secondary fermentation questions

[michaelesler]

Hi,

I currently have a batch of damson wine in secondary and have a couple questions.
firstly it has been almost a week since it was transferred to secondary. It is still bubbling away but there has been a lot of sediment collect at the bottom. Is there any advantage to me stirring the wine to dissipate the sediment?

Secondly, have any of you guys made damson wine? If so, what were the results?

Michael

 

[winemaker_3352]

I have never made Damson wine - but stirring the lees in the wine does have some benefits. It can give it a more mouthful taste to it. But I have never tried doing a sur lie aging or a battonage - you have to monitor the must and taste of this and rack as soon as the taste is where you like it.

I would not suggest this for a beginner.

 

[michaelesler]

I am a total beginner at this. What doe you mean by a sur lie ageing or battonage?

MIchael

 

[winemaker_3352]

I am a total beginner at this. What doe you mean by a sur lie ageing or battonage?

MIchael

Sur Lie Aging is aging the wine on the lees.

Battonage is the act of stirring the lees back into the wine about once or twice a month.

 

[michaelesler]

ah right, thanks for clearing that up. Any advice for a beginner? should i simply let it be as its bubbling away?

michael

 

[robie]

Hi,

I currently have a batch of damson wine in secondary and have a couple questions.
firstly it has been almost a week since it was transferred to secondary. It is still bubbling away but there has been a lot of sediment collect at the bottom. Is there any advantage to me stirring the wine to dissipate the sediment?

Secondly, have any of you guys made damson wine? If so, what were the results?

Michael

The bubbling is a sign that the wine is either still fermenting, or that it is simply releasing CO2. You need to use a hydrometer to reliably determine which it is.

Never tried damson. Don't know anything about it.

I think the process of aging on the lees and stirring is used mostly with non-aromatic white wines and also Pinot Noir; whites like Chardonnay, Pinot Gri, and Sav Blanc. Aromatic whites, like Rieslings, much less often. Heavier reds, if left on the lees, can end up with H2S and off flavors/aromas.

Sometimes after fermentation is complete, reds are left on the lees to extract more color. This is very challenging and probably should not be attempted by most non-pros like you and me.

I would not let the wine set on such sediment/lees too long, unless you are sure the process has worked before for others and know exactly how it's done. Unless fermentation is still going, I wouldn't stir it at all, either.

Stirring doesn't really dissipate the sediment. Sediment pretty much will settle to the bottom and all on its own. The warmer the wine the better/quicker it wil settle out.

 

[michaelesler]

thanks guys, cleared that up for me any ideas on how long secondary should take? the wine has been bubbling away for almost a week now, and i am noticed a slow down in the bubbles.


michael

 

[winemaker_3352]

thanks guys, cleared that up for me any ideas on how long secondary should take? the wine has been bubbling away for almost a week now, and i am noticed a slow down in the bubbles.


michael

It could vary - go off your SG readings - 3 days of the same SG - you are done.

 

[michaelesler]

ok will do. I took a reading yesterday and its about 1020. Thats down from 1080 before i added the yeast. going good

 

[Cannew]

Before you did the first rack, your reading should probably have been between 1.020 and 1.000.

Then you rack and stir the wine to degas as much as possible.

I'm not getting any bubbles in the airlock or none I notice and it's been 5 days. I'll wait the 10 days then check my reading to see if it drops to .998 and .990.

 

[robie]

ok will do. I took a reading yesterday and its about 1020. Thats down from 1080 before i added the yeast. going good

At 1.020, it has a ways to go. Could be another week or more, although I have no knowledge of Damson.

As mentioned, go by your hydrometer.

 

[michaelesler]

Ok, I'll try and take a reading once a week. I have a theory but unsure how correct i am. So here goes. In secondary i have rhubarb and damson. The rhubarb is in a glass demijohn, damson in a plastic. Now the damson hasn't bubbled nearly as much as the rhubarb, though it is still bubbling away. Is it possible that because the plastic is thinner and more flexible that although they might produce the same amount of gas, the plastic will bubble less as the plastic can flex with the gas?

 

[robie]

Ok, I'll try and take a reading once a week. I have a theory but unsure how correct i am. So here goes. In secondary i have rhubarb and damson. The rhubarb is in a glass demijohn, damson in a plastic. Now the damson hasn't bubbled nearly as much as the rhubarb, though it is still bubbling away. Is it possible that because the plastic is thinner and more flexible that although they might produce the same amount of gas, the plastic will bubble less as the plastic can flex with the gas?

It is hard to say. No two varieties of wine ferment exactly the same way. You can put two identical batches of wine side by side to ferment and even under the same conditions, one container can react differently.

In your case, you have two very different wines going, so I wouldn't be concerned at all that one is more active than the other or one finished faster than the other.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

^Exactly. Yeast is not a machine, they are live organisms that react differently to each situation.

Once you get it it in an airlock (and especially since you are leaving it on the lees), you don't need to check it much. Once the bubbles are very few, you might check it then. It's not about time, it's about what stage your wine is in for checking sg, etc.

 

[michaelesler]

thanks robie. that helps a great deal


michael