Hi All,
I have two carboys going right now. One has Luna Rossa, it should be ready to bottle in about a week,the other is Chilean Malbec. The Malbec has stagnated during secondary fermentation (don't start that argument again
). SG has been at .98 for about a week (needs to get to .96). The secondary was supposed to be finished about seven days ago. I sent an email to winexpert and they sent this reply-
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Thanks for your contact and for using our products.
You could check your hydrometer for accuracy: Pure water at 15 degrees C (60F) has an SG of 1.000.
Always take your SG readings in a test beaker and give the hydrometer a spin to dislodge any bubbles that may be clinging to it.
If your kit was not made to exactly 23 liters (6 US gallons) total volume in the primary fermenter, the SG reading may be thrown off.
Is your fermenting area cooler than 72-75 degrees F? If not, you could move your carboy to a warmer location. Also, give the wine a good stir. Wait a couple of days and take hydrometer readings on two consecutive days. When it's stable, go ahead. Holding your wine in secondary fermentation for a few extra days will not hurt. You want to be sure it is fully fermented before stabilizing, clearing and bottling. Clearing agents also work best in this temperature range.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Joanne Harris
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Sorry this post is so long. Anyway, I calibrated my hydrometer (good to go), no bubbles on the hydrometer, my basement runs about 65F, so I use brew belts on all my carboys (temp of wine is 73F). I stirred up the lees making it all cloudy. It's been about 48hrs and the carboy is still half cloudy and the SG (for the non-cloudy part) is at .98 (the cloudy part has toasted oak particlesin it, don't want it to throw off the reading). Should I go ahead and press - clear andstabilize it? I tasted the wine and it tastes like fizzy red wine, pretty good. What's my deadline on how long to let the secondary go on till I clear and stabilize? Ideas.
Thanks all,
Promo
I have two carboys going right now. One has Luna Rossa, it should be ready to bottle in about a week,the other is Chilean Malbec. The Malbec has stagnated during secondary fermentation (don't start that argument again
----------------------------------------
Thanks for your contact and for using our products.
You could check your hydrometer for accuracy: Pure water at 15 degrees C (60F) has an SG of 1.000.
Always take your SG readings in a test beaker and give the hydrometer a spin to dislodge any bubbles that may be clinging to it.
If your kit was not made to exactly 23 liters (6 US gallons) total volume in the primary fermenter, the SG reading may be thrown off.
Is your fermenting area cooler than 72-75 degrees F? If not, you could move your carboy to a warmer location. Also, give the wine a good stir. Wait a couple of days and take hydrometer readings on two consecutive days. When it's stable, go ahead. Holding your wine in secondary fermentation for a few extra days will not hurt. You want to be sure it is fully fermented before stabilizing, clearing and bottling. Clearing agents also work best in this temperature range.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Joanne Harris
------------------------------------------
Sorry this post is so long. Anyway, I calibrated my hydrometer (good to go), no bubbles on the hydrometer, my basement runs about 65F, so I use brew belts on all my carboys (temp of wine is 73F). I stirred up the lees making it all cloudy. It's been about 48hrs and the carboy is still half cloudy and the SG (for the non-cloudy part) is at .98 (the cloudy part has toasted oak particlesin it, don't want it to throw off the reading). Should I go ahead and press - clear andstabilize it? I tasted the wine and it tastes like fizzy red wine, pretty good. What's my deadline on how long to let the secondary go on till I clear and stabilize? Ideas.
Thanks all,
Promo
