Hi there everyone!
As I mentioned last time, the Gewurztraminer I’m currently making from a wine ingredient kit was going a little bit slower than the instructions that came with it said, but then again I’m not surprised since primary & secondary fermentation was a little bit slower due to some room temperature issues. All that’s straightened out now, so I anticipate things should start moving along on a more normal schedule.
I ended up ending the fermentation and moving to the next step when the specific gravity on my hydrometer was holding steady between 0.995 and 0.996. I know the instructions said it should be less than 0.995, but it was hovering very closely to that value and not moving or showing any gas activity for two days straight. I made the call to move forward, as I didn’t think it was going to change any more.
So, instead of starting the degassing stage on day 20 as the wine kit instructions anticipated, I’m starting it on day 22. Not too delayed, so I’m still happy.
I ended up racking the wine twice — once to get it into a clean carboy, and then again to get it into the primary fermenter so that I could more easily stir the wine and get all the trapped CO2 gas out. The instructions mentioned to rack it once, but I’m thinking doing it a second time shouldn’t hurt it too much. We’ll see, I guess!
Per the instructions, I added the potassium metabisulphite and kieselsol and over the next two days ended up stirring the wine a total of 7 times (the instructions said to stir 6 to 8 times over the two days).
Prior to adding the stabilizing/clarifying ingredients that came with the wine ingredient kit, I moved the wine once more into another carboy. This time, moved it from the primary fermenter into a clear carboy so I could actually see when the wine was clear enough to move forward. The primary fermenter is opaque, so that would make it much more difficult to eyeball things and make a judgment call if need be.
I followed all instructions for the stabilizing/clarifying step, except for adding in the extra racking step at the beginning.
Also, for some reason, I seem to be missing an extra bung for the carboy, so I had to put some tinfoil over the opening and cover that with a measuring cup to try and keep the air out. Come to think of it, I seem to be missing my original primary fermenter that came with my first wine ingredient kit, so I’m thinking there is one box that didn’t quite make the 1600 mile move we recently made to our new home. Whoops! That’ll be in my next order from ECKraus for sure!
Now it’s a waiting game until bottling. By the way, I tasted the Gewurzt again and it tastes really nice. Hope it stays that way!
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My name is Leigh Erwin, and I am a brand-spankin’ new home winemaker! E. C. Kraus has asked me to share with you my journey from a first-time dabbler to an accomplished home winemaker. From time to time I’ll be checking in with this blog and reporting my experience with you: the good, bad — and the ugly.
