When should I put primary into secondary??

[Ant]

Hi there,
I have a gallon of Dandelion wine fizzing away in a fermenting bin and I was wondering when to siphon it into a demijohn.
Its been in there for a week with about two days 'lag time'. It seems quite active still with muslin and the lid sat on top.
The hydrometer read 1.120 before I pitched the yeast (which I thought was quite high) so can anyone give me a rough estimate as to what it should read when ready to siphon?
Hope there's enough info there, I don't want to blab on too much on my first post!
Cheers, Ant

 

[RobWalker]

most wines read below 1.000 when they're ready, that means it's been eaten dry. You are looking at about 15% with that reading so if it drops out early and won't ferment any further either fine and bottle if you like it, or add a yeast that can tolerate high abv's (gervin make a good one.)

You're either gonna rack off to age it or to clear it out, which do you want to do? Ageing you will need to fine it first and let it all settle to the bottom. Clearing out, you can do it as soon as the wine has finished fermenting and reads below 1.000.

 

[Ant]

Ok, thanks Rob. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[Ant]

I got a reading at 1.72 after seven days. Do I just leave in the primary with no airlock until it reaches 1.000?
It is still fermenting and has a high alcohol yeast in there.
Cheers.

 

[RobWalker]

You need an airlock in ideally, when it ferments there is pressure being.created, and that will eventually find its own way out if you don't give it a safe route!

Your reading means its fermenting.well but expect it to take a few weeks at least.

 

[Ant]

Right, so if I siphon it off into a demiohn this weekend will it carry on ok?
Should I stir it up a little or avoid the sediment at the bottom completely?
I had a little taste last night and its pretty nice so really want it to work now!
Thanks for all your advice anyway, i'm sure i'll get the hang of it all soon

 

[graysalchemy]

Try not to disturb the sediment. :thumb:

 

[charlie_mead_face]

i usualy do my primary in demijohns so it should be fine, i'd say get your siphon on

 

[oldbloke]

Most people add a Campden tablet (crushed) when racking, because of the oxidation risk.
If the yeast is still working strongly it may deal with any oxygen that turns up, but why chance it?
A Campden will slow the yeast a bit briefly, but it'll get going again if there's any sugars left.

 

[Ant]

I sucessfully siphoned into my DJ without making a mess!
There is a little air gap just below the handles so do I need to top this up with water or is that not important?
I'm certainly enjoying this so i'm off for more ingredients tomorrow, Gorse and Dandelion wine!
Turbo Cider sounds interesting aswell!
:

 

[RobWalker]

Many people do, often with another similar wine. Less headroom means less chance of spoiling, use white/red/rose respectively, water is fine but obviously waters it down.

I sometimes use it as a chance to blend a good cider in when I store gallons of cider. Top up with something premium, better all round.flavour!

 

[charlie_mead_face]

depending on how strong you want your brew you can use a mild sugar solution to kick it into another round of fermenation