Hi all.
Just re-racked my 2007 Concord batch to clean carboys on Sep 13th.
I did not add Campden tabs this time because because I am not sure the
SG was low enough (1.002 at 75F).
Bubbling had seemed to stop but I did not sit and watch for a long
time (couple of minutes).
Q 1.) Am I OK to wait til Oct - Nov to re-rack and then add the
Campden ?
I followed the groups advice and topped the carboy up right to the
bottom of the airlock stopper.
I am using Lalvin K1-V1116 and dumped yeast on Aug 18th, yeast real
active on Aug 19th (SG 1.120 at 85F).
First rack on Aug 22nd to clean carboy SG 1.024 at 84F.
Q 2.) My last batch of Concord (2005) percipitated out a good bit of
white crystals (tartar ?). I looked in this groups older posts and
think the recommended fix is cooling the wine.
Any other simple fixes that worked for you?
Last year we just strained out the crystals when we opened the bottles
and the wine seemed none the worse (or better ,, smile)
Really appreciate this groups advice.

Kentucky -
Q1. Yes.
Q2. Tartrate crystals often form in grape wines. The usual
procedure is called "cold stabilization", and involves cooling the
wine close to freezing for a few weeks, to cause some of the tartaric
acid to precipitate out. Those of us in the North generally do this
over the winter, by putting the carboy outside for a few weeks. There
are other things you can do, but none as simple or effective. If this
isn't practical for you, just decant or strain the wine. The crystals
do not harm the wine - it's really a cosmetic issue.

Doug

On Sep 14, 12:01 pm, Doug wrote:
Kentucky -
Q1. Yes.
Q2. Tartrate crystals often form in grape wines. The usual
procedure is called "cold stabilization", and involves cooling the
wine close to freezing for a few weeks, to cause some of the tartaric
acid to precipitate out. Those of us in the North generally do this
over the winter, by putting the carboy outside for a few weeks. There
are other things you can do, but none as simple or effective. If this
isn't practical for you, just decant or strain the wine. The crystals
do not harm the wine - it's really a cosmetic issue.

Doug

Agreed on both; I have always wondered if the reason a Bordeaux bottle
has shoulders is to make it easier to decant and leave things like
cream of tartar behind. Not to mention they stack a heck of a lot
easier than anything else.

You have to get the wine close to 25F for it to pull cream of tartar
fast but long exposure (weeks to months) at higher temps arouind 40F
works too, just slowly.

Joe

On Sep 14, 12:45 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:
On Sep 14, 12:01 pm, Doug wrote:

Kentucky -
Q1. Yes.
Q2. Tartrate crystals often form in grape wines. The usual
procedure is called "cold stabilization", and involves cooling the
wine close to freezing for a few weeks, to cause some of the tartaric
acid to precipitate out. Those of us in the North generally do this
over the winter, by putting the carboy outside for a few weeks. There
are other things you can do, but none as simple or effective. If this
isn't practical for you, just decant or strain the wine. The crystals
do not harm the wine - it's really a cosmetic issue.

Doug

Agreed on both; I have always wondered if the reason a Bordeaux bottle
has shoulders is to make it easier to decant and leave things like
cream of tartar behind. Not to mention they stack a heck of a lot
easier than anything else.

You have to get the wine close to 25F for it to pull cream of tartar
fast but long exposure (weeks to months) at higher temps arouind 40F
works too, just slowly.

Joe
Thanks all.
I will add the Campden tabs (1 per gallon I am told ??) during the
next racking.
I will put the wine out on the back deck this winter before I bottle
it.
Temps here bounce around from minus 20's for low to plus 50's for
highs in January.
Should I shoot for 2 - 3 days in the mid twenties ?
Is it OK for the airlock water to freeze ?
Thanks again. I really appreciate all the good info I get from this
group and its old posts.

