The WE kit that we are making calls for us to rack it into a carboy when the SG reaches 1.010 or less. We will rack the wine as close as possible to the 1.010 SG reading then. Also states to leave most of the sediment behind. I'm looking forward to doing that already. We practiced with our auto siphon when we measured out exactly 23 litres.
primary fermentation temp
- Thread starter moose
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It is now day 4 and a half. The temp has been running a steady 73 degrees. Just checked the SG and it is at 1.002. Checked it 3 times. Even though the instructions say 5-7 days to drop below 1.010. So, should we rack this into a carboy now or wait until the 5th day?
Thanks for the answer Wade, I checked and double checked and it read 1.002. We are sanitizing everything now to rack the must. Do we have to worry about keeping the temperature in a certain range like we did with the primary firmentation?
Yes, especially now as if it got to cold it would stop fermenting early and you will have a stuck fermentation. In other words, it would finish sweet and you dont want that with a red wine. That really should have been racked the other day but it will be fine. You should keep the temps up until it has been stabilized with the sorbate and the sulfite and has been degassed and then cleared nicely. At that point you can rack off lees and store at cooler temps or bottle.
Thanks Wade, The temp is 72 right now and we have it wrapped in a jacket. Do you think we can put the belt on if it starts to cool? Does it need to stay dark, or will daylight affect it? And does it need to stay warm the entire 10 days until the next step? Thanks again.
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Everyone seems to be on the same page when it comes to not following the number of days, but the SG readings. Also, everyone has stated that most of the time you could go a few extra days on certain steps and it would be okay. I have three batches going, all in different stages right now, and with all three, it seems that the SG readings are days ahead of schedule. Everything appears to be fine with the progress and the temps, but is this okay that the SG is dropping ahead of what the kit suggests?
Example: Day 11 on a MM Pinot Grigio Kit the SG is already at 0.995.
Example: Day 11 on a MM Pinot Grigio Kit the SG is already at 0.995.
Here we are at day 4 1/2 in the secondary fermentation. Decided to check the SG to see where it was in relation to the 10 days the instruction has written in it. We got a SG reading of .992 already. Instructions say don't check it for 10 days. We triple checked the reading and came up with the same each time. Will check it tomorrow to see if it still at the same SG. Doesn't this seem quick? Been keeping the carboy a consistent 70* to 72*. By the way, the instructions say to have a SG of .996 or less after 10 days.
The only time that it really matters is getting it from primary bucket to carboy as you want some fermentation gases to protect the wine in the carboy. after that time is on your side. But if you have a stable SG in the range that it should be then you may proceed to the next step. Just make sure its stable by checking the SG a few days in a row.
