Guys,
I'm trying my first "Vintners Reserve" French Cab kit wine - Did good on the sanitization, did good on the mixing. Fermentation never really took off good, had tiny bubbles on one day for what should be a
5 day ferment. I think the Red Star Cuvee yeast that came with the kit was probably old and that I probably should have not used it.... If this is the case, how can I restart this ferment the proper way....More Yeast. But first, what is the current SG. Make sure it really is not finished. If the SG really is high, then try pitching it again. You might want to make a starter and added per Jack Keller's instructions for restarting a stuck ferment. Simply, these are to start your starter. Then when it is going good, and an equal volume of your must. When this is doing good, double the volume again by adding more must. When this is going good, do it again. Soon you have the whole thing going. But read the instructions on his site for details. His home page is
Ray
Was your fermentation lock firmly seated in the aperture. Many beginners get that "not quite right. As Ray says check the SG. If is it low then ur lock was at fault. If it is high then prob your yeast --- but that is VERY rare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -- it is normally going to be something you did wrong.
In the last resort read the instructions CAREFULLY and then read them again.You will realise that 10's of thousands of wine kits have been, and are, made successfully! You don't mention the time frame in which you are working -- is it minutes, hours or days?
The usual reason in a rare failure is in your hands. Read -- I don't mean just glance -- read and follow and have the piece of paper with instructions to hand -- or pinned up at eye level. And then read them again. In 30 + years of winemaking I have NEVER had an occasion when fermentation has not gone well! --- other things have gone wrong but my wines have always got under way!
How long did you wait for the fermentation to take off??? It might take
2 or 3 days if the juice is cool. If the juice is warm and the Premier Cuvee is good it should go. Maybe it'll be fermenting tommorrow morning. Premier cuvee doesn't foam and if your untrained at what to look for may have finished without you noticing it. BTW, if the juice is warm and the Premier Cuvee is good , you shouldn't have to do anything special to get it started. Just throw it in there.Bob
D> Guys,
way....
Looks like it was the lid on this plastic primary - when I went to check the SG I noticed that there was a "dome" to the lid, but no bubbles coming out of the airlock and I could smell the wine pretty good. I pushed on the lid with my index finger slightly and bubbles poured out of the airlock, so I'm thinkin' the lid was leaking around the edge somewhere.... I've got it racked into a secondary now and it smells great - the SG was down to 1.01....
Get to add the isenglass in a week.
Thanks for the help guys!
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