out of ideas

[JoshuaWhite5522]

I am posting on behalf of a friend of mine

he made 5 gallons of Pinot Noir by steaming the juice from the grapes he cooled then aerated then stitched to smack packs of yeast two weeks later no signs of fermentation gravity reading is the same I gave him some yeast energizer and some pectic enzyme still no signs of fermentation the snack packs inflated so I don't think it's the yeast. the fermenter is held at room temperature approximately 68 degrees I am out of ideas as to what could be the culprit anyone here have any input I can give him

 

[JayDubWill]

Take a gravity reading, sometimes wine can be sneaky.

 

[JoshuaWhite5522]

He did. Said there was no change.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Can you provide us the following info: Initial Brix, Current Brix, Did he test the TA and PH? Which yeast did he use? Did he add any meta or enzymes, and out of curiosity, why did he steam the grapes?
If you have a stuck fermentation, you can use Uvaferm 43, click on the link to fine the yeast, here is a link to the Recommended Method to Restart Stuck Fermentations
from Scott labs, click here. Another great resource is the Scott labs fermentation handbook, click here..

I look forward to your reply.

 

[JoshuaWhite5522]

His gravity was 1.103 to start and was 1.101 the second time he took it. No pH was taken. I'm not sure why he steamed them, yeast was wyeast 4021. No meta to start. He added the pectic and yeast energizer about 10 days after pitching.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Sorry for the delay in my reply. The starting gravity at 1.101 is 24 brix, not uncommon, I would probably re pitch a yeast, but this time I would use a premium yeast such as RP15, BRL, AMH or even RC212, these yeast will bring out nice fruit notes, and will help to produce a traditional Pinot Noir. Make sure that he uses Go-Ferm, this is a hydration nutrient that will help the yeast to build a healthy colony of yeast before pitching. These all can be purchased from MoreWine.com.
I hope that this helps.