Red wines from kits - can't seem to get it right

Hi, I am just about to bottle 3 demijohns of Beaverdale so I know it fairly well. The only thing I see is that the instructions ask that you do not let the room temp drop below 20 degrees. If you are 100 per cent sure it has stopped fermenting I would try a restart to kick it off again and watch the room temp.

Rodders.

Hmmm,

time to install that min/max thermometer then ......

You won't get under 0.990 with dry reds, that's hard even for dry whites and their final sg is usually lower because they have less extract. Also, many kit manufacturers design their red kits to end with a higher final sg than wines from grapes. There is one full bodied dry red kit I know of where the final sg is supposed to be over

1.000! Given that 1) this is your 4th red kit and they all ended around 0.994, and 2) you don't have issues with white kits, I'd say it's most likely the kits are actually done fermenting as they were supposed to.

There is no special trick, just follow the instructions, with some sanity checks along the way. You should watch that you don't discard too much sludge when transferring from primary to a secondary fermentor, that can sometimes cause the ferment to stick at the end. And wait until the ferment has really finished, lots of kits say you can stabilize when the sg is under 0.998 but a those levels red wine would definitely tatse sweet. Temperature should not be an issue although you could try ot keep it between 20-25C.

Pp

Hi,

thanks for that ... I must admit I try to leave as much sludge as possible behind, after the primary fermentation ... so maybe I don't help myself there.

Whilst what you say makes sense, it still doesn't explain (apart from different kits, obviously) why the 2 5-gallon red kits I've made came out just right.

Would I be correct in assuming then that taste at the end of primary fermentation is not neccessarily a guide to finished taste ?

From my experience, on taste after primary and finished taste:

I've had some red wine kits that I thought I must have messed up from the taste after primary, but after finishing and bottling and resting for 6-12 months - I was amazed. I've also had some red wine kits that I wanted to drink after primary - smile. I just finished a Corvina kit, and when bottling, I had a hard time not wanting to "pour a little more to taste"... but the instructions say it will be wonderful after a year in the bottle.

As far as moving the sludge into carboy, I'd suggest not doing that, as the kits are made to be followed. However, I've found not to panic if a little of it gets into the carboy. Topping with like wine is what I prefer over topping with water. Seems to work.

DAve

Jethro wrote:

The optimal temperatures for making wine is usually stated as between

20 and 30 C; higher can result in stuck fermentation due to yeast dying off; lower can result in stuck fermentation due to dormancy. Yeast slow down below 20C, they don't just quit usually. You can warm it up or rack it to get them going again; racking introduces some oxygen which the yeast may want. A little dip below 20 C is not a big deal; it's often done on purpose to preserve fruitiness in whites and some styles of red.

As to taste at the end of fermentation, that is actually a learned process. Some reds are gawd awful at the end of fermentation but are just great a year later. Others are nice the whole time. Most reds improve with time, if you don't like it just try another 6 months later. Grape quality and winemaking style affect this to a degree so there really aren't any hard and fast rules. Just keep good notes on your likes and dislikes.

Joe