Urgent Help: Fining, Bottling and All

[frijolero]

Hi all. I hope you can help - have scouted around forums and it's not so easy to get straight answers!

I have 3-4 gallon demijohns of wine. I transferred it from primary at the start of the month. The SG had dropped below 1000. It bubbled for a week, perhaps. Now nothing is happening.

Please advise me what to do?

Should I leave it? How long can I leave it once fermenting (bubbling) has stopped?

Should I rack it off the lees (secondary lees?) now, and then let it sit longer in demijohns for longer?

Should I rack it and add bentonite to clear it? It's fairly clear - not see-through, but not overly cloudy. Then let it sit for a few days, and bottle it? Or just leave it?

Should I just bottle it now, syphoning from above the lees at the bottom of the demijohns? If so, how long should I leave it before drinking? (Last sample I had, it tasted pretty dry).

Unsure what to do. It seems to have stopped fermenting sooner than various instructions suggested. The SG at the end of primary fermentation seemed to be lower than recommended for moving to secondary fermentation.

I have only added sugar, yeast and yeast nutrient to the initial must. Nothing else.

All at sea here. Your advice would be appreciated! Getting twitchy. Wanted a fairly low-maintenance drinkable table wine from the grapes in our garden. Feeling, now, like I might just have to bin it. Advice and reassurance, if okay, would be great.

Thanks.

 

[Julie]

Never depend on bubbling to let you know if your wine is still fermenting. Take a hydrometer reading and if it is below 1.00, rack it and then add some k-meta. At this point you can let is sit for it to clear. At this point you don't need to add benonite, sounds like it is already starting to clear. Have you tasted it? I would let it age some before bottling.

 

[frijolero]

It was below 1.00 after primary fermentation - before I put it into the demijohns. There was a thick lees at the bottom of the fermentation bucket, which I disposed of. There is a thin (0.5 inches) at bottom of demijohns now. Is k-meta essential? The instructions I followed, initially, didn't mention k-meta. You'd transfer off the secondary lees (?) back into demijohns and let sit? Even though bubbling has stopped? How long before bottling?

 

[sour_grapes]

What you describe sounds perfectly normal. You are in good shape. Of course the bubbling will stop at some in secondary. There is no more fermentation going on.

Personally, I leave mine in the secondary vessel about 2 weeks, then rack again (leaving behind the secondary lees) into a clean vessel. At this point, add k-meta and top up with a similar wine (so there is not much headspace in your vessel). Then let it sit for a long time until it clears and improves. By "long time," I mean 4 to 12 months. Then you can bottle. (You'll need to add more k-meta every 3 months or so during the aging time.)

 

[Turock]

There is no need to panic. Everything you've done so far seems fine.

Yes, meta is essential for preservation.

What kind of wine is this? You want it to bulk age now so that the flavor firms up and it continues to clear. A light dusting of lees is good, no need to rack that off until it's time to bottle. At bottling time, you can sweeten if you want and add sorbate and some more meta.

The bubbling stops because it finishes to the dry state and because the CO2 is bubbling off of it. But this doesn't mean it's ready to bottle yet. If it's made from fruit or grapes, it should spend 1 year in bulk aging before bottling.

 

[frijolero]

Hi. Thanks for the feedback. Feel I can relax some.

So... there seems to be contrasting opinion on how long to leave it on these secondary lees. Should I leave it as is until bottling, or take it off and syphon into new demijohns now? Your extra advice is appreciated.

And, it seems I shouldn't bother with fining, and just let it clear on its own. Is that correct? (Sorry if I'm slow on the uptake.)

At same time, I need k-meta. And this is presumably straightforward to add - do I just pour it into the top of the demijohn periodically?

Thanks.

As background, these are just garden grapes, in the UK, and I've no idea what variety. They are small, tightly packed on the vine, and pretty sweet at picking. The wine is red, though it's quite a light-coloured red (almost a deep rose). We get a good crop each year. Last year, I made jam. This year, I figured I'd do something more ambitious and more enthusiastically appreciated.

