air lock on enabling any oxygen from being present.

I wonder if I added yeast again would that restart the process?

 

[MEISTER]

I wonder if I added yeast again would that restart the process?

Just wondering what I should do? I tested the alcohol content again last night and it's the same as it was about a month ago. Tastes the same too.

Also the yeast I used was Red Star Montrachet.

 

[Tom]

?? how did you test the alcohol ?

 

[Tom]

OK I'm lopst in what you did.
you only kept the fruit in there for a few days and removed the fruit?
You never stabilized or racked it off the "secondary?
How did you get these numbers?
I took a reading with my hydrometer and it reads:

4.5% alcohol
9% sugar
35% specific gravity What is this?

What is the gravity now?
Do you know how to read the hydrometer?
You cant measure alcohol by just putting the hydromerer in. You need to know the starting gravity and the final gravity for that.

 

[Julie]

Well like Tom asked, how did you test the alcohol? Without the beginning reading you have no idea on what the alcohol content is.

Yes I agree there is chance that you "suffocated" the yeast.

I made a 3 gallon plum that I put 7 cups of sugar to bring the sg to 1.070. Using this as a BALLPARK ONLY figure, I think you had your sg around 1.090 or 1.100 again let me state BALLPARK FIGURE ONLY.

So based on the fact that you put it directly into a carboy with an airlock you probably have a stuck fermentation. Again this is a best guest only. Without a beginning sg it is very difficult to figure what is wrong. I guess I would add more yeast, take the airlock off of it and place a cloth over top of the carboy, or you could take a cup of wine add the yeast and keep adding a cup of wne every hour until you have about a gallon that is fermenting most goodly and then add that.

 

[RedNeckWino]

If you do restart yeast, and probably should, try this....
Warm 3 cups of the must to NOT MORE than 95*, stir in 1 table spoon of yeast nutrient. Add yeast and stir gently 1 minute. Pour this into a soup bowl (i like to use a plastic ice cream bucket as its food grade!) Cover with a clean dry dish towel over night. Should have foam any time from 1 hr to 12 hrs., pitch back into the wine must, cover with towel till S.G. is 1.000 to .995. Then rack into clean secondary and use air lock then.

Right down and keep notes from here on (S.G., racking, ect.). Then if you have trouble, we can help.

 

[MEISTER]

OK I'm lopst in what you did.
you only kept the fruit in there for a few days and removed the fruit?
You never stabilized or racked it off the "secondary?
How did you get these numbers?
I took a reading with my hydrometer and it reads:

4.5% alcohol
9% sugar
35% specific gravity What is this?

You must have just read my first post, I posted all the info after my first thread. As I have said, I am very new to this and wrote down a reading wrong off my hyrometer.

You are correct I wront down the reading wrong. I double checked the meter and the reading was 1.035.

What is the gravity now?
Do you know how to read the hydrometer?
You cant measure alcohol by just putting the hydromerer in. You need to know the starting gravity and the final gravity for that.

All the readings I took are as of 2 nights ago. They are the same readings as about a month ago. 1.035 SG.

 

[Tom]

Well I would have left the fruit in till the gravity is 1.020 then remove. Not sure what flavor you will get by leaving the fruit in for only a few days. You left alot of sugar and body out as well.

 

[MEISTER]

If you do restart yeast, and probably should, try this....
Warm 3 cups of the must to NOT MORE than 95*, stir in 1 table spoon of yeast nutrient. Add yeast and stir gently 1 minute. Pour this into a soup bowl (i like to use a plastic ice cream bucket as its food grade!) Cover with a clean dry dish towel over night. Should have foam any time from 1 hr to 12 hrs., pitch back into the wine must, cover with towel till S.G. is 1.000 to .995. Then rack into clean secondary and use air lock then.

Right down and keep notes from here on (S.G., racking, ect.). Then if you have trouble, we can help.

I will write down the settings. I replied to your PM with a few questions.

I know I am a noob at this. When I started this, I had a very basic recipe and did not have all the info I have now.

 

[MEISTER]

Well I would have left the fruit in till the gravity is 1.020 then remove. Not sure what flavor you will get by leaving the fruit in for only a few days. You left alot of sugar and body out as well.

Like I said, I am VERY new at this and did not have all the info I have now. I would like it to be a dryer taist, but if I get anything off this batch that is decent tasting, I'll be happy.