trying to decide if fermentation is stuck on a barolo and amarone

[soslarry]

I'm trying to ascertain whether my wine has reached final sg. I started a barolo and an amarone from juice on oct.3
The starting sg of the barolo was 1.072 and the amarone was 1.090.

I racked the barolo to secondary fermentation on 10/17 when the sg was 1.010. Since then, it dropped to 1.006 on 10/29 and has remained there until today 11/12. I thought that the barolo should be much drier at a 1.000sg or lower .Is this correct? or is my wine done? or should I try to somehow reinvigorate the fermentation?

Similarly,the same thing is happening to my amarone that started on the same date.I added sugar to the amarone on the 10/17 when the sg was 1.010. I did this to simulate a procees that I followed ina amarone kit amd read that more alcohol was needed in an amarone to balance it. The sg then rose to 1.016 and dropped to 1.010 on 10/29 and pretty much stayed there until 11/4. It did drop to 1.008 0n 11/8 and stayed there until 11/8 and I finally racked it for secondary fermentation at this time. it has also remained ther until today,11/12. Again,is it done? should it be drier with a lower sg? can/should I do anything about it?

PS I am not a big fan of sweet wines!!!!!!!!!!

I also have brew belt on the amarone and there is a portable heater in the area to keep everything to temp. I have made various kit wines with great success but I am not sure what to expect from the juices.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated

 

[wyntheef]

if your hydrometer checks out ok, then you prolly have 2 stuck ferments and need to restart them. there is plenty of how-to on that subject here. you don't say what temp, but if it's anywhere between about 68 and 78 or so, you should be ok. outside that range might be a bit troublesome. in the end though, any sg still over 1.000 on those wines is not done providing you didn't add too much sugar.

btw, you can adjust your sg before pitching yeast and avoid altering what may be a 'happy yeast environment'.

after reaching secondary stage, i find it's best just to leave it alone.

 

[robie]

I would say at least it shouldn't be done at that high of an SG. You said you have a brew belt on the Amarone, that is good.

I would put a brew belt on both and give both one really good stir to get the yeast back into suspension.

If that doesn't work in 5 days, I would make a yeast starter of EC-1118 and pitch that.

When I rack from primary to secondary, I always like to stir the wine really well an hour before the racking, then rack. This lets the bigger sediment/lees settle out again, but leaves lots of yeast in suspension so they are sure to be racked over. This really should not be absolutely necessary, but it is a safe-guard.

 

[soslarry]

Hi thanks to both of you for your advice.
I double checked my readings today and no change.
I also checked my hydrometer. It was rated for 60F so cooled it down to temp and checked it.it read at just about 1.000 . Should I compensate for the temp difference of the must? Would there be much of a difference?

I am thinking about restarting the fermenting as suggested. Can I do this in the secondary carboys or do I have to rack into a primary bucket? I looked into this about a week ago and was sold some Red Star Pasteur Champagne Yeast, but I held off and, in more research, I found this forum. Can I use that for the new starter as per your directions or should I use the ec-1118 as per your suggestion? What would be the major difference?

Also, the temps are around 74F

Thanks

 

[Pumpkinman]

I have 2 batches of Amarone at different stages, the first had a starting SG of 1.110 and fermented for 10 days until it reached 1.010 and stayed there for a few days, I racked it over to a carboy, and since then, just under 2 weeks the SG hasn't changed, it is possible that it is done fermenting.
I used Lalvin 71b-1122 for that batch.
Amarone is such a big, bold, full bodied red, with heavy mouth feel, even if it is a little bit sweeter, there is so much going on in this wine, that you probably won't feel like you are drinking a traditional sweet wine.
I would probably try a yeast Nutrient like Fermaid K. it won't hurt the wine, it may just be the "umph" that the wine needs if it is stuck t that if you add more yeast, try 71B -1122, or Lalvin DM45, this is recommended for big bold reds such as Brunello, but if you do, you will you will need yeast nutrients as this yeast is a nutrient hog!
Amarone is my favorite wine, I oaked mine with french medium roast chips and it added so many layers of flavors, and really brought out the fruit flavors, it is amazing, but that is going a little bit off topic.

 

[Rocky]

Soslarry, I am trying to understand what you have done. If I understand correctly, you have a hydrometer that is rated for 60 degrees F. That means that if you are measuring a liquid that is at 60 degrees F, the reading on the hydrometer is as shown. If I understand you correctly, your wine temperature is 74 degrees F which would mean that you would have to add about 0.0015 to the reading. So if you are seeing 1.000, the real SG is about 1.0015 and it would seem that fermentation is stuck.

 

[Turock]

My question was if you used nutrient--if not, this could be part of your problem.

 

[wyntheef]

actually what i meant by checking your hydrometer was to calibrate it in water.

if you float the wine hydrometer in water and read the Specific Gravity scale, the surface of the liquid would cut across the hydrometer at the 1.000 mark. Most hydrometers are calibrated to be most accurate at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. So, if the water is warmer or cooler, the reading may be off just a hair.

as far as yeast to re-start fermentation ec-1118 is one good choice and is recommended for this purpose. and yes it can be done in secondary with an airlock.

 

[soslarry]

Yes, I did check it in 60F water.
Also , I did not use a nutrient. I'm thinking of restarting in the secondary as suggested.

Thanks to all!!!!!!!

 

[soslarry]

I tried numerous avenues to restart fermentation on my barolo and amarone:
1) added yeast nutrient on 11/14(about 2wks. ago) to both wines and saw some "foaming "instantly.
2) restarted fermentation on the barolo with ec1118....added wine incrementally e.g 2 oz. of wine+ 2 0z. of yeast starter,then 4oz. of wine ,then 8oz.of wine (doubling the total every 30 min. for 3-4hrs) i thouhgt the fermentation started as evidence by light bubbling in air lock but never vigorous The sg never moved and remains at 1.006 as of 11/26 PS I stirred both wines daily for about a week as of 11/14
3) restarted the amarone about 11/21(a week later) and checked sg on 11/26 with no change I did not stir either wine the next day and checked the sg again with no change to either wine about 1hr. later ,I noticed bubbling in the amarone and it is bubbling vigorously today. The only difference in the restarting of the fermentation was that I only added around 1/2 c per sequence as above.
4) the barolo still shows no signs of activity



a)can I try to restart the barolo again or should I rack and age and hope for the best?
b) can either wine go bad as this whole process started in early October? Is their a time limitation on fermentation before detrimental things can happen to the wine?
c)are there any good books that can help in the process of winemaking that you have used?

Thanks again for everyone's insight and suggestions!