Hydrometer readings - what next?

[juju66]

First time wine maker here. I've had two demijohns on the go since early September - blackberry and damson, and ginger (made with lemons and sultanas too).

The blackberry has been racked once as there was quite a lot of sediment at the bottom. The ginger has never been racked. Both are still bubbling every couple of minutes or so, although the blackberry is slower and noticeably less gassy.

Anyway, I did a hydrometer reading at the weekend - the blackberry is now 990 and the ginger is 1000. But what exactly does this mean for the wine? How long should I leave it now? What am I actually looking out for?

Apologies if they are very silly questions...

 

[penguinarmy]

Anyway, I did a hydrometer reading at the weekend - the blackberry is now 990 and the ginger is 1000. But what exactly does this mean for the wine? How long should I leave it now? What am I actually looking out for?

From my limited experience id say the blackberry has fermented out (dry) as it's 990 so you can re-rack etc...
This is the way i do it -

Once bubbles has slowed to one every few minutes leave it another week then -
Rack onto a crushed campden tablet.
Degass.
Add stabiliser.
Degass.
Add finings (i prefer kwik clear)

and the ginger its still going (med atm)

this is what i use for my wine taste

0.990 is dry
0.995 is medium/dry
1.000 is medium
1.005 is medium/sweet
1.010 is sweet


hope it helps :hat:

 

[juju66]

Thanks for the info. :)

So once I've racked off again and degassed (I need to go and look up how that's done), is it ready for bottling? Seems a bit early, after only about 5 weeks.

Also, I actually like mine not too dry. Can I add sweetener? If so, when should I add it?

Apologies again if these are silly questions...: )

 

[Featherhat]

The only silly questions are the ones you should have asked and didn't. You'll find plenty of info on here about degassing and sweetening. The most important thing is to make sure your wine is stabilised before you add any more sugar.

 

[Gorty]

Degassing after racking off into a fresh sterilised DJ is simply putting one hand over the top and picking it up and giving it a good shake, put it down and take your hand off the top slowly to release the gas and do it again several times until the gas is released from the wine, it helps the wine clear. 'penguinarmy' has said it letter and verse. Then you add finings, I like to leave my wines for at least a week before bottling, I use 'Clear It' very much the same as 'Kwik-Clear' the sediment seems a bit firmer and less likely to be disturbed during bottling.

Always remember 'Featherhat's' words, 'The only silly questions are the ones you should have asked and didn't' The guys on here are a literal mine of information and we all like to help 'cos we remember when we first started out!

 

[juju66]

Thanks again for the info.

One last question (for now :) ) - do I need another campden if I put one in at the start? And after bottling, when is it ready to drink? As I said, it's only a few weeks old, so seems very soon.

Oops, that was two questions, sorry...

 

[Gorty]

Don't apologise we're all here to learn, yes you do need a campden tablet, it's to stop the oxidation. The one at the start is to get rid of any airborne nasties or ones on the fruit before you pitch your yeast.
As for how long before it's ready to drink, well you could drink it now but you might find it a bit 'raw'. Most 'from the fruit' wines do need a good while to age or condition, anything upto a couple of years, a basic rule of thumb is the more fruit and sugar, the longer it takes age, so if you are wanting some wine to drink sooner, why not try a WOW :

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=49462


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