Wine Fermentation

[Wiz]

An observation I have made with 3, five gallon and 1 gallon batch of fruit wines is that mine seem to reach the target sg several days before the recipes call for and to also 100% fermentation in the secondary. For example, my recipe for a mango wine says leave it in the primary for 10 days with someone on this forum stating more than 13 days and still working. Mine was in the secondary with total fermentation completed to .992 in 9 days. The temps here get down to 68 to 69 degrees in the night to 73 - 74 during the day. I know that you guys in the states are going through some extreme heat. I also live about 1 mile in elevation on the side of an extinct volcano and was wondering if elevation is a factor. Any comments from the members?

 

[JasonH]

My mango batch reached .995 today in the secondary and is still bubbling slightly. Its only been fermenting for 9 days. Wine recipes are meant to be more of a guideline than an exact science. As amateur winemakers, there are so many variables caused by the fruit, temperature, yeast, and whatever else that you could never expect fermentation to occur at a definite rate in every circumstance.

 

[countrygirl]

all my batches have gone fast, too. i wondered the same thing, but now i'm learning that there are sooo many variables...temps, sugars in the fruit/must, type of yeast used, luck, etc.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Use a hydrometer and let that be your guide. I average 6 to 7 days year round to reach ending fermentation. As stated above there are more variables than you can shake a stick at. With a lighter air pressure it may ferment faster but it may struggle for air.

In time you will learn and get a feel for how your wines ferment. I don't take a reading after my juices start until the 4th day as long as we're fermenting. Then I'll check daily then twice daily as it reaches around 1.000 and lower.