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beginner's question re fermentation situation

Hi,

I am making my first batch of wine, from a Kraus kit (concentrated grape juice, sugar, yeast, water, etc in a 6-gallon container). I mixed all ingrediants as directed and put the lid on loosely for "aerobic fermentation". SG at the outset was 1.080. Fine. I let it ferment like this for (I'm worried that this was probably too long) two weeks, at which time I racked it. Now the SG was already 0.995, which I understand indicates a typical terminal alcohol content. I put the air lock on but there's been no bubbling at all. Temp's always been between 65-75 F. Was this a proper fermentation, given that I didn't seal it off anaerobically? Do you think this is on the way to becoming drinkable wine or did I mess it up by not using the airlock sooner and need to intervene somehow?

Thanks for any advice from people who understand this process and its requirements better.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Newman
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Hi Chris

Sounds like the fermentation is complete. Yea you probably should have racked it to a carboy a bit earlier. I would hit it with SO2 at this point and try to bind up any excess O2. I've had some ferments blow by fast and have had essentially the same thing happen. I think you'll be ok.

Tom

Reply to
Tom

Hi Chris,

For the record, I made the same mistake a couple years ago as a newbie and the wine turn out fine. It's a mistake that increases your risks of oxidation however. Any good wine tastes "bottom-of-the-line" at this early stage.

Good luck,

Jim

Reply to
glad heart

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