What do I do next? Started my Pinot Gris from juice.

[crabjoe]

I moved my 6 gallons of Pinot Grigio juice to a 7.9 gal bucket. Added a couple teaspoons of nutrient and one tsp of energizer to help get things started. Took at hydrometer reading and it's was showing 1.090. Then added 1 package Red Star Premier Blanc yeast. Yesterday when I 1st opened the juice, I took a hydrometer reading and it was lower.. and was shocked.. I guess I needed to let it sit overnight to come to room temp.

As it sits now, it's in my basement, covered with a towel. Now what?

What should I be doing? Should I start stirring it once a day, starting tomorrow? Should I put the lid on with an airlock, instead of the towel?

Sorry for asking so many simpleton questions, but I'm new to this and don't want to mess things up.

BTW, I was really tempted to add a tsp of tannin.. But being a white, I wasn't sure even 1 tsp into 6 gallons would make a difference or even if I should add any.

Thanks!

On Edit - I meant to add some bentonite. Should I do it now, or not worry and do it later in the process when I'm trying to clear it?

 

[Johnd]

I moved my 6 gallons of Pinot Grigio juice to a 7.9 gal bucket. Added a couple teaspoons of nutrient and one tsp of energizer to help get things started. Took at hydrometer reading and it's was showing 1.090. Then added 1 package Red Star Premier Blanc yeast. Yesterday when I 1st opened the juice, I took a hydrometer reading and it was lower.. and was shocked.. I guess I needed to let it sit overnight to come to room temp.

As it sits now, it's in my basement, covered with a towel. Now what?

What should I be doing? Should I start stirring it once a day, starting tomorrow? Should I put the lid on with an airlock, instead of the towel?

Sorry for asking so many simpleton questions, but I'm new to this and don't want to mess things up.

BTW, I was really tempted to add a tsp of tannin.. But being a white, I wasn't sure even 1 tsp into 6 gallons would make a difference or even if I should add any.

Thanks!

On Edit - I meant to add some bentonite. Should I do it now, or not worry and do it later in the process when I'm trying to clear it?

Leave it as is, with the towel covering it, it’s just fine that way. You can stir it a time or two a day if you like.

There are tannins made for whites, you should use those if you need tannin, which you should decide much later by tasting your wine.

If you intend to use bentonite as a fining agent, you should definitely do it now, it’s much more effective during fermentation, and requires a much lower dose at this stage.

 

[Scooter68]

Using Bentonite now means the debris it pulls out will be gone with the lees and not hit you with another volume loss later on.

 

[crabjoe]

I just checked with the hydrometer and it's down to 1.082 I never did add the bentonite, so I guess it's to late now...

 

[Johnd]

I just checked with the hydrometer and it's down to 1.082 I never did add the bentonite, so I guess it's to late now...

No, it’s not too late.

 

[crabjoe]

No, it’s not too late.

I went and added 4 tsp mixed on 1.33 cups of water..

This Pinot is fermenting like crazy! The IR temp went up another degree to 77 since I last stirred it a few hours ago.

 

[Johnd]

I went and added 4 tsp mixed on 1.33 cups of water..

This Pinot is fermenting like crazy! The IR temp went up another degree to 77 since I last stirred it a few hours ago.

As long as it's still fermenting well, you'll be fine with the bentonite addition. The action of the fermentation causes the bentonite particles to rise up and down in the wine column as the CO2 bubbles adhere to them, it's supposed to make the addition much more effective at this stage. If you did it after fermentation, the recommended dosage is higher. Sounds like it's progressing very well. Good luck!!

 

[crabjoe]

As long as it's still fermenting well, you'll be fine with the bentonite addition. The action of the fermentation causes the bentonite particles to rise up and down in the wine column as the CO2 bubbles adhere to them, it's supposed to make the addition much more effective at this stage. If you did it after fermentation, the recommended dosage is higher. Sounds like it's progressing very well. Good luck!!

Thank you!