mesed up my wine

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

goteamwhatever

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2013
Messages
45
Reaction score
0
Location
big thicket
Sooo I been a combination of broke and lazy. I have five gallons of mayhaw jelly wine been sitting in primary for two weeks without an airlock. What is going to be wrong with my wine. I plan on racking today. Should I even do that.
 
goteamwhatever said:
Sooo I been a combination of broke and lazy. I have five gallons of mayhaw jelly wine been sitting in primary for two weeks without an airlock. What is going to be wrong with my wine. I plan on racking today. Should I even do that.

What is the current specific gravity? More than likely, it is still actively fermenting, protecting your new wine.
 
Its slightly active don't know the s.g. at the moment. I could add yeast energizer or nutrient but don't want bad bacteria or whatnot in it to get kicked into gear.
 
Its slightly active don't now the s.g. at the moment could add yeast energizer or nutrient but I don't want to boost the bad bacteria or whatnot that's in it.
 
So what's the problem? Rack it.

I'm pretty lazy and left many in a bucket with a lid just teetering on top for a couple weeks.
 
Out of curiosity, you say it is slightly active....how did you determine this without using your hydrometer? Try to always use hydrometer to determine where you are, it will take the guess work out of it. Establish good habits now & you will not have huge issues later.

Definitely do not want to add energizer/nutrient without knowing SG, because there is a point of no return with the stuff and you can really unbalance things if you add it too late. I never add once wine has dropped SG more than 2/3. Some will not add if SG has dropped more than 50%.

But honestly the best thing to do is taste it, assess for oxidization (do you know the wine tasting/in a glass/against white background method to check for oxidization?), check SG then go ahead and rack to carboy, apply airlock and rack monthly as long as dropping sediment. That has worked for my jam wines & almost every batch was naturally clear, degassed, and being consumed as early as 90 days after SG zeroed out. But if you want to age a bit, then I would rack to carboy/airlock & rack again in a month, then aim for every 2 months as long as dropping sediment. Should be clear/sediment free with ideally no more than three rackings beyond finished ferment. Do not forget to dose with SO2 quarterly and especially before you initiate that first offgassing session.
Other than that I would say you are still on your path to 5 gallons of delicious mayhaw wine.

Do you make the jelly or know someone who does? Looking for a good source personally since no mayhaws in my area. That is my MIL favorite jelly on the planet.
 
Actually my great grandmother makes it. I just get from her when she has some made. When the mayhaw come in season I could probably get a couple and send your way.
 
Actually my great grandmother makes it. I just get from her when she has some made. When the mayhaw come in season I could probably get a couple and send your way.

That would be awesome! Will send wine in trade if you like. Just give me a yell if you think about it when the season is upon us.
 
OK there doesn't seem to be any airlock activity. I use gallons with pin holes in them. Gallon has not aired up at all so no activity. Should I add yeast energizer or nutrient?
 
saramc said:
But honestly the best thing to do is taste it, assess for oxidization (do you know the wine tasting/in a glass/against white background method to check for oxidization?)

Oh do tell please! I have never heard of this.
 
An easy way to assess for oxidization is to tilt the glass (clear glass ideally) holding the sample against a white background. As you look at the sample in the glass you obviously see the sample, but as you look at the tilted sample where the liquid meets the glass you should notice that the sample appears to have a clear layer of demarkation, almost a halo. If the halo is crystal clear there is no oxidization, if the halo is any other color there is oxidization developing, most commonly seen as a shade of brown.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top