sg .986?

[garymc]

I bottled some muscadine wine today. I took the specific gravity and the hydrometer sunk below the scale a distance which would be about .986 or.988. Is this possible? I used Red Star Premier Cuvee yeast. I didn't have the hydrometer when I started it. But I added ten pounds of sugar in five gallons. The yeast is supposed to be capable of 18% abv. I sampled it twice. I'm using premium corks and planning to age it a long time. It has been under fermentation since September. I bottled it without sorbate because I figure it's not going to start fermenting again and 18% alcohol should keep it from spoiling. Anybody else have experience with this?

 

[Julie]

No I haven't but I just wanted to say that sorbate does not prevent spoilage. The sorbate prevents wine from re-fermenting if you go to backsweeten

 

[Arne]

If you sweetened it at all before you bottled, I would keep a close eye on it. If not you should be ok. Check your hydrometer by testing water. Should read about 1.000. Distilled water would be best, but tap water will tell you if the hydrometer is close to accurate. Arne.

 

[Rocky]

Good points by Julie and Arne. Hydrometers are calibrated at a given temperature (usually 60 or 68 degrees F) and any reading needs to be adjusted based on the temperature of the liquid being measured.

 

[garymc]

I used another hydrometer and got the same result. Thanks for reminding me about the temperature. The carboy was on a piece of cardboard on my basement floor. The temperature is in the high 60's, so the adjustment would be to add less than one. That would put the adjusted s.g. at .987 as near as I could tell. I did not backsweeten it, so I guess it's just a matter of aging in the bottles to see if it will be drinkabie. I'll have to open a bottle by August to see if dry muscadine will be worth pursuing at a lower alcohol percentage.