I have made a few batches of beer and want to try a wine. I'm a little confused about the procedure. It appear that it is recommeded to top off in the secondary, why? Is wine that much more sensitive to oxidation than beer? The few books I looked at all seem to guess when fermentatiopn is done, cannot you use a stable SG as a sign that it is done? Look forward to your insights.
Rich, A good wine takes more than a couple of months to age well, after fermentation is complete, as compared to beer which may only take 2-3 weeks( depending on if you 're making a lager or ale). O2 can really affect the color, taste, and feel of both beer and wine, but the length of aging required for wine makes it a target for oxidization problems which is why it needs to be topped up.
Hope that explains it a little
Wine is different than making beer. With wine, you'll have that first very visible fermentation in your primary. If you have a hydrometer, you'll be able to tell when your wine has fermented to dry - your reading will be 0 or below (which can take 1-2 weeks depending on the yeast and the temperature). But if you're like me, who likes a semi-sweet wine, and you want some sugar left in the wine, then there's always a chance that one yeastie-beastie will use that sugar to start things again. After the initial ferment is over, I put my wine into a secondary for up to 7 months (racking as needed). I've had wines, which I thought were done, restart again in the secondary, and after bottling (popped corks and a mess). I now stabilize my wines. As Roger pointed out, beer can be done in 2-3 weeks, but wine can take months and then years to age, so oxidation is a greater concern when making wine. Hope this helps. Darlene
No, because a stable SG just means that the yeast are not fermenting anymore. This can have a number of causes, one of which is that there is no sugar left, which is obviously the most desirable one. Also, once there is only a small amount of sugar left, it is almost impossible to detect changes in sugar level by SG measurements. If any sugar is left, spoilage bacteria can rapidly convert even the smallest amount of sugar into some fairly unpleasant flavours. Unfortunately, expensive enzymatic or HPLC methods are the only sure way of telling there is no sugar left. But you can go a fair way using Clinitest or some chemical methods.
Cheers,
Andrew
Yes you can use a stable SG as a good indicator that the wine is done. That is if the SG is low enough. If the SG is 0.992 and not changing and no bubbles given off you can be pretty sure that the wine is done. If the SG is 1.005 or even 0.999 and no bubbles are coming off, it may be stopped but you can not be sure it will not start up again as there is still sugar in it. You should stabilize the wine. In both cases the SG helps you decide what to do.
Ray
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