wine.... now what?

[Annpan]

My rhubarb wine, as saved by the wonderful MKG has now been racked (is that right?) and is sitting in new demi-johns.... I took the opportunity to taste it and had a full jug left over from the super big carbunkle going into 3 demi-johns.

Anyway, I have had a glass... and it is lovely, quite sweet but just strong enough... and quite christmassy.

Now, it is still bubbling away and I want to stop it as is (or close to) so, what can I do?


My dandelion wine didn't fare as well, it is REALLY strong and has no sugar left in it... it tastes like weak whisky... not unpleasant, but not very tasty. I think I will dilute it as it is drunk with apple juice.

[frozenthunderbolt]

apply on campden tablet and a measure of potassium sorbate per gallon. cant remember how much sorbate per gallon off the top of my head - im at uni atm.

alternatively - heat the wine to kill the yeast then rack once cool and still. this is not as good as would be easy to vapourise the alcohol content and destroy the boquet of the wine. is an option i have heard of if you are dead set against chemicals though.

[MKG]

Well done, Ann!!

Now comes the problem because, if I remember rightly, you're not too fond of chemical additives. Normally, a wine like yours would be stopped by the addition (per gallon) of one crushed Campden tablet (or 5mg sodium/potassium metabisulphite) and a half-teaspoon of potassium sorbate. This, followed by racking, is by far the most trouble-free and certain method.

The only other method I know which will kill yeast (or at least deactivate it) is temperature - both low and high.

Chilling your wine to below 50F (10C) will kill some cells and deactivate all the rest, at which point they will fall to the bottom of the demijohn (not immediately - it takes a while). Carefully racking the wine off this deposit theoretically leaves you with a yeast-free wine. The problems here are that a) you have three gallons of the stuff and it isn't winter, and b) your racking has to be quick - before the stunned yeast revives - and very efficient. Just a few yeast cells remaining in the wine could restart a fermentation. A second chilling period would probably get over that problem.

Heating your wine (in batches) to just over 140F (60C) and holding it at that temperature for a few minutes will definitely kill the yeast. However, the temperature must not approach 78.3C as this is the vapourisation point of alcohol (i.e. you'll lose the important stuff). The disadvantage to this method is that it MAY alter the taste of your wine (although probably not, as this is the method used to pasteurise mead). Once again, heat treatment should be followed by racking after the dead cells have settled.

Now you'll understand something that CyberPaddy mentioned a while ago - it's best to allow a fermentation to run to completion and then, if necessary, sweeten the finished wine (you could actually try that with your dandelion wine - I'd add three quarters of a teaspoon per gallon of glycerine first before trying sugar. That always improves the "feel" of a wine and sweetens it a little).

Anyway, if you don't fancy any of those methods, you'll have to allow it to run its course. You could always dilute it a little more (maybe with that apple juice you mentioned?) to take the alcoholic strength down. Then again, you never know - the fermentation may stop tomorrow and all's well with the world.

Sorry I can't be of more constructive help.

Mike

[Annpan]

I think I'll go down the campden tablet route.... I do have some. Besides, it still has a heck of a lot less chemicals than shop bought stuff... and I still made it myself

Woohoo, I made alcohol

Going to bottle it up for christmas pressies.


How long should I leave it with capdden tablet before I rack it and bottle it?

[red]

its me that doesn't like to use campden tablets.. mostly because i think the wine can end up tasting eggy.

will be interested in how you get on with stopping it.

you could always just rack off just a bottle - keep it in a screw top in the fridge and let off gas every day etc until you have drunk it?

[SueSteve]

Well done, I did Rhubarb and grape, opened the first bottle on holiday a couple of weeks ago, it was lovely.
Have some courgette to rack today, and then some Damson to start!