Wine failure

[TerryB56]

Hi, after bottling my gooseberry wine I tested it and found it hadn`t even started to turn alcoholic. I posted a thread about it last week - non alcoholic wine- and it was suggested that I test the PH, which according to my test strip seemed to be about 6.4. Is this batch of wine retrievable or should I tip it down the sink? Any help gratefully received

Terry Baldwin
Inverness
Scotland

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi Terry. Potentially it is retrievable, but you might want to post your recipe (detailed) and the protocol you used. There may be something in the method and or the ingredients that would make someone on this forum raise their eyebrows in wonderment. Did you use too much K-meta to kill wild yeast? Did you all but kill the yeast when you pitched it? Was there some preservative in the gooseberries that inhibited the fermentation? Was the temperature too low? Was the starting gravity too high?

 

[TerryB56]

Hi, I will attempt to cut and paste recipe.

• 1.3kg Gooseberries
• 1.15kg of Sugar
• 4.2 litres of Water
• 0.5 tsp of Pectic Enzyme
• 1 tsp Yeast Nutrient
• 1 Campden Tablet
• 1 Sachet of Wine Yeast (Our recommendation is Lalvin EC-1118)

Gooseberry Wine Method

1. In a pan heat 2 litres of water and add the sugar, bring to a boil for a few minutes then remove from the heat.
2. Meanwhile take the washed and prepared gooseberries and place them in the straining bag, put the straining bag in a sanitised fermenting bucket and begin to crush all the berries to break them up.
3. Pour the hot sugar solution over the gooseberries and mix thoroughly, add the remaining 2.2 litres of water which will bring the temperature down in the rest of the must, add the yeast nutrient and a 3-4 hours later when the must has cooled further add the campden tablet and mix thoroughly
4. 12 hours after adding the campden tablet add the pectolase which will aid juice and flavour extraction. Mix and leave for a further 24 hours.
5. After the 24 hours sprinkle the yeast on the surface of the must. Allow the wine to ferment for around a week and then lift out the bag with the remainder of the gooseberries. Allow fermentation to continue for a further week.
6. After the two weeks rack the wine to a carboy, you can check the gravity at this point should you wish, fermetation should be pretty much complete at around 1.000 or lower. Once racked into a demijohn seal with a bung and airlock.
7. You can wait for the gooseberry wine to completely clear before racking to a new vessel. Leave the wine for at least 4 months before bottling. If you wish to back-sweeten the wine stabilise and follow this advice here.
   
   

 

[Julie]

Did you take a hydrometer reading prior to adding the yeast and after it had fermented for awhile? I know your instructions say "if you wish" but one of the first things you need to learn in winemaking is always take hydrometer readings as you go, this is the only way to know if you have fermentation going and when it is completed

 

[TerryB56]

No, I didn`t. What`s worse is that I have another batch made a month later which hasn`t been tested yet.

Terry

 

[BernardSmith]

I know a lot of folk don't rehydrate their yeast and get away with that but simply sprinkling EC 1118 on top (and the packet says to rehydrate at a fairly high temperature if memory serves - above 90 F) means that you can expect to have lost about 50% of the viable yeast. What I would suggest is that you buy another pack of this same yeast (it is a killer yeast so you really don't want to add another less aggressive yeast strain to this. EC -1118 will overwhelm any other competitor); rehydrate it according to the instructions on the packet and add the rehydrated yeast to a cup of warm water - about the same temperature as the rehydrated yeast - into which you have dissolved about 1 tablespoon of sugar. Pour this into a clean and sanitized fermenting bucket or carboy.
When you see that that is actively fermenting - You might need to give this a couple of hours - add 1 cup of your gooseberry must to this. And when this solution is now actively fermenting you add 2 cups of the gooseberry must. You repeat this process - DOUBLING the amount of must you are adding (to match the amount of must in your "starter") until all the must has been transferred to the new starter. Good luck

 

[TerryB56]

Hi Bernard, I have the failed wine in 5 bottles and the next batch still in a demi-john. Sorry, I`m probably being a bit dim but were your instructions about what to do next time I make wine or to rescue what I have?
Thanks for replying.

Terry

 

[sour_grapes]

In your previous thread, I asked "Does it taste very sweet right now? And what does the scale on your hydrometer look like? Are the numbers 80 and 90 near the top or the bottom of it?"

Can you let me know the answer to those?

