When I was starting a new batch of wine I noticed that the primary pail had a small crack in it and was leaking. I switched the liquid (juice, water and yeast) to a secondary and carried on with the rest of steps. Now the question is: Does it really matter if the liquid was in a primary or a secondary for the first step? Will it turn out?
Fred,
Just carry on as if it never happened. It'll be fine.
Fred Apple said on 01/02/2005 06:00 PM:
The only thing I'd worry about is that the secondary may not have enough room to accomodate the foam generated in the first week of fermentation. Without the headspace, it may gush out through the airlock. Keep a close eye on it, or you may have a real mess to clean up.
Joe wrote in news:8yjCd.8281$SW1.5173 @fe10.usenetserver.com:
Already found out!!! It is a mess looks like a RED VOLCANO. But it can be cleaned up.
There are several reasons for using a primary, you found one of them, when wine first starts it may foam a lot and you nee a lot of extra room or it will overflow.
Some other reasons:
When you first inoculate your wine with yeast, you want the yeast to quickly multiply and take over the fermentation before any wild yeast have a change to do so. When yeast multiply they need air (O2) so we use a primary bucket that is not sealed.
If you are using whole fruit or making a red grape wine, the yeast action on the fruit will make it rise to the top and form what is called a cap. If this is not stirred down several times a day, it will tent to dry out and mold will grow on it. Not a good thing. The stirring also helps aeration so the yeast will multiply faster. The cap is often used as an indicator for when to move to secondary. When the cap falls (fails to rise) fermentation is slowing down and it is time to move it. O2 is a good thing for the first 3 to 10 days but not a good thing past that.
Ray
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