Hi My name is Alex I have to admit I have come on this group in the first instance for some advice. I am making some plum wine, After leaving to soak for 36 hours I added the yeast and nutrient. I have had the must fermenting away in a bucket, for what will be three days tommorow. How long should I leave this until straining off into airlocked demijohns? In any event looks a good newsgroup, I will certainly keep reading.
Do you have a hydrometer? I usually transfer my wine from the fermentation bucket to the secondary when the wine has as SG about 0 or less. I will admit to racking to a secondary at an SG of 1 or 2 if the fermentation is taking a bit longer than I'm comfortable with. If you don't have a hydrometer, I would wait a day or so more, just to make sure - you should be able to tell by just looking. If the must is still bubbling a lot, let it sit; but if it has really slowed down a lot and continues to slow down despite you stirring it, then rack to your secondary. Darlene
fermentation
-------------------------------------------------------- Ok thanks, Yes I do have a hydrometer. started in the blue area "70" with
1.1/2lb of sugar. At the moment fermentation is fairly vigorous. the recipe tell me to add an extra 1/2lb of sugar before I transfer to the demijohn. (0 or less) what scale is this? dry reads 1000 to 990 on my hydrometer.Alex.
Thanks alex.
Frequently, people will post hydrometer readings ignoring the initial
1.xxx, so 1.000 will be stated as 0 and 1.001 as 1. It is just a matter of shorthand. I usually use the full number to avoid confusion, but many people will drop the initial 1. part.Enjoy your new hobby.
Marc
I'm sorry Alex, I was talking about two different readings on my hydrometer - if my SG reading is 1.000 or below then I rack to the secondary. My hydrometer also has reading for % alcohol - if that is 0% then I will rack. I'm guessing your must started at 1.070 for an SG reading (about 9% alcohol). And yes, you are right 1.000 or below is dry. If you have left out some sugar, then before you add the sugar, take an SG reading. If that is close to 1.000 or below, then it should be okay to add the additional sugar. However, if I hold sugar back during fermentation, I usually add it to the must then and let it ferment to dry, AND then transfer to the secondary. If you add more sugar, things are really going to bubble up again, so that's why I keep it in the primary fermentation bucket. If you want a good estimate of your total SG/%alcohol for your must, you need to take an SG reading before and after you add the sugar, as well as before you transfer to your secondary. Hope this helps. Darlene
-------------------------------------------------------------------- It had slowed a lot and had a reading of 1010 I strained the pulp through a muslin bag, and then run the wine through a filter, added the rest of the sugar and placed in the demijohns,after a short time it was going like a bomb, it is still bubbling 60 times a minute. Their is about 1/4inch of sediment settled on the bottom of the demijohn, do I need to take it off this now or do I leave it to ferment out? why am I getting so attached to what my wife called a bucket of slop?
Many thanks, regards.......Alex.
This is one of those decisions which you'll get a lot of different answers. After transferring to a demijohn, I tend to let the must sit and ferment to dry, maybe a month or so. Yes, you'll have sediment, but for a month that shouldn't hurt anything. Hopefully at the end of a month, there should be little or no bubbling. Then, I rack, add 1 crushed campden tablet to the must, and top-up. Depending on how much sediment is at the bottom will determine when I rack again; sometimes it will be in 2 months or 3 months. Each wine is different and will clear in its own time, so racking is a judgment call. And yes, we all do get attached to the "buckets of slop". Winemaking is somewhat addictive.... Good-luck Darlene Wisconsin, USA
------------------------------------ Thanks for you help!
Alex, for other ideas about racking, go to
Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page
--------------------------------------------------- Hi. thanks for that. very intersting! backs up all that Dar V told me. regarding lees. (sediment)
--------------------------------------------------- I have read that you can top up with a similar wine. As I have none, I will have to use water. How much can I safely use ? will too much dilute the wine? I am not the other "Alex" posting on the site. Ta7, PH,? over my head at this present time. For my particular brew the recipe added sliced lemons, I guess that is the Citric acid
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