SG Below 1.00 After Primary Fermentation

[Mike72677]

I'm new at wine making and just started my 1st kit a few weeks ago. I was then given 5 gallons of fresh pressed apple cider last Sunday and told "here, make wine". I have no clue on making wine from scratch yet, but got out a recipe book and followed the instructions. I had the wine in a primary fermenting bucket for a week, stirring it daily. Yeast was added a day after I got the cider because of the campden tablets. It took about 48 hours and then hard core fermentation started. It was bubbling like crazy. It slowed down and I checked the SG last night and it was about .996. It started out around 1.082. I transferred it last night from the bucket to a carboy.

My question...does everything sound like it's going OK or should it not be down to .996 already? Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[TexasWine]

I'm new at wine making and just started my 1st kit a few weeks ago. I was then given 5 gallons of fresh pressed apple cider last Sunday and told "here, make wine". I have no clue on making wine from scratch yet, but got out a recipe book and followed the instructions. I had the wine in a primary fermenting bucket for a week, stirring it daily. Yeast was added a day after I got the cider because of the campden tablets. It took about 48 hours and then hard core fermentation started. It was bubbling like crazy. It slowed down and I checked the SG last night and it was about .996. It started out around 1.082. I transferred it last night from the bucket to a carboy.

My question...does everything sound like it's going OK or should it not be down to .996 already? Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

Everything sounds just fine. Just follow the instructions and I'm confident you'll make some very fine wine.

 

[Inner10]

I'm new at wine making and just started my 1st kit a few weeks ago. I was then given 5 gallons of fresh pressed apple cider last Sunday and told "here, make wine". I have no clue on making wine from scratch yet, but got out a recipe book and followed the instructions. I had the wine in a primary fermenting bucket for a week, stirring it daily. Yeast was added a day after I got the cider because of the campden tablets. It took about 48 hours and then hard core fermentation started. It was bubbling like crazy. It slowed down and I checked the SG last night and it was about .996. It started out around 1.082. I transferred it last night from the bucket to a carboy.

My question...does everything sound like it's going OK or should it not be down to .996 already? Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

Yeah should be fine, done that many times.

 

[Mike72677]

The only steps left in my recipe are racking several times and adding anti-oxidant at bottling.

However, I have read about adding campden tablets when racking and I have read about adding ascorbic acid when the SG drops bellow .995 to prevent it from oxidizing and turning to vinegar and I've seen adding potassium sorbate prior to bottling to prevent the restart of fermentation.

Any input? Thanks!!

 

[Yooper]

The only steps left in my recipe are racking several times and adding anti-oxidant at bottling.

However, I have read about adding campden tablets when racking and I have read about adding ascorbic acid when the SG drops bellow .995 to prevent it from oxidizing and turning to vinegar and I've seen adding potassium sorbate prior to bottling to prevent the restart of fermentation.

Any input? Thanks!!

campden tablets (potassium metabisulfite) are typically used at the beginning to kill wild yeast and/or bacteria in the must and then oftentimes used at every other racking (in the amount of one crushed tablet per gallon) as a preservative and antioxidant, as well as at bottling. I use it in all of my wines.

I don't know about ascorbic acid (vitamin C) as I don't think it's commonly used by home winemakers.

Potassium sorbate is used to stabilize a finished wine that is being sweetened. It inhibits yeast reproduction so that a wine can be sweetened without fermentation recurring. I rarely use it, as I like my wines, meads, and ciders dry as a rule.