Question about secondary fermentation period

[cody.c.freeman]

I started my first batch of wine from a wine kit and just racked it for the first time from the bucket to a carboy.

My kit suggests that in about 10 days the gravity will be stable and I can proceed with stabilizing and clearing.

I might be out of town when that 10 day period is up; specifically, it should be ready around July 6, but I may be out of town until July 13. So my question is this: is it ok to wait longer than the 10 suggested days? Is it ok to let the wine sit for a longer period or will that cause problems?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Tom]

You should be ok just make sure there is water in the airlock

 

[St Allie]

Good morning Cody and welcome to our forum,

You can leave it til you get back, as long as it's under an airlock there will be a layer of gas protecting the wine.

Allie

 

[Wade E]

If you have the lid of your primary close it now so that C02 builds up and protects your wine from oxygen.

 

[phermenter]

I started my first batch of wine from a wine kit and just racked it for the first time from the bucket to a carboy.

My kit suggests that in about 10 days the gravity will be stable and I can proceed with stabilizing and clearing.

I might be out of town when that 10 day period is up; specifically, it should be ready around July 6, but I may be out of town until July 13. So my question is this: is it ok to wait longer than the 10 suggested days? Is it ok to let the wine sit for a longer period or will that cause problems?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Not only is it OK, it's actually preferable to wait that extra week. All the kit instructions are written with the assumption that winemakers are in a big hurry to get the stuff in the bottle and start drinking it. Stretching out the timeframes is actually recommended even by some of the manufacturers.

Jim

 

[Wade E]

Lengthening the process will also guarantee less sediment in your bottles.

 

[cody.c.freeman]

Thanks all for welcoming me here. I'm looking forward to asking you all many more questions... And one day providing the answers.

And thanks also for your advice. I'm really looking forward to coming back from my trip and moving to the next step.

Cody

 

[ffemtreed]

i always wait a month in the secondary before doing anything else to the wine.

I concur with the person who said those instructions are only for people who want to get the wine in bottles A.S.A.P.

 

[smurfe]

The only somewhat critical step time frame wise in a kit is getting the wine from the primary to glass and topped up. You want to move it to reduce chances of oxidation. Once you have that done the time frames per the kits are only guidelines and there is no need to stress with the amount of time for each step. You will be fine with the time frame you state.