When to stabilize? When to add f-pac?

[Delaney]

Hi,

I'm fermenting two raspberry wine at the moment.

They have both hit FG of 0.990 and were racked to secondary fermentation a few days ago. They require 6 months of conditioning and 6-12 months of bottle aging.

Should I stop fermentation now, and add the f-pac, or should I allow the yeast stay alive for a while? Will the yeast continue to clean things up?

Thanks for the advice.

Delaney

 

[Wade E]

Its near impossible to stop a fermentation in progress!!!! Let the yeast finish what its doing, add sulfite and sorbate and then sweeten but make sure you have a stable sg reading for at least 3 days. That said you should be done with that low of an sg.

 

[Delaney]

Its near impossible to stop a fermentation in progress!!!! Let the yeast finish what its doing, add sulfite and sorbate and then sweeten but make sure you have a stable sg reading for at least 3 days. That said you should be done with that low of an sg.

I know that with beer the yeast will re-absorb undesirable esters and other stuff for 1-2 weeks after FG, hence why I'm wondering if there is any benefit to waiting a few weeks before I stabilize + backsweeten.

I've also read that stabilization + backsweetening should be done prior to bottling. Is there a difference between doing this before or after the wine is conditioned?...

 

[Wade E]

There are a few trains of thought on whether to let the wine sit on the lees for awhile. You do need to get the wine off its primary heavy sediment as thats loaded with dead yeast and fruit solids and the yeast still working in there will cannibalize and eat the dead yeast which will give it off flavors and also produce a sulfur problem. Once those lees are gone then letting your wine sit on the secondary lees can be good as it can give your wine a better mouthfeel and body but too long is also no good. This aging on the lees is called Surlees and can be Googled to find out more specifics about it. I like to let my reds and a few specific whites like a Chardonnay sit on the lees for a like 2 months. I dont let anything very delicate like a Pinot Gris sit on any lees. Stabilizing your wine IMO is best done immediately after the wine is finished fermenting. Sweetening is a 50/50 decision. As wine ages it can be perceived as sweeter in time so sweetening it early on can sometimes lead to a wine that tastes a little sweeter then you wanted later but I like to sweeten early on so that it will all clear well over time as sweetening can sometimes cloud up your wine all over again.

 

[Delaney]

There are a few trains of thought on whether to let the wine sit on the lees for awhile. You do need to get the wine off its primary heavy sediment as thats loaded with dead yeast and fruit solids and the yeast still working in there will cannibalize and eat the dead yeast which will give it off flavors and also produce a sulfur problem. Once those lees are gone then letting your wine sit on the secondary lees can be good as it can give your wine a better mouthfeel and body but too long is also no good. This aging on the lees is called Surlees and can be Googled to find out more specifics about it. I like to let my reds and a few specific whites like a Chardonnay sit on the lees for a like 2 months. I dont let anything very delicate like a Pinot Gris sit on any lees. Stabilizing your wine IMO is best done immediately after the wine is finished fermenting. Sweetening is a 50/50 decision. As wine ages it can be perceived as sweeter in time so sweetening it early on can sometimes lead to a wine that tastes a little sweeter then you wanted later but I like to sweeten early on so that it will all clear well over time as sweetening can sometimes cloud up your wine all over again.

Thanks for the info! The wine is already off the primary heavy sediment. I used a grain bag around my siphon rod when I racked to get rid of any remaining pulp also.

I will allow the wine to sit for a week while I collect + freeze berries for an f-pac, and then I'll stabilize. It just hit FG within the past 24-48 hours so I think it would be wise to leave it a little longer before ending the show.

I don't think I'll add non-fermentable sugars to the wine...I think the f-pac on it's own will sweeten things to my liking. I prefer a dry wine and it seems sweet to me even now. Perhaps I'll try to backsweeten a small portion for comparison.

 

[Wade E]

All is sounding good then. Glad to be of help.

 

[orf]

what is FG or is that a typo?

 

[Flem]

Final Specific Gravity