Lilac wine fermentation slow

[gmh500]

Hi all,

My initial fermentation of this rather rare wine went very fast, fizzed away and smelt of a 'fruity alcoholic drink', which I guess it is, initial hydrometer reading was a high 1.7 or 1.8 (blue section) it went down to 0.9 or less in 4 days, so quite fast, and well into the 'bottle it' section of the hydrometer. I racked it off into 3 demi johns where it bubbled slowly for a day or two, one still bubbles occasionally but the others have stopped and are very still, should I leave them for the full month or put them into bottles if they are finished? I don't think early bottling would ruin the flavor though I guess it might? Not sure if I should leave alone or not? I read on here by experienced brewers to 'ignore the bubbles'.

thanks Graham

 

[Yooper]

Hi all,

My initial fermentation of this rather rare wine went very fast, fizzed away and smelt of a 'fruity alcoholic drink', which I guess it is, initial hydrometer reading was a high 1.7 or 1.8 (blue section) it went down to 0.9 or less in 4 days, so quite fast, and well into the 'bottle it' section of the hydrometer. I racked it off into 3 demi johns where it bubbled slowly for a day or two, one still bubbles occasionally but the others have stopped and are very still, should I leave them for the full month or put them into bottles if they are finished? I don't think early bottling would ruin the flavor though I guess it might? Not sure if I should leave alone or not? I read on here by experienced brewers to 'ignore the bubbles'.

thanks Graham

You probably mean 1.070-1.080? I don't know what 'blue section' is, as mine is not blue. And done is usually .990 or so.

Fermentation will usually go quickly in a healthy fermentation- mine usually last about 5 days.

But, there is usually still some suspended solids, and yeast in the wine at that point. It should be left in a cool dark place to clear, and then racked every time there are lees 1/4" thick, or after 60 days if there are any lees present in the bottom of the demijohn. Once it's been a new vessel for at least 60 days and is clear (you can read a newspaper through it), and is no longer dropping any lees at all, it can be bottled.

Some people like lilac wine to be a bit sweetened, so if you want to sweeten it it should be stabilized before adding the sweetener and bottling, but that's probably at least 4-6 months away.

 

[gmh500]

Thanks Lorena,

I'll keep waiting then, maybe speed it up by filtering, I hate waiting and not knowing if it tastes any good , I'll have a sip at the first racking though!
I'm going to stop worrying about bubbles too, from what you say its just a case of waiting, whether its in the demi john or bottled up....just takes time.

regards Graham

 

[Yooper]

Thanks Lorena,

I'll keep waiting then, maybe speed it up by filtering, I hate waiting and not knowing if it tastes any good , I'll have a sip at the first racking though!
I'm going to stop worrying about bubbles too, from what you say its just a case of waiting, whether its in the demi john or bottled up....just takes time.

regards Graham

If you have a plate filter set up with a pump, you can filter AFTER it's done dropping lees, and not now. Trying to filter a cloudy wine would clog the plates immediately.

If you are thinking of "filtering" through something like cheesecloth, keep in mind that once fermentation slows, any chance to expose the wine to oxygen will ruin it so it's not really something a winemaker would do. It would be a very quick way to ruin a wine.

 

[gmh500]

well there was no movement on the bubbles etc, but thought it was time to rack it off and get rid of the sludge, so i did that and filtered it with a vin brite on the way through. Had a little taste and it doesn't taste great yet, its just about drinkable but obviously very early days, you mentioned back sweetening, I doubt grape juice wold go well with this wine, maybe just sugared sterile water? Can wines that taste not great at this stage really turn it around on their own? The alcohol is definitely there This is only my second batch ever, blackberries were so much easier.....