I bought a 6 gallon bucket of merlot juice from a refrigeratored truck. They said all I need to do is add yeast and wait. I did that and the OG was 1.032 prior to adding the yeast. I checked it 3 weeks ago and it was 1.022 and I racked it to a 6 gallon carboy from the original bucket. Today, three weeks later I racked it again and it is now 1.002. I think this is good and it seems to be heading in the right direction. I tasted it and it was kind of sweet and had some fizz to it. I just want to make sure I'm on the right track and see if there is something else I should do or add? This is my first batch of wine from juice. Thanks for any suggestions.
First time wine from juice bucket
- Thread starter Jrm1443
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DoctorCAD
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I assume they forgot to tell you to stir the juice very well. A starting SG of 1.032 is way wrong, should be over 1.080 closer to 1.090.
I was checking the numbers to determine ABV and thought that was odd. Then I checked my notes. I bought the bucket from a refrigerated truck on 9/28. I let the bucket sit from 9/28 to 9/29 at room temperature. I made a yeast starter and pitched it on 9/29. It appears I forgot to take a SG as my first notation is on 10/02 for 1.032. Does this make sense? Or is it at least heading in the right direction?
Also, when I used a kit I added other things to the juice, chitonsan, kierosol and I also used a tool to degass it. Any of that needed for a bucket?
Also, when I used a kit I added other things to the juice, chitonsan, kierosol and I also used a tool to degass it. Any of that needed for a bucket?
DoctorCAD
Well-Known Member
Ok, then you are doing fine.
As far as "needing" any of the other stuff, it is all up to you now. This is not a kit, but the process will be similar. Kits rush to bottle (so you will buy another kit) and most of what they instruct you to do is because of that. Time sitting will take care of stuff settling out and gas removal. Just keep it under airlock and watch for lees. Rack when there is 1/4 inch or more. A couple of campden tabs every 3 months or so are a good thing too.
As far as "needing" any of the other stuff, it is all up to you now. This is not a kit, but the process will be similar. Kits rush to bottle (so you will buy another kit) and most of what they instruct you to do is because of that. Time sitting will take care of stuff settling out and gas removal. Just keep it under airlock and watch for lees. Rack when there is 1/4 inch or more. A couple of campden tabs every 3 months or so are a good thing too.
bernardsmith
Well-Known Member
I might rack every two to three months. No good reason to rack more frequently unless you are using a yeast that when it autolyses produces off flavors very quickly
DoctorCAD
Well-Known Member
Thats a good plan, you might not need to rack after the first couple, though. Look for sediment, if none, no need to rack.
DAlexander
Well-Known Member
what is the name on the bucket? Keep in mind that this juice is quite possibly un pasteurized. meaning that though it was kept in a refer truck fermentation could have started before it got to you, even in the presence of cold temps and SO2.
DAlexander
Well-Known Member
Its not pasteurized. and probably has about 60-70 ppm total SO2.
DAlexander
Well-Known Member
Its a small-fair amount of sulphur to keep the juice/wine from oxidizing and help keep the wild yeast down before it gets to you. If you decide to rack more than once age the wine with oak chips or something of the sort you may want to increase the amount of SO2 a bit to help keep your wine "safe" after fermentation.
I checked the wine today, 6 weeks after I racked it and the SG was still approximately 1.002. I stirred it with my new drill stirrer and overflowed the carboy! My mistake, I didn't think there would be that much carbonation. I then gently stirred it for several minutes getting a lot of the carbonation out. I tasted it and it's good but a little too sweet for my taste. So I added 2 teaspoons of tannin in a cup of boiling water (after the water cooled). Any other suggestions? It is in a carboy under a box to keep the light out.
Well, my suggestion is DON'T STIR! But it's too late now.
You don't want to oxidize the wine. I'd definitely get some campden (k-meta) in there right now, to try to avoid ruining the wine from the oxygen binding with it.
I don't like sodium metabisulfite, as it adds sodium to the wine, but a little would be ok. The "dosage" is 1/4 teaspoon per 6 gallons, dissolved in a little of the wine first or in a little water. It should have been added at every other racking or so, as an antioxidant. And no, it won't harm your yeast but may keep the oxidation from the stirring from ruining your wine.
Well I just took a reading today and the SG is 1.014. Is it possible it could be going the wrong direction? I may have read it wrong last time and it was 1.020 and not 1.002. I have it in a 6 gallon carboy and it appeared to have a fair amount of small air bubbles in the sample tube. It looks and smells good, but maybe did not complete fermenting? I had added a little table red wine to top it off in December. Anything I can do to lower the SG? The red wine kit I previously made was too sweet and I was hoping this would be drier. Thanks
WI_Wino
Well-Known Member
Are you using a hydrometer to measure gravity? Or a refractometer?
