Problem

Seems like the sg he numbers are telling you all you need to know - yes, it's fermenting, and fast at that. You can always taste the must to make sure - at this point you've got about 10% alcohol so that should be pretty obvious that it's not just juice anymore.

I haven't seen ferments without bubbles a/o foam but apparently it's possible.

What are you making anw? I'm puzzled that you've only got juice from the Merlot and not crushed grapes. If it's just juice, then you don't need to stir it at all during ferment.

In any case, if your numbers are correct, you should start thinking about racking into a carboy soon.

Pp

Tom wrote:

The place where I purchased the merlot grapes, crushed and squeezed the grapes giving me just juice. They mix in rice hulls during the squeeze. If you wanted, you could get some of the pulp to add to the juice for fermentation. I choose to get just the juice with sediment still in the juice. Since my hydrometer says the sugar levels are low, I racked the must/wine into carboys, leaving most of the sediment, and added a little bit more SO2. There is very little bubbling in the air locks. In the 30 years that I have been making wine, I just have never seen a fermentation as quick or one lacking so little foam or bubbles. I thought maybe it was because I couldn't get to stir the must during the week. Anyway, I can smell the alcohol so I guess I proceed from here.

Ok, sounds like it's on the right track. For next time, though, there is no need to add SO2 at this stage, it just gets metabolized by the yeast, so there is no benefit. It's actually detrimental if you're planning on doing an ML on this wine.

I've done red juice as well as grapes, and for my taste, I wouldn't go back to just juice. There is a lot of goodness in the skins that you're missing in juice only ferments. If you don't have big equipment, you can do a "press" for small amounts like 100 lbs using a straining bag or nylon hose or similar; it only takes an hour or so.

Good luck,

Pp

Tom wrote:

I added the SO2 at this stage in case there were any strange yeasts or bacteria doing something funky causing the wine yeast not to work properly. I was not planning on a ML. I've done both juice and grapes and I appreciate your response, but I think I will continue with just juice as this works out better for me. My question/problem was simply had anyone ever seen a fermentation with no foam or bubbles, apparently, you haven't.

No, it's not possible. The byproducts of fermentation are CO2 and alcohol in roughly equal parts. I had a Seyval stored in a hot car fement almost dry on a 4 hour trip once, it never foamed over either.

I make a Grenache like your Merlot and it goes pretty quickly, it is well liked.

Joe

Thank you Joe, that answers it.