First Wine-Making error...

so I began my first wine this past thursday, a Vino Del Vida chardonnay kit. I was looking at the kits instructions today, and realized I only topped off to the 5 gallon mark on my fermenter...the directions said 5 imp gal/6 US gallons and I just skimmed it quickly and only noticed the "5". my mistake didn't even register when my OG was wayyyy higher than it should have been. was not thinking clearly that day!

its been 4 days, and it's been bubbling away. I'm wondering if there is anything I can do at this point to remedy my situation...or will I just have a very high ABV wine?

also, if I leave it at the 5 gallon mark, do I need to adjust any of the other additives (suphite, potassium sorbate, etc)?

thanks in advance

No reason you can't add another gallon of water at this point. Might prevent a stalled fermentation due to the yeast hitting its ABV limit.

david_42 said:

No reason you can't add another gallon of water at this point. Might prevent a stalled fermentation due to the yeast hitting its ABV limit.

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ok. Should i stir well as I did when originally topping off? I know with beer its not good to disturb it during fermentation....I don't know how much of that applies to wine making.

soxpats said:

ok. Should i stir well as I did when originally topping off? I know with beer its not good to disturb it during fermentation....I don't know how much of that applies to wine making.

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You probably got enough fermentation going now that you don't want to stir. Just gently add the water. It'll be ok.

The fermantation should make a short job of mixing everything up. Could be worse, my first real screwup was splashing some soap into a batch.

You will be ok adding water this early to a kit. When I make kits, I always add 1/2 gallon of additional water at the begining. You lose some in racking and eventually you end up with your 6 gallon batch without having to top up later.

I have entered 4 of my kits done this way in wine competitions and have received medals for them, so I do not believe you will be diluting the wine potential.

Salute!