It's not possible to go up- so while you may have read it wrong before, it would be pretty darn sweet if it had been 1.020.
My bet is that you've still gone a ton of gas in the wine (perhaps it's been chilly where you are?) and the gas is holding up the hydrometer in the sample. The fix is to take the hydrometer out of the sample, stir the wine thoroughly with a chopstick or something to degas it. Where there is no more gas in the wine, then put the hydrometer back in it, and spin it gently to make sure there are no bubbles under it and that it's not touching the sides. Then you can read it at eye level and get an accurate reading.
I am using a hydrometer but may be a little dyslexic or maybe just math challenged. I now read it at 1.004. So, can I use the degasser rod and then bottle? Or will it go down even more as it continues to bulk age? It was 1.004 in December when I checked as well.
It shouldn't be done at 1.004, but maybe it is. I'd keep it at room temperature for another 30 days at least, and if there are no new lees in the bottom of the new carboy by 45 days I'd probably consider that it is finished after all.
Maybe, maybe not. If the wine tastes great (not too sweet), then I wouldn't bother. But just adding more yeast won't restart fermentation, as there is already quite a bit of alcohol in there. It also depends on the OG, as if it had a very high OG it could simply be finished.
At this point, it may be best to just let it sit and see if it restarts (but it probably won't) or if it clears.
I called my local home brew store and they suggested restarting fermentation. As you said, if it tastes too sweet, it is worth a try. He suggested adding a high alcohol tolerance yeast such as Lalvin EC 1118, and just pouring it in. I read about gently introducing yeast so I may just do a little at a time. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks.
If you just add some dry EC1118 to the wine, the cells will die due to the alcohol already in the wine. If you're going to do this, rehydrate first, then add a it to some sugar water (not very much sugar, just a bit), with a tiny bit of wine. Once that is foamy and going well, add some more sugar water and a bit of wine. Once that is still going well, you can add some more wine. If it stalls, stop adding to it and go back to sugar water. Once you've got it going well, adding more wine and not diluting with the sugar water and it's still active, then you can pour the entire works into your wine. I hope I explained that ok- you want a very active starter if you're going to repitch. It still may not work, but that's the only way to get it going. Just adding it to the wine will not work, due to the lack of sugars and the alcohol content. Wine yeast do ok in a higher alcohol environment, but generally they gradually get there during active fermentation. Just putting the yeast in there will mean shocking it and death of the yeast cells.
Ok, I have followed your recipie and just added the mixture to my wine. I was wondering though, as the wine is in a carboy and it is filled right to the stopper, is there enough room for it to ferment should it start, or should I move it to a bucket? Thanks again for the advice.
You don't want to aerate it or risk oxidation, so leave it in the carboy. If it does start foaming, you can use a siphon or turkey baster and remove a bit of the wine to avoid overflow but it shouldn't do that.
So I looked today and there are actually tiny bubbles rising to the air lock. The bubbles are very small almost like champagne bubbles but they are coming up pretty steadily. Maybe that's why the yeast is known as champagne yeast? At this rate it may be a while until all the sugar is fermented, but it is working. Yea!!
So that was 18 days ago and the little bubbles continue to rise to the neck of the carboy. Do I just let it continue until it stops by itself? I'm not in any hurry I just didn't want to miss a step. Maybe I should check the gravity or stir the bubbles out and stabilize?
mgonbrewlab
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Check the gravity if you want, but it is probably still fermenting and trying to stabalize will just stress your yeast.
I had a big batch of peach wine that took FOREVER to ferment dry compared to the other wines I had going.
Grape wine may be different, but the only thing I use to degas my wine is Campden tablets as Yooper suggested + time.
I had a big batch of peach wine that took FOREVER to ferment dry compared to the other wines I had going.
Grape wine may be different, but the only thing I use to degas my wine is Campden tablets as Yooper suggested + time.
OK, that's pretty easy to do. I will wait for the bubbles to stop (or 2 months) and then ask for help on what to do next. At least now its doing something instead of just sitting there with no change in gravity or any bubbles. Thanks for the advice!
mgonbrewlab
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Just curious... Did you use any yeast nutrient?
No, no yeast nutrients. When I started fermentation it was October and it's possible that my basement got too cold for it to complete. Since I started the new round of yeast, it seems more active when the room is warm and less active when it is cool.
