Is my wine stuck! I started with juice (Sangiovese) 3 ½ weeks ago and unfortunately, didn’t have a hydrometer at that time to take an initial reading. It’s already been racked once. About 5 days ago, I moved it from an area that was keeping the juice a constant 67 to a different area that now keeps it at 70/71 thinking it might be better. My SG is at 1.007 and doesn’t seem to be moving. Pardon my ignorance, I’m a rookie) but if it’s over 1.000, doesn’t that mean there’s still sugar in the juice and the yeast hasn’t completed its work. Below 1.000 is my goal, correct?
Stuck wine?
- Thread starter flbama
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Green Mountains
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If it's over 1.000 then yes there is theoretically more sugars but the hydrometer can be effected by temps or it could be 'off'. Try floating it in water to see if it floats right at 1.000 if it's floating around the 1.007 zone that might be the problem....uncalibrated hydrometer.
Also, what kind of yeast did you use. I'm not an expert on which yeasts are heartier but some get a bit spent once the alcohol content gets too high and die off.
Tom
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My question is why did you rack it without checking the gravity? That being said I would, Degas and see it that starts it up, add another pack of yeast
Adding another pack of yeast will just kill the yeast as the alc already present will shock it to death. If you have another wine fermenting or that has just finished then rack this stuck onto whats left behind of the other wine as there is most likely viable yeast cells in there that are acclimated to alc already and should take this wine to completion. Get the temp up to mid to higher 70's though especially near the end of a fermentation asn thats when the yeast cells are really struggling to finish up and cooler temps can prevent them from doing so. If you dont have a wine that is almost done or has just finished then get a new packet of yeast (preferably Lalvin EC1118 or Red Star Premier Cuvee) and make a starter yeast by getting some grape juice from the store without any sorbate, sulfites, or benzoate in it as those would inhibit any fermentation. Add some yeast nutrient to about 2 cups of the juice and warm it up to 74* and add the yeast. Once that is going good add approx. 1/2 a cup of your wine and get that going good. Once that is still going good or gets going good add another 1/2 cup of your wine. keep doing this until your starter is at least dble in size volume wise from where you started and add this to your wine that should be at around 75*. What this does is get the yeast acclimated to the high alc content of your wine. You could try adding some nutrient first though after getting your must warmed up and give it a good stirring. Did you rack this already once before this rackingh a few days ago? If so the problem is that you lost likely left too much viable yeast behind. Next time if its not done fermenting stir it up before racking or just near the end put the lid and airlock on your vessel and let it ferment dry in the bucket, thats the way I do almost all my wines with the exception of apples and pears that are very susceptible to oxidation like an apple with a bite out of it.
Now what
my local brew shop didn't have the specific yeast but recommended a redstar champagne yeast as it can handle the existing alcohol. I added it last week and still don't have any change or activity in my carboy. My brother started a merlot at the same time and just reached .996. Would it make sense to blend our two wines for a happy mix of Sangiovese/Merlot offsetting some of his dryness with some of my sweetness?
my local brew shop didn't have the specific yeast but recommended a redstar champagne yeast as it can handle the existing alcohol. I added it last week and still don't have any change or activity in my carboy. My brother started a merlot at the same time and just reached .996. Would it make sense to blend our two wines for a happy mix of Sangiovese/Merlot offsetting some of his dryness with some of my sweetness?
I go along with Wade on the starter with EC1118. After two other attempts with Red Star to get my cranberry going , the Ec1118 did it, but I had to sit it on a heating pad before it would take off. Must have been over 80 degrees before it took off. Loren
Did you just add the yeast to the wine? That will not work! This wine as too much alc present and that just shocks the yeast, you need to make a starter with it and slowly introduce this high abv wine into it to acclimate the yeast to the Red Star Champagne only has a alc. toxicity tolernce of 13-15% and thats probably very close to where you are meaning even at best the wine is already to high for this yeast to do anything, you need a yeast with a tolerance of 18% like I stated above and make a starter.
