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Rhino · 02-28-2009, 03:14 PM

I made a batch of Muscadine wine on 01/18/2009:

15 quarts water
12 3/4 pounds sugar
35 pounds muscadines
5 tsp. pectic enzyme
5 tsp. yeast nutrient
5 Camden Tablets, crushed

01/19/09 Must S.G. 1.095

01/20/09 Added yeast

01/25/09 S.G. 990 Added 2 cups sugar water

2/10/09 Racked
S.G. 990

Checked S.G. on 02/28/09: 990

The temperature in the room is 68 degrees F. Am I not reading the hydrometer correctly? I am using a triple scale beer & wine hydrometer. I have posted on here before and everyone did not understand my reading. Am I doing something wrong?

Tusch · 02-28-2009, 03:20 PM

Well double check your hydrometer, to make sure you are reading it right, but there's nothing there that stands out terribly. That is certainly a quick fermentation for sure, but not impossible. Test your hydrometer with water, if you use distilled it should read 1.000 and tap or anything else should be within a very small margin. If the readings are right then your brew just fermented very quickly, and then when you added the sugar water, not sure how much sugar was involved, but it looks like the yeast ate that right up too.

What kind of yeast did you use?

Rhino · 02-28-2009, 03:26 PM

Thank you for your response. I used Red Star Pasteur Champagne active dry wine yeast. I checked my hydrometer as you suggested and it is reading with distilled water at 1.000. I am new to this and am thankful for any help. Any suggestions?

***Yooper*** · 02-28-2009, 03:41 PM

It's all fermented out. Now, it's time to rack it if you have thick lees, and make sure that it's topped up so that there is minimal headspace. You should be right around 14% alcohol by volume, so I wouldn't add any more fermentables (sugar) unless you plan on aging it for several years.

Rhino · 02-28-2009, 03:48 PM

What is thick lees? We are planing on aging it several years.

***Yooper*** · 03-01-2009, 12:25 AM

The lees are the deposits on the bottom of the carboy. It's made up of dead yeast, proteins and other things that are in suspension during fermentation. When more than 45 days have passed and the lees are 1/4 inch thick, the wine should be racked and topped up to avoid having any headspace. Sometimes wines are racked 4-5 times over a year before beginning bulk aging. I recommend using some sulfites if you will be aging this wine.

DoctorCAD · 03-01-2009, 10:06 PM

My blackberry wine had readings that moved that fast as well.

One thing I learned about wine is "Don't worry about it".

That seems to be the best advice.