My wine has been bubbling away since last autumn.
It is still bubbling away.

How do I know when to stop it fermenting and how do I stop it please?

Also how can I be sure it has stopped, cos I bottled one lot and it blew the
corks out!!!

Cheers,
Serenity

You need to check the specific gravity with a hydrometer to see where the
wine is at. Post your result and also your fermentation temperature.
Al

"Serenity" serenity@nospamserenitynyespam off.fslife.co.uk wrote in
message ...
My wine has been bubbling away since last autumn.
It is still bubbling away.

How do I know when to stop it fermenting and how do I stop it please?

Also how can I be sure it has stopped, cos I bottled one lot and it blew
the
corks out!!!

Cheers,
Serenity

What temperature is your carboy at? a lower temp may be dragging out
fermentation. You should let it ferment out on its own then kill the yeast
when the SG is below 1.000. I use a dose of sulphite in my fruit wines to
kill fermentation. Most kits will have finishing chemicals that contain
some sulphite to kill fermentation and clear the wine. If you bottled it
before all the sugar was consumed the yeast will keep eating the sugar in
the bottle and create CO2 and pop, pop, poppity, pop goes the corks.

Good Luck!

Sean

"Serenity" serenity@nospamserenitynyespam off.fslife.co.uk wrote in
message ...
My wine has been bubbling away since last autumn.
It is still bubbling away.

How do I know when to stop it fermenting and how do I stop it please?

Also how can I be sure it has stopped, cos I bottled one lot and it blew
the
corks out!!!

Cheers,
Serenity

It is very difficult and unreliable to try to kill an active ferment. The
best way is to let the fermentation go to dryness. Once the yeast has gone
dormant it will all settle to the bottom. Then racking eliminates most of
the yeast form the wine. Once the yeast colony has gotten small enough you
can force it to stay dormant by additions of sulphite and sorbate. This is
only necessary if you are going to sweeten it back up.

If the fermentation sticks and you want to keep the wine as sweet as it ends
up, follow the same procedure, let the yeast settle, and rack the wine off.
But then sulphite and sorbate are a necessity rather than an option as if
you do not force the yeast to remain dormant, they may suddenly start up
again in the future.

You might try moving the carboy to a warmer area so it will finish up.
Fermenting slowly and on the cool side is generally considered a plus for a
white wine but may not be for a red.

Ray

"Serenity" serenity@nospamserenitynyespam off.fslife.co.uk wrote in
message ...
My wine has been bubbling away since last autumn.
It is still bubbling away.

How do I know when to stop it fermenting and how do I stop it please?

Also how can I be sure it has stopped, cos I bottled one lot and it blew
the
corks out!!!

Cheers,
Serenity

You have gotten good advice from all here; if these are tiny bubble it
could also be malolactic fermentation. You should check the specific
gravity as suggested and post those values along with the temerature
of the wine.
Regards,
Joe

"Ray" wrote in message om...
It is very difficult and unreliable to try to kill an active ferment. The
best way is to let the fermentation go to dryness. Once the yeast has gone
dormant it will all settle to the bottom. Then racking eliminates most of
the yeast form the wine. Once the yeast colony has gotten small enough you
can force it to stay dormant by additions of sulphite and sorbate. This is
only necessary if you are going to sweeten it back up.

If the fermentation sticks and you want to keep the wine as sweet as it ends
up, follow the same procedure, let the yeast settle, and rack the wine off.
But then sulphite and sorbate are a necessity rather than an option as if
you do not force the yeast to remain dormant, they may suddenly start up
again in the future.

You might try moving the carboy to a warmer area so it will finish up.
Fermenting slowly and on the cool side is generally considered a plus for a
white wine but may not be for a red.

Ray

"Serenity" serenity@nospamserenitynyespam off.fslife.co.uk wrote in
message ...
My wine has been bubbling away since last autumn.
It is still bubbling away.

How do I know when to stop it fermenting and how do I stop it please?

Also how can I be sure it has stopped, cos I bottled one lot and it blew
the
corks out!!!

Cheers,
Serenity

Many thanks,
Will go and check sg and temps today and will post under a new topic.
Serenity