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| The wine after racking |
The red wine (Rondo) had stopped bubbling so we assumed it had stopped fermentation. The sediment had settled nicely so we decided to rack it and naturally measured the Specific Gravity and Brix. Lo and behold, the SG was1.02 and the Brix reading was 14. Way too sweet for a dry wine, which was our objective. We tasted it and, although a lovely colour, aroma, and taste, definitely too sweet.
So it was back to the book to determine what can stall fermentation. It turns out lots of things can stall fermentation. (p51 of First Steps in Winemaking lists at least 8 possible causes.) I didn't want to add sugar water as it was too sweet and I don't like the idea of diluting wine. One of the suggestions was to add more yeast. So I dissolved one level tsp of yeast nutrient in 1 cup of warm previously boiled water and added in one level tsp of brewer's yeast. I added one cup to each of the three gallon jugs of wine after racking. That topped off the container perfectly after racking and now one of the demijohns has already started bubbling. I am hopeful to complete the fermentation.
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| 1.02 SG |
The white wine, which got the sugar water addition, is not doing much of anything. We might have to rack that again and do the same.
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| Alex decanting wine left behind |
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| The sediment |
