my BlueBerry Wine...troubles

ApolloSpeed · 10-13-2008, 10:06 PM

I made my first BlueBerry wine....I followed the instructions perfectly... but ran into some problems.

Fermentation stopped during the first 3 days. I waited a week, nothing ever restarted. I check the gravity, it was at 1040. OG was 1080.

I made a yeast starter again, and repitched.... It started back up for another 2 days or so, and stopped again. This time at 1025. I waited another 10 days, still nothing.

So I decided to secondary.... it started back up again SLOWLY (bubble every 3-5 minutes). A week later, it stopped. This time at about 1017. I waited and wait, yet nothing happened.

So after over 8 weeks in the carboy total.... I decided to bottle. It was still at 1017, but what else could I do? I added Sorbate and Campden when bottled.

Its been 2 weeks in the bottles, and I opened one to try it.... BOOM!! Top flew off and wine spewed everwhere!! It tasted pretty good, but damn. I hope it doesn't do that on all the bottles

Are all my bottles gonna be like this? Will aging it longer make the pressure drop some?

scinerd3000 · 10-13-2008, 10:19 PM

simply put- no. It probably wasnt done. Thats still very high for a wine as far as im concerned. Did you degas the wine?

ApolloSpeed · 10-13-2008, 10:27 PM

unfortunately, I do not know what degas means.

I guess, maybe I should have just let it sit.....but I've made probably 9 different batches of wine.....and have never had any of them take anything remotely close to 8 weeks in the fermenter. Usually its only 3-4 weeks tops.

So what should I do now? Since they are already bottled?

**Yooper** · 10-13-2008, 10:54 PM

You can either wait for them all to blow up or blow the corks off, or you can put them all back into a fermenter and allow it to finish. Since you used campden and sorbate, I'm not sure exactly how low it will go, though.

I know you said you have experience making wine, but I've made a few wines myself (maybe 60 or 70?) and have never, ever bottled before 6 months (except for kits). Ever. Especially if they weren't done fermenting- you're just asking for problems. I usually bottle approximately one year from starting, depending on what the wines are, how well they clear, how long they've been finished, and how long they've bulk aged. Wines from juice go pretty quickly- usually they can be ready to bottle in less time than I do it. Fruit wines tend to take longer- I have rhubarb wine from this spring in a carboy, and I might bottle it before the next harvest of rhubarb in May, if it's ready to be bottled.

I guess you've found out the hard way what happens when you rush it. Please, be careful, and open them carefully and wear eye protection.

ApolloSpeed · 10-13-2008, 11:00 PM

hmmm.....

should I maybe, just open them and then put the top back on just to relieve the pressure?

boo boo · 10-13-2008, 11:02 PM

Wow that is a high finishing gravity. I let my Blueberry wine go to 995 or 990FG. I do BB wine almost exclusively for what wine I brew. My primary usually takes a month or more to get to 1030 or so. My OG usually is around 1100.
And like Yooper, my wine takes a long time to ferment out to my satisifaction, about 4 to 6 months.

**Yooper** · 10-14-2008, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApolloSpeed

hmmm.....

should I maybe, just open them and then put the top back on just to relieve the pressure?

If you're comfortable doing that, then go ahead. I wouldn't be comfortable at all with wine at that high of a SG in a wine bottle, so I'd dump them back into a carboy and allow it to finish.

**summersolstice** · 10-14-2008, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApolloSpeed

So after over 8 weeks in the carboy total.... I decided to bottle. It was still at 1017, but what else could I do? I added Sorbate and Campden when bottled.

It's a common misconception that sorbate and potassium metabisulfite will stop fermentation. This is just more proof that they don't. They merely prevent renewed fermentation in a wine or mead that's already completely fermented and then backsweetened.

Quote:

Are all my bottles gonna be like this? Will aging it longer make the pressure drop some?

Yes, they will all be like this.

What were the instructions and what kind of yeast did you use? What was the ambient temperature? Did you use potassium metabisulfite (campden) prior to pitching your yeast? Did you add it any other time prior to your bottling preparation? Did you add any yeast nutirent? Did you stir the must for the first couple of days?

ApolloSpeed · 10-14-2008, 06:30 PM

yes, I used campden....Nutrient.... Pectic Enz, Acid Blend, Red Star "montrachet" spelling?.....70-74F ambient.... I'd not stir after the first day until it went into the secondary.

I guess I will put it back into a carboy and let it sit for a little while longer.... I don't want any bottle bombs!