Is my blueberry wine doomed?

I started a 1 gal. batch of blueberry wine 6 days ago. I measured the FG tonight and it was at 1.000 so I decided to put it into my 1 gallon jug. However, I used a funnel for the transfer. Did I screw myself by doing that? I started reading a bunch of threads that were pertaining to oxidization and now i'm worried. Another problem arose, obviously, from me not using a filter when funneling. There is now a thick layer of sediment on the bottom of my jug. I've read using campden tablets can help prevent oxidation? Any advise on what course of action to take is appreciated.

Even pouring it right now won't hurt it, so don't worry.

From now on, though, use racking tubing and a racking cane (or autosiphon) each time you move it. The sediment is called "lees" and there is always some in fermenting wines. One of the purposes of racking the wine is to remove it from the lees. You don't filter it- you just rack it quietly into the next container. You place the end of the racking cane above the sediment, and don't rack any sediment, just the wine.

Wine is very forgiving, so all you really need to do is follow basic winemaking techniques and use proper sanitation. I really like Jack Keller's website for easy to understand winemaking info- here's a good place to start: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/basics.asp You can then click on each step for a more thorough explanation.

One thing I do to help prevent oxidation is use campden tablets (sulfite) in my wine. I generally use one crushed campden tablet (dissolved in a little boiling water) per gallon at every other racking and at bottling. So, I add the campden solution into a clean sanitized container, and then rack the wine into it. You should rack with the tip of the tubing coiled around the bottom of the receiving vessel, so that it fills from the bottom and doesn't splash. That will help keep the wine from being aerated, and the sulfite binds to the wine to keep it from being oxygenated. The sulfite dissapates, though, that's why I add it at every other racking.

I'd wait a few weeks (maybe 3 or so) and rack the wine with the sulfite, unless you never added any sulfites so far. If you haven't added any sulfites yet, I'd get it in there ASAP. What was the recipe?

2 1/2 pounds of blueberries (fresh or frozen) Use more for a heavier body wine.
4 1/2 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon Yeast Nutrient
1 1/2 teaspoons acid blend
1 teaspoon pectic enzyme
1 Campden tablet.
Wine making yeast

That's the recipe I used. I used campden initially before I added the yeast(24 hours later). So you think i'll be okay then? Maybe i'll rack it in 3 weeks-/+ and add another campden tablet as you advise. Thanks for the help. All the information on the internet is pretty overwhelming. Thanks for the guidance.

Frost said:

2 1/2 pounds of blueberries (fresh or frozen) Use more for a heavier body wine.
4 1/2 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon Yeast Nutrient
1 1/2 teaspoons acid blend
1 teaspoon pectic enzyme
1 Campden tablet.
Wine making yeast

That's the recipe I used. I used campden initially before I added the yeast(24 hours later). So you think i'll be okay then? Maybe i'll rack it in 3 weeks-/+ and add another campden tablet as you advise. Thanks for the help. All the information on the internet is pretty overwhelming. Thanks for the guidance.

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Oh, then sure, if you used campden originally, you should be just fine. Fermentation is still going on (albeit very slowly now) so you don't have to worry too much about aerating it when you poured it. (The filter would have been worse as far as aerating- good thing you didn't do that!). Just carefully rack next time, leaving the gross lees behind, and as much as the fine lees as you can, then top up to the top with some water or light white wine up to within about an inch of the bung and airlock. That also is important in prevent oxidation.

Oh, and welcome to HBT- I'm not sure that we've ever "talked" before!

Thanks for the reassurance, glad it will still turn out as it should. I was planning on bottling around the 6 month mark. I've read I should rack every month to fine? I've got some gelatin I was planning on using. Will that serve the same purpose or should I rack monthly as well?

Don't want to start a new blueberry wine thread but got a quick question. I pitched yeast into a 6 gallon batch one week ago. It started around 1.080ish and is just now down to 1.050.

Is it odd that its fermenting so slowly? I followed Jack Keller's recipe for the most part but its moving fairly slow. His site says to rack after vigorous fermentation is finished but I'm not sure exactly when that is; guess I'll just let it go for 2 weeks then rack it and repitch if necessary.

Neal

p.s. I did use yeast nutrient and energizer

Frost said:

Thanks for the reassurance, glad it will still turn out as it should. I was planning on bottling around the 6 month mark. I've read I should rack every month to fine? I've got some gelatin I was planning on using. Will that serve the same purpose or should I rack monthly as well?

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I don't want to hijack your thread by any means but I would rack in addition to using gelatin if it were me. Racking is to get the wine away from the yeast because leaving wine on the yeast for extended periods of time can cause off flavors from what I understand. I have also read (Jack Keller IIRC) that wine should be racked every other month, so thats how often I plan to rack.

Frost said:

Thanks for the reassurance, glad it will still turn out as it should. I was planning on bottling around the 6 month mark. I've read I should rack every month to fine? I've got some gelatin I was planning on using. Will that serve the same purpose or should I rack monthly as well?

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Gelatin will help drop yeast out of suspension, to help clear it. It doesn't "erase" the lees in the bottom of the carboy. Those lees are dead yeast and fruit bits, and you want to remove the wine from it, as the lees will decay and actually have a fecal smell/taste to them. Racking is remove the wine from those lees. You should not necessarily rack on a schedule- but whenever you have lees in a regular period of time. For example, if you have lees in 30-45 days, go ahead and rack. Your wine won't be close to bottling until it's clear, and no lees fall. 6 months may be ok, but I'd plan on longer than that. Wine isn't a quick hobby!

nealf said:

Don't want to start a new blueberry wine thread but got a quick question. I pitched yeast into a 6 gallon batch one week ago. It started around 1.080ish and is just now down to 1.050.

Is it odd that its fermenting so slowly? I followed Jack Keller's recipe for the most part but its moving fairly slow. His site says to rack after vigorous fermentation is finished but I'm not sure exactly when that is; guess I'll just let it go for 2 weeks then rack it and repitch if necessary.

Neal

p.s. I did use yeast nutrient and energizer

Click to expand...

Well, that is slow! Maybe you didn't pitch enough yeast? One package is supposed to be good for up to 6 gallons, but maybe it wasn't in this case. Or maybe the yeast is old? Anyway, it's going now, so don't worry about it. It's good to rack when the vigorous fermentation is finished- a good guideline is to rack at 1.010- 1.020 or so. That way, most of the fermentation is done, but the wine is still fermenting and the co2 being produced will help protect it during transfer and help keep it from being aerated.