5
votes
Fermented juice with potassium sorbate
Preservatives make it harder to ferment but not impossible.
Sounds like your yeast has been able to ferment so I think you should be fine to carry on as normal. You may have saved it by putting in two ...
- 387
4
votes
Fermented juice with potassium sorbate
Potassium sorbate doesn't really kill off the yeast, it just stops it from reproducing. The bubbling can indicate active fermentation, but a better way to check if anything is happening is to sample ...
- 886
4
votes
Accepted
Oxidation of red wine during racking and bottling
The author of the article is reliable, Daniel Pambianchi has written books on homewinemaking.
Avoid oxydation
You need to be concerned about oxydation mainly after the completion of fermentation. ...
- 4,806
4
votes
Carboy-sized Magnetic Stirring
Yes you can. I've fermented apple wine this way on a DIY stirplate, 1 inch magnet, and a vintage arrowhead carboy (flat bottom).
It wasn't powerful enough to make a deep cone for oxygenating which ...
- 18.5k
4
votes
How to avoid need for sulfites in home winemaking?
I have made many batches of pineapple and blackberry wine, and although every book says I should use campden tablets, I have friends who are intolerance to sulphides.
As such I either pitch a ...
- 7,048
4
votes
Should we stir the brew?
If you are using grapes, you can perform a maceration, where you will stir the solids in your must (or punch down the cap). But this is before fermentation.
After the first racking, where you get ...
- 4,806
3
votes
Oxidation of red wine during racking and bottling
I have 20 years of winemaking experience, 15 years owning my own winery. Let me tell you what I did and what the vast majority of winemakers do. Very little. Use sulphites and maintain their levels ...
- 3,012
3
votes
How to avoid need for sulfites in home winemaking?
I have made many amazing hedgerow wines without using sulphites. I started years ago by using recipes from old farmhouse cook books. These used just basic ingredients which I did too. Mostly I pour ...
- 31
2
votes
How to avoid need for sulfites in home winemaking?
We use Campden (or the purer potassium metabisulfite or sodium metabisulfite salts). Initially, we use it to kill off any potentially harmful bacteria that may have hopped a ride in with the base ...
- 118
2
votes
Typical Sur-Lies Aging Mixing Schedule for Red Wine
A Sur-Lies is the process of allowing a finished wine to continue to sit on the lees in order to extract flavors from them. Mixing is used to accelerate the process of flavour pickup and break down of ...
- 7,048
2
votes
Continuously punching down the cap?
I made wine professionally for 15 years so I have punched down a lot of caps. It kind of depends on what style you are going after and what type of grape you are working with. I started off punching ...
- 3,012
2
votes
Should we stir the brew?
There should be no need to shake or stir after fermentation has started.
- 3,012
2
votes
Accepted
Can I add too much opti-red?
Opti-red, is a yeast derived mix of polysacchrides, which are designed to bind to polyphenols/tannis and provide fuller body and better colour stability.
I would not add more than the recommended ...
- 7,048
2
votes
Welch's 100% Grape Juice with Calcium/ yeast
Calcium is not going to be an issue. The sorbate as a preservative is likely going to be an issue. Pitch more yeast than you think you need to overcome the preservative.
- 36.2k
2
votes
Fermented juice with potassium sorbate
As stated above, PotSorb inhibits fermentation, but not infinitely. I've made the same mistake myself, and I've found that preservatives (typically PotSorb and/or Natamycin/Pimaricin) can be ...
- 2,565
2
votes
Should we stir the brew?
In beer making, it's not uncommon to stir the yeast, "rouse the yeast" during the initial few days of fermentation - but only if you did not use enough yeast, or some other problem happened (like your ...
- 2,060
1
vote
Does wine acidity change during aging
Wine acidity does not change much during aging, if at all (minor fluctuations might occur of +/- .05 pH). The only other factor during aging that could affect acidity would be a spoilage organism ...
- 111
1
vote
How much sugar should be added in 1 L of Grape must?
Scaling is very simple math and works with all ingredients.
For example if a recipe is for 1 gallon and calls for 4 oz of sugar.
1 Gallon has 3.79 liters, so 1/3.79=.2638 that's your volume %
To ...
- 18.5k
1
vote
Does the volume of juice determine the length of fermentation?
Quick answer No.
Longer answer no not exactly, you may or may not notice the difference if you took a gravity reading every 30 min, but if you just take 1 reading per day you are unlikely to notice.
...
- 7,048
1
vote
Accepted
How to quantify tannin level in red wine?
Measuring Tannins in wine is a complicated process and needs a lot of chemical analysis in a laboratory. It can be done, but not within reach of your average person. Here is a snippet from a pdf on ...
- 3,012
1
vote
When exactly is 'first' punchdown?
Punchdown refers to the action of pushing down the cap. The cap is formed during maceration by the pomace (the solids) that rise to the surface. Normally punching down the cap twice a day allows the ...
- 4,806
1
vote
How to avoid need for sulfites in home winemaking?
Never boil your grapes. It will ruin the flavor and make a hazy mess.
Sulfites are a well known and used anti-oxidant. It's been used for thousands of years in wine. They pose relatively low risk. ...
- 3,012
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