Help with first time making wine kit - Gravity too low?

[DonnieZ]

Hi All,

Making some wine for my in-laws for Christmas, well.. because they love wine! I have started out with a Winexpert Vinters Reserve Chianti kit, figuring this would be an easy way to learn about winemaking as well as slowly expand my fermentation hobby...

Either way.. So far I've made this kit to the directions (I think..).

Tuesday night I cleaned and sanitized all my necessary winemaking equipment (Bucket, lid, airlock, spoon, hydrometer, and test jar.). As the directions stated, I mixed the bentonite with about a half gallon of warm water, added the juice, rinsed the bladder with 1G of warm water, then topped off my fermenter to the 6 gallon mark.

Took the temperature of the must and it was right at 73, so I pitched the yeast, a packet of Red Star Premier Cuvee yeast. Kept the fermenter in the 73-75 range most of the week, but it did go down to about 70 and up to 78 for a short period or two.

Starting on Wedensday night and all throughout most of Saturday, my condo reeked of some kind of sickly grape smell - but I read this is normal.

It's now Monday and as the directions state I was to rack the wine to secondary if the gravity was below 1.010. Took a gravity reading and the gravity of the wine was low - really low. Like in the .998 range - is this too low or is the light carbonation that the wine has developed during fermentation causing my hydrometer reading to be off? I know the directions said to be below 1.010, but this appears to be approaching the FG and it states that some fermentation should still take place in secondary.

Second... When I make beer I'm used to a thick, disgusting layer of trub on the bottom of the fermenter. With the wine, I didn't get that. Barely any yeast cake at all. I fear I may have stuck the auto siphon down in a little too far, but this really looked like there was hardly anything at all - just the oak chips that were included in the kit were down there. Does wine not leave that big of a cake? I expected more because of the high starting gravity of the must.

TL;DR -

1. After 6 days the gravity of the wine is about at 1.00-0.998 - is this too low prior to racking to secondary? Was expecting to be closer to 1.010

2. Not a lot of trub at the bottom of the fermenter. Problematic?


Thanks,
- Don

 

[Cyclman]

Mine hasn't done that, as my basement is typically under 70. I don' think it would cause any negative issues, though. Wine doesn't have much trub, or whatever it would be called for wine, at the bottom. My biggest recommendation is age the wine for at least 6 months before drinking. It's good younger, but after 6 months it is awesome. I need to do another red, I am down to a dozen bottles from my last kit. Thinking of a Chianti.

 

[Yooper]

1. After 6 days the gravity of the wine is about at 1.00-0.998 - is this too low prior to racking to secondary? Was expecting to be closer to 1.010

2. Not a lot of trub at the bottom of the fermenter. Problematic?


Thanks,
- Don

1. By six days, it is absolutely possible to be at .990! so, no, you should rack now. That's fine. I've had wines go to .990 in five days (or sooner) so no worries.

2. No. It will settle out as it clears after fermentation finishes.

 

[DoctorCAD]

So far, everything is going exactly as it should.

Congrats on following directions and getting correct results!

Keep at it...

 

[DonnieZ]

Thanks for the advice. Hoping this turns out to be good!

 

[Gitmoe]

Wine doesn't have much trub, or whatever it would be called for wine, at the bottom...

The junk at the bottom of wine is called "lees". Same thing as trub. Just a different name. Congrats on your venture into winemaking going according to plan so far. A quick tip: Don't de-gas your wine anywhere you would be mad spilling wine. Usually a garage or outside it best. Sometimes de-gassing can cause a "volcano" effect...