Wine completing 99% of Fermentation in Primary?

[kuziwk]

Hi guys new to making wine. I bought a cellermaster 28day cab sav kit (Canada) from costco. It’s the concentrated grape must (juice no fruit) with the oak powder and other add in ingredients such as bentonite, you just add water. It was $100 for the kit and it’s a two pack, each is a 6 gallon kit. I started the process on Saturday but the instructions are not very good and its basically telling me to keep the wine in the primary fermenter for 14 days with a lid or an airlock system until it reaches a SG of less than 0.998. I put a larger lid than the pale will accept so that it does not sit on the rubber grommet, so its not an air tight seal. I understand the yeast needs oxygen to start which is why i put on the lid loose. At any rate I also have a heater running in the room to keep it about 72F since the room was probably at 68F. Based on what they are telling me 99% of the fermentation needs to be completed before transferring to the carboy than mixing in the clearing agents and sulfites and letting the must to clear and settle. Will leaving the wine in the primary for up to 14 days cause any dead yeast cells or bacteria to create any issues with the taste? I will transfer it immediately when it gets to 0.998 as per the kit. So in other words can I trust the kit? One other thing I was thinking of doing was putting an airlock on the primary half way through or when the SG reaches about 1.020 as im worried about oxidation ruining the taste or bacteria (from a starting point of 1.085 roughly). Im trying to follow the wine kit to a T since its my first time just a little worried that some of the vague instructions will ruin the taste, although I did add in a teaspoon of whole black pepper corns to give a bit of a peppery bite which I enjoy I don’t think that will drastically affect the wine or ruin it.


Currently last I checked was yesterday which was Monday just some foaming and slight bubbling like rice crispies in milk (I started on Saturday). I took a SG measurement with the wine thief and noticed very little change. I should also mention the the instructions had me sprinkle the dry yeast and not mix it. I replaced the lid back on in a loose fashion. About two hours later I went to go look and there was rapid foaming and bubbling. I just checked this morning (Tuesday) and now pretty much all the oak and foam and what not that was floating on the top is no longer visible. The wine is basically fizzing slightly, like a freshly poured glass of champagne would. Is this normal? Also should i be mixing the wine? the instructions specifically state not to mix once sprinkling the yeast...but what about once the yeast is no longer floating on top and has appeared to convert the sugars?

 

[Yooper]

Yes, normally a wine will get to the FG within about 5-7 days or so.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi kuziwk - and welcome.
Many - if not most wine makers loosely cover their primary fermenter. This enables them to easily test the wine and stir it to keep the yeast suspended and perhaps even to degas (certainly that's what mead makers do). During active fermentation the yeast is producing so much CO2 in such volumes that the gas offers a protective blanket atop your wine that prevents air oxidizing it.

The thing about most (if not all) kits is that the manufacturers have tested their products up the wazoo and you really do want to follow their instructions especially if you are a novice. If you follow their instructions precisely and something goes wrong then they (generally) accept responsibility. If you don't follow their instructions and there is a problem then you have torn up the warranty. Bottom line: if the instructions advise against stirring - don't stir. And if they advise you to stir but counter clockwise, stir counter clockwise. And if the instructions say to stir only when the moon is full. Don't stir when it is waxing or waning... Once you have a good handle on wine making and you can make a batch in your sleep then you will have established your own protocols that you know will work for any yeast you select with any fruit at given ambient temperatures with given determined SGs etc. In other words, you will have bought a kit simply for the ingredients and not the instructions.

Now, assuming that you have followed all cleaning and sanitation protocols well there is really nothing in the bacterial world to be anxious about. Yeast create an environment that favors the specific colony and disfavors any other competitor. Wine is quite acidic (low pH) and the wine will be increasing in its alcohol content as the fermentation proceeds. Lastly, fruit ain't grain and wine ain't beer. Wort is a haven for bacteria for all kinds of reasons that simply do not apply to fruit. So take a deep breath and relax...

 

[kuziwk]

Hi kuziwk - and welcome.
Many - if not most wine makers loosely cover their primary fermenter. This enables them to easily test the wine and stir it to keep the yeast suspended and perhaps even to degas (certainly that's what mead makers do). During active fermentation the yeast is producing so much CO2 in such volumes that the gas offers a protective blanket atop your wine that prevents air oxidizing it.

The thing about most (if not all) kits is that the manufacturers have tested their products up the wazoo and you really do want to follow their instructions especially if you are a novice. If you follow their instructions precisely and something goes wrong then they (generally) accept responsibility. If you don't follow their instructions and there is a problem then you have torn up the warranty. Bottom line: if the instructions advise against stirring - don't stir. And if they advise you to stir but counter clockwise, stir counter clockwise. And if the instructions say to stir only when the moon is full. Don't stir when it is waxing or waning... Once you have a good handle on wine making and you can make a batch in your sleep then you will have established your own protocols that you know will work for any yeast you select with any fruit at given ambient temperatures with given determined SGs etc. In other words, you will have bought a kit simply for the ingredients and not the instructions.

Now, assuming that you have followed all cleaning and sanitation protocols well there is really nothing in the bacterial world to be anxious about. Yeast create an environment that favors the specific colony and disfavors any other competitor. Wine is quite acidic (low pH) and the wine will be increasing in its alcohol content as the fermentation proceeds. Lastly, fruit ain't grain and wine ain't beer. Wort is a haven for bacteria for all kinds of reasons that simply do not apply to fruit. So take a deep breath and relax...

Awesome thanks, so just the last question. Would it be ok to switch the cover on the pale (primary frementer) to an airlock with a bung either on friday or saturday? Its just a bit weird that the instructions give you a choice so i figured by than the fermentation would have slowed down enough that i could make an air lock to prevent oxidation as the primary moves into week 2.

 

[bernardsmith]

I would assume that your primary has a large amount of headroom (it should) but you do not want that headroom in your secondary (a square inch or two (literally) is the most headroom you want there which is why most people transfer from buckets to carboys.
But the instructions you cite don't seem quite right. Racking the first time when the gravity is so low (meaning that all the sugar has fermented out) seems very counter intuitive. If I were you I would read those instructions very carefully again.. Are you certain they are not advising you to add some more sugar if you have not yet racked the wine when it hits below 1.000.?

 

[kuziwk]

@ bernardsmith i've attached the instructions. They most definitely say to leave in the bucket for 14 days (SG 0.998). Yes it is strange, i dont know much about making wine but most of what i've read said that you should transfer it into a carboy when it reaches a SG around 1.020. Once it hits 0.998 or lower than the chemicals and sulfates should be added and mixed and transferred to another carboy. In the case of the instructions they are basically telling me to do 99% of the fermentation in the bucket, than add the sulfates and chemicals aswell as mixing to off case while transferring to the final carboy to settle.

Also for reference its the standard cellermaster kit, not the cellermaster mist.

 

[kuziwk]

I think i just answered my own question, i went online and they mentioned single and two stage fermentation processes. Apparently the kits with the grape skins that you add are the two stage kits. Reference is here:

https://www.rjscraftwinemaking.com/winemaking/how-to-craft-wine/winemaking-process/

In either case i think i will get a airlock lid at this point and put the bung on it since the instructions say you can go either way. My wine has cleared alot and the yeast foam has subsided so i think im OK to air lock it in the bucket and its probably a good idea to prevent oxidization. Im a bit disappointed that the kit does not come with grapeskins and its apparently a single stage fermentation but who knows...if this tastes like a $15 bottle of wine ill be pretty happy. It will prime me for the more complicated wine kits out there.