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi Bernard, I have the failed wine in 5 bottles and the next batch still in a demi-john. Sorry, I`m probably being a bit dim but were your instructions about what to do next time I make wine or to rescue what I have?
Thanks for replying.

Terry

You are not "dim". I gave you the standard way to rescue a stalled fermentation: you never add yeast to the problem batch. You add the problem batch in ever larger quantities to the new colony of yeast. You can use this protocol to try to rescue your gooseberry wine or any stalled batch.

 

[Scooter68]

I would seriously look into using more berries in future batches. That recipe makes about 4 liters volume (Finished) and for virtually all berries used in wine 1.3 Kilos (2.8 lbs) would not give much flavor to the wine. I know this seems like piling on to all the other things you are trying to deal with but in the end you want that wine to taste like something you and friends will want to drink. Think about at least 2-3 kilos per 4 liters finished wine future batches. Never heard of anyone saying that their wine had too much flavor.

 

[TerryB56]

Hi, the wine is pretty sweet. My hydrometer is obviously a UK one. At the bottom is starts at 1.150,140,130,110.120,110,1.100 then 90 and 80. After 10 it then says 1.000. The reading now is between the 80 and the 90.

 

[Ajmassa]

DONT DUMP! your good to go!
It never fermented that’s all. During that 2 week ‘fermentation’ period did you see any activity? I assume
not. There’s no mistaking an active fermentation.
If it’s sitting at 1.085 you’ve got a perfectly ready to ferment ‘must’ that’s full of nutrients and everything else needed.
If fermented down to at least 1.000 your looking at 11.5% abv. Currently you’ve got gooseberry juice. Pop those corks, get em in a fermentation bucket and pitch some strong yeast.
For whatever reason it just never took off. If the Camden tab was the reason, then enough time has passed for it not to be an issue now.

 

[JohnT]

I would advise that you adjust your PH. At 6.0, you are INSANELY high (lacking acid) and just a shade above that of plain water. Are you sure that this recipe has no provision for adding acid? I am not too sure of how EC-1118 will work in an such a high PH environment.

 

[Scooter68]

I would advise that you adjust your PH. At 6.0, you are INSANELY high (lacking acid) and just a shade above that of plain water. Are you sure that this recipe has no provision for adding acid? I am not too sure of how EC-1118 will work in an such a high PH environment.

Exactly the chance of fermentation in that environment is very very low. And as you asked, I see no reference to addition of acid of any kind. If there is any yeast present I would bet that adjusting the pH to the correct range of 3.4 - 3.6 might even be enough inspire the yeast to start working.

 

[TerryB56]

I suppose I assumed the acid would come from the fruit, but obviously not enough. What form does the acid come in, a powder I assume?

Terry

 

[Ajmassa]

Yup powder. Grape wine ypically calls for tartaric acid for additions.
But how confident are you with the 6.4ph reading? You Using the strips that range from like ph4-7? With the results chart in shades of orange?
I don’t know anything about gooseberries, but those strips can sometimes be misleading in red wine because of the similar colors of the sample and the reading.
If you do end up adjusting maybe take a few readings just to be sure. And add Just a little bit at a time and check.
You’ll also need the other wine test strips 2.5-4.5 ph since you’ll be out of range once you start adjusting

 

[TerryB56]

Hi, the only test strips I had in the house were those I use in my fish tank. Only start at 6.4. So maybe not so confident. What an amateur, eh? I will buy some tartaric acid and some proper test strips.

Terry

 

[Ajmassa]

I read “6.4 using strips” and right away didn’t trust it. It just reads that color because it cannot go any lower.
Well you now know what “should” be done. But ph testing, adding acid and all the reading needed prior can sound overwhelming if you’ve never done it before-especially on just a 1 gal batch.
Do you have more yeast at home? If so, I still stand by my original suggestion to just get them in a bucket or jug and pitch yeast again. It’ll be fizzing and bubbling in a day or 2. If after 3 days you see no activity and hydrometer still reads 1.085, you know what to do.
If you need to go to the store for yeast, you might as well get acid and strips as well and go that route before pitching

 

[Julie]

If you are planning on making more wine, the best option for you is to get a ph meter, there are some cheap ones out that that work great.

 

[Stressbaby]

I'll bet the pH is lower than 6.4. Based on the gooseberries and jostaberries I've eaten, they should have enough acid to get you under 5.0, and very possibly much lower than that.