Noob question!

[vermontster_0341]

So, first post here and as the title says ive got a question. Ive been trolling around for a bit and have what appears to be a nice hard cider in secondary(first batch ever) and decided to give wine a go. here is my issue, im making a bluberry/strawberry wine. i should have added my sugar slowly and watched my S.G. but i was i little gung-ho and just added 10lbs., its a 5 gallon batch of wine so my S.G. is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.110 ish. i realize this is very high. so the yeast i was using is Lalvin EC-1118 and because i was so gun-ho i also did not hydrate my yeast before pitching it- see noob. Its been 24 hours so far and there is no sign of fermentation. so of course my brew store was out of EC-1118 but i did get some red star and another thing of Lalvin KC was wondering if i should just hydrate the new yeast and re-pitch or what? ill post up the exact kinds of the yeast lalter i cant rememebr off hand. sorry such a long drawn out fisrt post, any help would be greatly appreciated. also my plan was for a sweeter wine anyway and i do not plan on letting it ferment all the way down , just taste and camden it once it has the right mix of dry/sweetness. thanks again!

 

[Johnnyhamer]

I've never brewed wine but beer can sometimes take up to 3 days. I'd give it another day or two. Sorry I couldn't be more help. Just my $.02 good luvk.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

The easiest way to lower your SG at this point would be to add more water, the biggest issue with fruit wine and high SG is that it tends to strip the wine of that wonderful berry flavor that you expect, and it will be very hot, requiring you to age it much longer than a lower ABV% wine.
How many pounds of berries did you use in the 5 gallon batch?
As far as the yeast is concerned, it is always much better to hydrate the yeast before pitching it, you will find a lot of home brewers will tell you that it isn't necessary to hydrate yeast before pitching it, but in reality, approx. 50% of the yeast will die when added directly to the must.
Hydrating yeast is one of the most important steps in ensuring a healthy fermentation.
EC-1118 is a fast starter when hydrated properly, it has only been 24 hrs, there is a lag time so you may be fine, what is the temp of the must?
In the future I'd recommend a different yeast for berry wines, EC-1118 has relatively neutral flavor and aroma contribution while other yeast bring out the natural fruit characteristics and enhance the overall sensory profile.

Tom

 

[vermontster_0341]

i used 18lbs. of berries 10 blueberr and 8 strawberry. And on of the factors that may be contributing is that the room im using isnt all that warm, im trying to keep it in the upper 60s to low 70s. What i did last night be it right wrong or indifferent is i rehydrated som lalvin k1-v116 and pitched it per instructions on the pack. but on further research i see that some people dont even put a lid/ airlock on their must containers for the initial fermentation. i know this is for more oxygen but is it becaus the wine must is more viscus? and i would then assume that rather than "watching the bubbles" on an air lock to judge how far along the fermentation is that you are checking the gravity more often and going by that? my plan is to continuously taste it until it is where i want it for taste, alcohol etc and use camden to stop the fermentation before secondary. Does any of that make sense? lol thakn you in advance.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

The K1-1116 will be great for this berry wine, you obviously used plenty of berries, it will be awesome. I always put a lid and airlock on my fermenter, I make sire that it has a few gallons worth of head space, for instance, if I'm making 6 gallons, my fermenter is usually an 8 gallon fermenter, in my opinion, using cheese cloth to cover the fermenter is just inviting gnats that can potentially ruin the wine, into the fermenter. I've been making wine for a long time and have never left it uncovered.
You'll want to ferment the wine to dry, then stabilize it with meta and sorbate and back sweeten.
The only way that you'll know if the wine has completed fermentation is with your hydrometer, watching the airlock activity to judge how much the wine has fermented isn't the best plan, use your hydrometer.
You cannot stop the fermentation, you'd have to use enough sulfite to render the wine undrinkable, let it ferment to dry, You will want a Gravity reading of .996-.992, rack it to a clean carboy and then stabilize it with meta (potassium Metabisulfite) and let it age a few months racking as necessary to remove sediment and naturally clear.
At this point, add Sorbate and back sweeten to your preference. You can filter or fine if you choose, and bottle. I'd let the wine age for 6 months min. before bottling.
I've made many batches of berry wine, the longer it ages, the better it gets, I usually add fresh unfiltered Honey to raise the initial SG, and back sweeten with a simple syrup (1 part water 2 parts granulated sugar).
Tom

 

[vermontster_0341]

Well sweet Jesus it started to ferment! only after the third and final pitch. i made a yeast starter over about 12 hours and pitched again, within 24 hours it had 2" of foam at the top fizzing away. very happy with this, thank you all for the help!