 

[salcoco]

I would rack off the secondary lees as soon as possible. they can impart bad odors. K-meta will be required as soon as you rack. rule of thumb is 1/4 tsp per 5 gallons dissolve in a Small amount of wine. let wine age for about three months and then taste. mainatain a airlock on wine during all periods.

 

[frijolero]

okay, thanks. i have x4 one-gallon demijohns. it's going to be hard to measure out 1/20 tsp per gallon. is it an exact science for k-meta, or can i just add a pinch per demijohn? do i need to add it with any camp den tablets? presumably, at bottling itself, i sanitise each bottle with a campden tablet, and pour out the solution before pouring in the wine?

 

[frijolero]

Am I right to use sodium metabisulphite, or does it have to be potassium metabisulphite? The former seems to be more easily available in the UK.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

potassium metabisulphite is more recognized in the winemaking industry because it does not have any salt in it.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Here is an online guide that should help you out -
http://www.homemade-wine-making-guide.com/wine-making-instructions.html

 

[frijolero]

It seems I can't get hold of k-meta in the UK - not off any eBay retailers, anyway. Why would that be? Any decent alternatives?

 

[Norton]

What I do with my one gallon containers is to crush up one campden tablet and drop it in the must. I usually do this every other time I rack if I am doing it on a monthly basis. So at first I imight not do it evry other time if I am racking more frequently than once a month.


Sent from my iPad using Wine Making

 

[sour_grapes]

okay, thanks. i have x4 one-gallon demijohns. it's going to be hard to measure out 1/20 tsp per gallon.

See here:http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/k-meta-additions-recipes-less-than-5-gal-47074/

 

[vacuumpumpman]

heres 2 links
http://blog.eckraus.com/blog/wine-making-tricks-and-tips/a-simple-guide-to-metabisulfites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_metabisulfite

I hope this helps you

 

[frijolero]

heres 2 links
http://blog.eckraus.com/blog/wine-making-tricks-and-tips/a-simple-guide-to-metabisulfites

Okay, great. He says campden tablets are the same as k-meta! I have them, so I'll use them - one per gallon. That sound right by everyone?

 

[frijolero]

Can I just ask, again, do people agree that a fining agent is not required? That I should just forget it, and worry about racking it off the (secondary) lees and then let it alone for a few months before bottling?

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Can I just ask, again, do people agree that a fining agent is not required? That I should just forget it, and worry about racking it off the (secondary) lees and then let it alone for a few months before bottling?

That is a personal preference and how the wine clears itself. I agree about racking off the lees and don't think about bottling yet - you first have to make the wine before you think about bottling. Patience is a virtue

 

[olusteebus]

Even though I try to age my wine before bottling long enough to clear itself I still like to use a good fining agent. The reason why I do this is that it seems to compact the lees and leaves less "whispy" lees that are easily stirred up when racking. I use a fining agent, let it clear and then rack and let it sit in carboy long enough so any remaining lees fall to the bottom. I do this until there are no more lees in the wine.

You are doing good and I bet your wine tastes great. After you taste it, come back and describe what you taste and someone will help you tweak it to make it taste like you would like or better.

 

[frijolero]

Even though I try to age my wine before bottling long enough to clear itself I still like to use a good fining agent. The reason why I do this is that it seems to compact the lees and leaves less "whispy" lees that are easily stirred up when racking. I use a fining agent, let it clear and then rack and let it sit in carboy long enough so any remaining lees fall to the bottom. I do this until there are no more lees in the wine.

You are doing good and I bet your wine tastes great. After you taste it, come back and describe what you taste and someone will help you tweak it to make it taste like you would like or better.

thanks for the encouragement. i tasted the final must from the primary - sieved through muslin - and it was really dry. got a feeling i'm going to need some help with it. glad i found this place. so, again, thanks all.