When to stop fermentation

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gcdowd

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So I recently started my first batch of wine. Got it to secondary. Instructions say to leave for 10 darius before adding chemicals to stop fermentation. Also says when gravity is below 0.996 and steady then it's ready. My grav is already there with only 3 days in secondary. Should I stop it now or wait the 10 days?
 
Im not going to claim to be an expert here but there are certain things than could have effected this, such as if the primary was in quite a warm place fermentation may have been faster than expected and the gravity was already lower than expected when you transferred it to the secondary? Did you take a gravity reading when you transferred it?

As i said i dont claim to be an expert but in my experience and most people here seem to agree, the gravity reading is the most accurate method of knowing when its ready.

I would wait for someone else more experienced to come along to confirm or deny my opinion on this but as long as the gravity reading is accurate and not a misread i guess its ready....
 
What's the rush? You're not stopping fermentation anyway- at .990-.996 (or even .998), the wine is dry anyway.

Adding chemicals to stop fermentation is like stopping a freight train. If fermentation is ongoing, it won't work. You wait until fermentation is finished, THEN stabilize it to keep fermentation from restarted.

Sorbate doesn't kill yeast- it inhibits yeast reproduction. Which means in an active fermentation, it won't do a thing because there are already plenty of yeast in suspension. Sulfites don't kill yeast, either, but are often used with sorbate as sorbate works better in the presence of sulfites.

So, if your recipe says to stabilize to "stop fermentation at .996", your instructions are bad and should be discarded.
 
Well that's the thing. I think fermentation has stopped. Gravity hasn't changed in the last 2 days. I'll continue to monitor for a few more days and if no change, I will add the chemicals
 
Will not stabelizing stop the yeast from cleaning up after themself?
Not sure but id give it atleast a week after fermentation has stalled
 
Will not stabelizing stop the yeast from cleaning up after themself?
Not sure but id give it atleast a week after fermentation has stalled

No. There is no "cleaning up after themselves". It's either done, or it's not done.

I don't stabilize any of my wines, unless I'm sweetening them after fermentation. The only thing sorbate does is inhibit yeast reproduction, to prevent renewed fermentation after adding sweetening. Since I don't sweeten many wines at all, I rarely use sorbate. There is no benefit to the wine at all, and sorbate does have a taste that some people find unpleasant.
 
Ok well I want a dry wine but not insanely dry. Should I add the sorbate?

If you're going to sweeten it, yes. But not until the wine is completely done and it's racked off of the lees so that it can be effective. It's also more effective with sulfite (campden tablets.) The level of sweetness of a wine really depends on the recipe and ingredients, so it's hard to say without knowing what you're making.
 
Original gravity was 1.070, now down to about 0.994

I love pinot noir, but it's not a sweet wine. If you don't like it, and find it too dry, you could sweeten it. But then it wouldn't be a pinot noir anymore- and a wine snob would find it very weird tasting. If you want a sweet wine, it's easier to start with a sweet kit. I'm a red wine fan, so I love the dry reds but I have had some rieslings that friends have made and they are more of a semi-sec type of wine.
 
I think I'm gonna try the recipe but let it ferment until wits end. If it's still dry...great. If it's not...so be it. It's my first one so I'll take some chances. Learn with time...
 
No. There is no "cleaning up after themselves". It's either done, or it's not done.

I don't stabilize any of my wines, unless I'm sweetening them after fermentation. The only thing sorbate does is inhibit yeast reproduction, to prevent renewed fermentation after adding sweetening. Since I don't sweeten many wines at all, I rarely use sorbate. There is no benefit to the wine at all, and sorbate does have a taste that some people find unpleasant.

I also have not been stabilizing if I wasn't back sweetening but recently I had two different batches start re-fermenting in the bottle. It wasn't intense, just a couple corks pop off and a little sediment in the bottom (they were crystal clear at bottling). Both were exposed to increased temperatures after bottling which I suspect caused the yeast to start again.
 
I also have not been stabilizing if I wasn't back sweetening but recently I had two different batches start re-fermenting in the bottle. It wasn't intense, just a couple corks pop off and a little sediment in the bottom (they were crystal clear at bottling). Both were exposed to increased temperatures after bottling which I suspect caused the yeast to start again.

Hmm, that shouldn't happen of course if the wine is at .990-.996 as there are no fermentable sugars left. Maybe it wasn't quite at .990-.996?

Actually, if they were finished and bottled before about 6-8 months old, I would be willing to bet you've got some MLF going on. Kits come with sulfites to work as a preservative, and to prevent MLF. But if the fermentation is over when you bottle, it's impossible for fermentation to restart unless MLF is happening. Another thought would simply be that the wine wasn't degassed, and the increased temperature is causing the co2 to be forced out- but that wouldn't create sediment. MLF may.
 
Yes they stopped before getting to .990. One was around 1.000 and the other slightly higher and we have been too impatient to wait 6- 8 month before bottling. (I have some now we are waiting a year on) . My wife likes her wine a little sweeter. After reading up on MLF I have to agree you. It did actually improve the wine imho. I did degas as thoroughly as I could using a wand. I normally give it several attempts over a two or three day period until it stays flat.
 
Yes they stopped before getting to .990. One was around 1.000 and the other slightly higher and we have been too impatient to wait 6- 8 month before bottling. (I have some now we are waiting a year on) . My wife likes her wine a little sweeter. After reading up on MLF I have to agree you. It did actually improve the wine imho. I did degas as thoroughly as I could using a wand. I normally give it several attempts over a two or three day period until it stays flat.

Ah. At 1.000, it wasn't done. That would explain it.
 
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