Stir or don't stir
- Thread starter rrs26ja
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If you have fruit in there or are snapping the lid shut then I would stir every other day just to get the fruit under the wine and get some 02 in the wine. If you have no fruit or arent snapping the lid shut then no need to disturb.
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Stirring is optional. I hardly ever do with a kit and lid on, no airlock.
I think in most instances, the juices will ferment. I like to futz and tinker and measure becasue the geek in me is just dying tobreak out.
I always stir during my primary fermentations. I do this to circulate the sugar in the must and yeast so they come in contact with each other. If one does not stir, I think the heavier juice at the bottom does not get its fair share of attention. I have tested and have used a wine theif with must drawn off the top and off the bottom and have come up with differrnt specific gravities in the same 6 gallons of must. Sure, the difference was .01 but that was enough for me to confirm my suspicions that there are layers on juice in the musts. Futhermore, I feared that the alcohol would rise to the top concentrated and the yeast would begin dying off due to toxicity before the sugar at the bottom of the carboy came to the party.
Another difference maybe unrelated but neat to consider is the primary container itself. I did 2 5 gallons Cabernet juice buckets in 07, same exact lot. A 6.5 gallon juice bucket does ferment slower that the 7.9 gallon typical beer fermenter when the same amount of must is used and the msut is not stirred. I stirred each bucket well before putting into a primary, added sprinkled yeast and left them alone. I did 4 other buckets intheis same manner and the juice in the 7.9 finished up faster consistently. I sought out the differences and started taking hydrometer reading from different levels.
No airlocks for me during primary, just a towel so the yeast gets oxygen.
So that's why I stir. Hope this helps.
I always stir during my primary fermentations. I do this to circulate the sugar in the must and yeast so they come in contact with each other. If one does not stir, I think the heavier juice at the bottom does not get its fair share of attention. I have tested and have used a wine theif with must drawn off the top and off the bottom and have come up with differrnt specific gravities in the same 6 gallons of must. Sure, the difference was .01 but that was enough for me to confirm my suspicions that there are layers on juice in the musts. Futhermore, I feared that the alcohol would rise to the top concentrated and the yeast would begin dying off due to toxicity before the sugar at the bottom of the carboy came to the party.
Another difference maybe unrelated but neat to consider is the primary container itself. I did 2 5 gallons Cabernet juice buckets in 07, same exact lot. A 6.5 gallon juice bucket does ferment slower that the 7.9 gallon typical beer fermenter when the same amount of must is used and the msut is not stirred. I stirred each bucket well before putting into a primary, added sprinkled yeast and left them alone. I did 4 other buckets intheis same manner and the juice in the 7.9 finished up faster consistently. I sought out the differences and started taking hydrometer reading from different levels.
No airlocks for me during primary, just a towel so the yeast gets oxygen.
So that's why I stir. Hope this helps.
smurfe
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If you are making a kit and stirred the Must good enough when adding the water to bring it to level you will have plenty of O2 in there even with the lid snapped tight and an airlock in place. I made numerous kits like this with never an issue. I never stirred a kit unless it was a grape pack kit.
With fruit wines I will stir if I have a fruit sack in. If I am using juice only such as from the steamer, I will stir it good when I start the batch and then not anymore during fermentation. This being said though, it doesn't hurt anything if everything is sanitary and if it helps you enjoy the winemaking process more, by all means go for it.
With fruit wines I will stir if I have a fruit sack in. If I am using juice only such as from the steamer, I will stir it good when I start the batch and then not anymore during fermentation. This being said though, it doesn't hurt anything if everything is sanitary and if it helps you enjoy the winemaking process more, by all means go for it.
Jack on Rainy
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Hey guys! My Mosti AJ Chianti instructionssay to stir during the first 3-5 days but maybe like Vince I am a futz and tinkerer. BTW Vince, interesting SG experiment. Thanks for posting that.
I usually do not stir. I will peek under the lid to make sure the yeast is getting happy and bubbly in there. If it is "rockin and rollin" in there, I don't stir.
If I have a grape pak in there and it is submerged, I know it is mingling with the juice!!
If I have a grape pak in there and it is submerged, I know it is mingling with the juice!!
dragonmaster42
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I usually stir it until it's nearing the end of having to be in the primary. It'sagood way to see and smellhow the must changes as the yeast does it's thing and it starts turning from juice to wine.
You do not need to stir, you can if you want to but not needed as long as there is no actually fruit to move around. You are actually safer not doing soas doing so may introduce a bacteria into there if you dont sanitize something correctly and who needs to sanitize something and then clean it afterwards if not needed.
I agree with the cleaning up part Wade. I bottled some Merlot Monday afternoon and what a mess I had. The hose came off of the bucket and went all over the floor not just once but twice. My entire kitchen was a total mess by the time I got done with my first botting.
I went to Dallas this weekend and spoke with George, he sure is nice, gave me lots of good information. I got a CC Winery Series, Valpolicella, I can't wait to start it. He had some there that you could try and it was really good. I still have so much to learn, I surehope I don't screw upthisnew batch.
I went to Dallas this weekend and spoke with George, he sure is nice, gave me lots of good information. I got a CC Winery Series, Valpolicella, I can't wait to start it. He had some there that you could try and it was really good. I still have so much to learn, I surehope I don't screw upthisnew batch.
Is this the RJS Cellar Classic Winery Series Valpolicella? For those hoses, get a few fuel injection hose clamps at a auto parts store, just bring a hose with you for them to size. They are about $.75 each and are better then a regular hose clamp as they clamp more even and dont tear at your hoses cause they dont have those spiral screw slots in them.
Hi Sadie, RJS is shorthand for RJ Spagnols one of the kit manufacturers.
WE = Wine Expert
MM = Mosti Mondial
CC = (depends on the context sometimes!) Cellar Craft
WE = Wine Expert
MM = Mosti Mondial
CC = (depends on the context sometimes!) Cellar Craft
I got it from George last weekend. That is the one that I tried, it was really good. George saidthat this one was not on the internet just in his store. It iscalled Cellar Classic Winery Series. I'm waiting to get a few kits under my belt before I state that one. I don't want to spill any and I want tofind out more about degassing. I'm not sure how to get all the gas out of my wine yet.
