sg too high in primary

to start with let me say this is my first time "trying" to make wine
I had lots of pears so i started a pear wine but after one day or fermenting the sg is too high ........i think
I floated the hydrometer and looks like 1.10 on the second day but when i was mixing it it was 1.09 so i think the suger in the pears and the rasins is coming out
i used two gallons of water.......and 5 pounds of sugar

just seems like a lot to me
thanks for any help
this is a great site

forgot to ask the question i was looking
can i add water to the primary after its started fermentation??
I think ther is enough fruit that it will not dilute it

johnnync said:

forgot to ask the question i was looking
can i add water to the primary after its started fermentation??
I think ther is enough fruit that it will not dilute it

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Yes you can (as long as it has been boiled/cooled). My question is why?

OG isn't the end all/be all. If you're higher or lower than target, don't sweat it. Especially if you're using a wine yeast, you'll have no problem getting through the sugar.

Suggestions: if your gravity reading increased 10 points overnight, I'll bet you either misread the hydrometer the first time or didn't stir the mixture enough to get 100% consistent sugar content throughout. Neither is a big deal.

i think it was a little of both
Guess i will let it go and see how it turns out

thanks for your quick reply

Most people shoot for an SG of around 1.095 so you are not that far off anyways.

When I was racking into my secondary I got 2 or 3 loose raisins sucked throw the tube and are now floating in the top of one of the jugs. Is this going to hurt anything? How long should i let this sit under airlock before I rack the first time?
thanks

Rack after it clears. Around 60days should be good.
I don't see why the raisins would hurt anything.

how long can you keep wine in the secondary under airlock?

johnnync said:

how long can you keep wine in the secondary under airlock?

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Years and years, as long as there is liquid in the airlock and the carboy is topped up without any headspace, depending on the kind of wine.

I rack whenever there are lees 1/4" thick, or after 60 days if there are any new lees. Once the wine is clear and no new lees form, it can be aged in bulked or aged in the bottle.

when I go to rack this pear wine for the second time, if I top it off with pear juice its going to start fermenting agiain isnt it? But I think in 60 days it will be too soon to stabalize it?.........just top it off with water?.......

thanks!

johnnync said:

when I go to rack this pear wine for the second time, if I top it off with pear juice its going to start fermenting agiain isnt it? But I think in 60 days it will be too soon to stabalize it?.........just top it off with water?.......

thanks!

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Usually, you top off with a similar commercial wine. In this case, you could probably use some water since your OG was so high. I usually make a bit more must up when I make the batch, and keep it in a wine bottle with an airlock and use that for topping up. Or I use a similar wine. You could use any dry white wine with good results.

What about welchs white wine?
I have a batch of it going and should be done before I have to rack

johnnync said:

What about welchs white wine?
I have a batch of it going and should be done before I have to rack

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Sure, that would work also.

well I racked the pear wine tonight at 24 days with about 1/4 inch of lees
I made a decision to top off with pear fuice from the baby section.
Guess we will see what affect it has on the outcome

I used one crushed campden tablet, wouldnt that stop the fermintation? Or could it start back?
And if it does start back what is the cons?
thanks

johnnync said:

well I racked the pear wine tonight at 24 days with about 1/4 inch of lees
I made a decision to top off with pear fuice from the baby section.
Guess we will see what affect it has on the outcome

I used one crushed campden tablet, wouldnt that stop the fermintation? Or could it start back?
And if it does start back what is the cons?
thanks

Click to expand...

Yes, if you added more fermentables, like pears, fermentation will start back up a bit. The only thing you may notice is that it won't clear until fermentation is done, and it'll drop some more lees as a result. Eventually, you'll want to top up with something that won't ferment, like wine or water, so that the wine can finish and clear.

well I sampled the pear wine today.........

So lets talk about blending

Can I make a similar fruit wine....like plum but with less sugar (less abv)
and blend the two together?

The wine is clear and has very little lees. But very strong.
Still in my learning curve ...sorry