thats good. if i were to add champagne yeast would i need to do it before i switch to the secondary?

wingnutooa wrote:thats good. if i were to add champagne yeast would i need to do it before i switch to the secondary?

Do you have yeast in the primary?

It is not the best proceedure to mix yeasts in wines. Yeasts impart flavors to wines plus other things. Champagne yeast is like a almost no flavor type yeast. Premier Cuv'ee or EC-1118 are campagne type yeasts. What is your goal in the wine that you are making?

You can find more than you want know about yeast at the below web site.

http://www.winemaking.jackkeller.net/strains.asp

Champagne yeast will give you a higher alcohol content. Upwards of 18%. I'm not sure why you are looking for that.

my starting SG was 1.138.


i'm not too fond of sweet sweet wines.

i'm afraid the Montrachet i put in wont turn enough of the sugar.

i'm not "looking" for a high abv i'm just looking for a result thats not sickeningly sweet.

Now I see what you are trying to accomplish. Here is a possibility. I can tell what I would try if it were my wine and I put too much sugar in it. Most juices right off the grocery shelf have an SG of about 1.045 and if you mixed the same amount of juice without sugar with the stuff you have going now I would bet you could get a wine of about 12% that is dry.
1.045 plus the 1.138 divided by 2 equals 1.0915 SG. There is no way to measure it all out at this point except that you could measure the SG of the juice your were going to add. You would have to do this before the yeast died. I guess it would depend on the amount of wine that you have at this point. Are you doing a 1 gallon batch of wine?

If you waited until the montrachet died off and added something like Premier Cuv'ee I think you would still have a sweet wine. With that amount of sugar you have the potential of 19.29% alcohol.

For approx alcohol: Starting SG minus ending SG divided by .00736 equals approx alcohol.

my intentions were to make a 5 gallon batch but for some reason i ended up with 6 gallons in my primary.

not sure if i read right but are you suggesting mixing two batches or adding the cuv'ee after the montrachet is done...

i like that idea.

I wasn't sure if you were making 5 gallons. Little too much to double up. I guess add the premier cuv'ee after montrachet dies off. I think it will still be a sweet wine.

You could dilute the batch slightly. That may help. I always make about 6 gallons. Once all the gross lees drop I end up with 5 gallons.

i already have 6 gallons. not sure why as i tried to make 5 gallons but i guess 6 is okay.

i ran some tests last night and stirred again.

approximate abv right now is 12.5

checked the SG = 1.046

75* in the primary.

put the lid back on. air lock activity is about half of what it was in its prime. the recipe says to leave it in for 2 weeks and i'm only on day 8 so we'll play it by ear.

If you don't have 6 gallons as you get to a point where you have to top off you won't have enough to fill a 5 gallon carboy. Using 6 gallons I usually have a little left over when I finally go to the 5 gallon. I put it in a wine bottle, cork it, and place it in the fridge in case I have to top off later.

You are right alcohol should be about 12.5 % right now.

Was this a recipe you used? Sometimes juices and fruits are different in sweetness so putting in sugar without measuring SG can cause a too sweet wine.

I think you are right. Wait and see where it goes. If you add the campagne yeast you may want to do it in a starter. If you do it in a starter I would use a separate juice to get it started. Putting the campagne yeast directly in your wine now the alcohol level may not let it get a good start. You may also want to add yeast nutrient and yeast energizer.

If you don't have 6 gallons as you get to a point where you have to top off you won't have enough to fill a 5 gallon carboy. Using 6 gallons I usually have a little left over when I finally go to the 5 gallon. I put it in a wine bottle, cork it, and place it in the fridge in case I have to top off later.

You are right alcohol should be about 12.5 % right now.

Was this a recipe you used? Sometimes juices and fruits are different in sweetness so putting in sugar without measuring SG can cause a too sweet wine.

I think you are right. Wait and see where it goes. If you add the campagne yeast you may want to do it in a starter. If you do it in a starter I would use a separate juice to get it started. Or mix the juice 50/50 with the wine for a starter. You only need a cup of starter. Putting the campagne yeast directly in your wine now the alcohol level may not let it get a good start. You may also want to add yeast nutrient and yeast energizer.

Good point about making a starter!

I didn't think of that.

- Scott

so i tested my SG and its at 1.025

about 15.3% PA

i'm thinking of not adding the champagne yeast and racking to secondary.

any speculation on my what my ending SG will be?

You might be pretty close to the montrachet dying off. Before you do anything else I would taste it. You may be happier than you think with the flavor.

I started a apple cider wine. Bought the cider from local grocery store. It is in the carboy now and barely bubbling. Although I keep my wine room between 68 and 70 degrees It hasn't cleared as well as I like for the time period. I'm going to wait till the bubbles stop and I'm done fermenting. Measure the SG, taste it and after I add campden I will add more pectic enzyme. I don't like to introduce anything in my wine at this point. Any contaminents in the pectic enzyme could cause problems in my wine.

my primary isnt noticeably bubbling at all. how far inbetween does it bubble in your secondary?

Wing,
Are you good at math? Do you have a vino meter that measures alcohol? You can measure SG in the secondary but it is kind of a pain. I take a small sample with my wine thief and measure alcohol with my vino meter. I work the formula backwards and come up with the SG. If you have a vino meter I can help you with the math. Otherwise you will need to take an SG measurement. The vino meter is only about 5 bucks and well worth the price. I suspect your fermentation is about finished. Take a small sample and taste and you can probably tell if it is dry and swirl in the glass to check for legs. It will have a slight bite at this time because it is green wine. It will improve with age. If it isn't too sweet you may want to just age.

Keep us posted on the progress.