On Sep 14, 1:11 pm, Kentucky wrote:
On Sep 14, 12:45 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:

On Sep 14, 12:01 pm, Doug wrote:

Kentucky -
Q1. Yes.
Q2. Tartrate crystals often form in grape wines. The usual
procedure is called "cold stabilization", and involves cooling the
wine close to freezing for a few weeks, to cause some of the tartaric
acid to precipitate out. Those of us in the North generally do this
over the winter, by putting the carboy outside for a few weeks. There
are other things you can do, but none as simple or effective. If this
isn't practical for you, just decant or strain the wine. The crystals
do not harm the wine - it's really a cosmetic issue.

Doug

Agreed on both; I have always wondered if the reason a Bordeaux bottle
has shoulders is to make it easier to decant and leave things like
cream of tartar behind. Not to mention they stack a heck of a lot
easier than anything else.

You have to get the wine close to 25F for it to pull cream of tartar
fast but long exposure (weeks to months) at higher temps arouind 40F
works too, just slowly.

Joe

Thanks all.
I will add the Campden tabs (1 per gallon I am told ??) during the
next racking.
I will put the wine out on the back deck this winter before I bottle
it.
Temps here bounce around from minus 20's for low to plus 50's for
highs in January.
Should I shoot for 2 - 3 days in the mid twenties ?
Is it OK for the airlock water to freeze ?
Thanks again. I really appreciate all the good info I get from this
group and its old posts.

1 campden per gallon now may be a little high; maybe 1 per 2 gallons
for now.

A few days in the mid 20's is great, if you get it out there earlier
it will help too. You have a big mass to cool. As a point of
reference a 6 gallon carboy at somewhere in the 60's took most of the
day to get to the mid 20's. Wraps something around them like an old
towel to keep the sun off of them, it isn't good to expose reds to
sunlight but more than that it will heat them. Shade is better if
possible.

Just put the cheapest alcohol (drinking, not rubbing) you have in the
airlock and it won't freeze. The mass will shrink a bit more than
the container so you don't want it to freeze. You can top it or
ignore it if it's only a few days.

Joe

Adding SO2 (campden tablets) before fermentation results in extra
acetaldehyde in the product. This means that unless you add even more
when fermentation finishes your wine will be susceptible to bacterial
attack.

Your SG seems rather high for a finished fermentation. It is possible
that the combination of alcohol plus residual sugar has reached the
tolerance level of your yeast.
During fermentation one molecule of sugar produces two molecules of
alcohol. This means that the water activity of your wine decreases
(osmotic pressure increases) as fermentation proceeds. With a
suficiently high initial sugar content the limiting water activity of
your particular yeast can be reached before all the sugar has been
fermented and fermentation then dies. I have seen this happen on
ferments of over 20,000 litres. A bit embarrasing but addition of 10%
water would usually restart the ferment.
I did include this in my book on beverage chemistry a couple of years
ago.

Bob Molony
www.molab.co.nz

On Sep 20, 3:18 pm, Bob M wrote:
Adding SO2 (campden tablets) before fermentation results in extra
acetaldehyde in the product. This means that unless you add even more
when fermentation finishes your wine will be susceptible to bacterial
attack.

Your SG seems rather high for a finished fermentation. It is possible
that the combination of alcohol plus residual sugar has reached the
tolerance level of your yeast.
During fermentation one molecule of sugar produces two molecules of
alcohol. This means that the water activity of your wine decreases
(osmotic pressure increases) as fermentation proceeds. With a
suficiently high initial sugar content the limiting water activity of
your particular yeast can be reached before all the sugar has been
fermented and fermentation then dies. I have seen this happen on
ferments of over 20,000 litres. A bit embarrasing but addition of 10%
water would usually restart the ferment.
I did include this in my book on beverage chemistry a couple of years
ago.

Bob Molonywww.molab.co.nz

I appreciate the info Bob. I am confused though (a normal state for
me).
If the yeast has "belly'd up" and I now add one half gallon of water
to the batch,
do I also need to add live yeast ?
Or,, if I do nothing, will the remaining sugar just give me a sweeter
finished wine ?
Best as I can fgure the percent alcohol by volume is around 14 -15%.
Thanks again.