Primary fermentation not starting?

Sep 21, 2004 2 Replies
D

Hi everyone.



First some background.



I crushed 3 cases of merlot and 3 cases of cab sauv. The contents are mixed in 2 plastic tub/bucket containers with no lid (covered with a cloth). I have added nothing (i.e. I am using wild yeasts to ferment. yes I am aware of the uncertainty of such actions). Both containers are in my garage where the temperature probably ranges from 75 during the day to 60 at night.



The must went in this past saturday afternoon. I noticed a bit of frothing on the must right away but not much since then. Its now been over 3 days and the must doesnt seem to be bubbling much. I dont have an airlock or hydrometer so I'm not sure if there is any way I can tell if its actually fermenting. Should the must rise? Should there be lots of bubbles and froth on the grapes? Or is fermentation in these types of containers (very wide, open mouth) somewhat invisible?



I'm thinking that maybe the cooler temperature of my garage is keeping the fermentation very slow. Or maybe its working but I just cant see it?



Any insight would be appreciated.



Thanks.



D
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K

If you can smell any alcohol you have fermentation, other wise you don't (you may have to be right over top of the container to smell it though). If you don't have fermentation going on you might need to exose the containers to a more open type of air (like outside) for a brief period of time (an hour or so). Ken

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D

Thanks for the response Ken.

Fortunately when I got home today and checked on it again, it was fermenting nicely. The must is noticably higher than it was before and while I can't see bubbles or froth on top of the must, when I punch the cap the liquid underneath is nice and frothy.

To your point about the smell, it definately smelled like it was fermenting, even before today so perhaps it was just working slowly due to the cooler weather. Today was a much warmer day and it seems to have jump started things.

My only fear now is that the must was initially left for 24 hours or so without enough fermentation occuring to form a CO2 protective barrier. As I understand it, if the must was exposed to oxygen for this amount of time with no fermentation occuring, it could spoil things? Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks again.

D
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