RJ Spagnols Vino del vida - Bourgeron Rouge

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

coolfloyd

Junior
Joined
Sep 10, 2009
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
My first wine kit .. did I mess it up?
The first 14 days it was in the pail .. fermenting.. with airlock.. Starting SG 1.070 (as per instructions)... I had it in my detached garage.. and durring that time .. the temperature went from 78 high durring the day .. to around 60 at night.. I had a thermometer sitting next to the pail... ( I realized after I started the kit.. having those temperature swings was NOT good.. but I felt I shouldn't move the pail once it started) ..
Day 14 came .. and SG 1.00 .. Instructions said . .996 .. Temp was around 65 deg at that time I took the reading .. I racked it anyways ... and added the rest of the ingredients.. and now its been in my basement .. (consistent 65-66 degs) in the 6gallon carboy with airlock.

My question is .. not waiting for the .996.. and the temperature swings .. will that mess up the taste of the wine .. and will that make the alcohol level less than what it should have been?
 
1) Messed up? Not really.

2) Alcohol a bit lower. Yep, because you didn't allow it to ferment out.

3) Sweeter than intended by RJS. Yep, because of the residual sugar.

But items 2 & 3 are possibility only. Get an sg raeding after a week or so. Then we can tell for sure. The K-meta and sorbate may not have stopped the fermentation.

BTW, you probably should have moved your primary when you realized that the temperature was a problem. It would not have caused any problems to the wine.

Steve
 
Last edited:
This is a 28 day wine.. I'm on day 23... I checked the SG tonight .. and it's .996

Will all be okay to bottle on Sunday ?? Day 28?

Do you think I'll need to add anything??
 
Are you planning to filter the wine? Does it look clear?

It's probably OK to bottle. But check the sg first, in case it's still dropping. In my experience, RJS kits finish about .995, so it's probably done.

I don't think you need to add anything.

Steve
 
I'm not planning on filtering it.. I have no idea what I would need to do that.. and that would require another trip to the wine making store :)

It does look clear!

I'll check the SG again Sun/Mon before I bottle it.. just to see what it is.

Thanks :r

Floyd
 
Cool Floyd
Unless your in a rush to drink it, it doesn't hurt to bulk age for a while. 28 Day doesn't mean you have to bottle on day 28. Make sure carboy is full or top off with argon or co2 during bulk aging. If you plan on bulk aging, you may want to get a refillable 5lb Co2 bottle an a regulator.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top