Comment inside.

Pp

geo wrote:
> Hi everybody,
>
> I used to make fruit wines in the midwest many years ago. These
days,
> I live in California, and so for the first time in over 20 years, I
> decided to try my hand at winemaking. I bought one of Wine Expert's
> (nee Brew King's) Selection Speciale Port Kits. Although the results
> are promising, I'd like to ask the experts in this forum for some
> advice.
>
> On day 1, the SG of this 3-gallon kit was 1.129 (right about where
the
> instructions said it should be). After getting off to a slow start,
> (had to throw a second helping of yeast) a vigorous fermentation took
> the SG down to 1.010 within a couple of weeks. At this point, the
> instructions called for the addition of 2 cups of corn sugar,
bringing
> the SG back up to a target range of 1.015-1.025. After sweetening,
my
> hydrometer read 1.022, so I was right about where I should have been.
>
> Fast forward a few more weeks. At this point, the instructions
called
> for stabilizing when the wine reached an SG of 1.010. My hydrometer
> read 1.014. Although the lock still showed some activity, (a bubble
or
> two every 5-10 minutes or so), the hydrometer had not registered any
> change in a week. Reasoning that the SG had gone as low as it was
> likely to, I added the sulfite, potassium sorbate, chitosan and the
> f-pack, just as the instructions said.
>
> Still with me? After adding the f-pack, the instructions said I
> should have an SG in the range 1.015-1.020. So you can imagine my
face
> when the hydrometer registered 1.034! My mouth confirmed what the
> hydrometer said: I know port is supposed to be sweet, but not this
> sweet!
>

The problem is here. The wine didn't go as low as expected (1.014
instead of 1.010), but that's not unusual in this case. What doesn't
make sense is that you increase in sg was 20 "points", while the
instructions indicate a rise of only 5-10 points. The difference is
puzzling and probably the best way of figuring out what's going on here
is to call Winexpert.

> Now - three days later, there's about a quarter inch of sediment at
the
> bottom of the carboy. No surprise there - that's what the chitosan
is
> for. To get the wine off of the sediment, I'm planning to rack it
> early next week (the instructions say to let it clear for about 8
days
> and then rack it). The air lock shows that there's still a little
bit
> of activity in there - a bubble or two about once every 5-10 minutes.
> But unless those yeasties are ravenously hungry this week, this wine
is
> going to be too sweet to bottle.
>

Since you've added sorbate, your ferment is officially over. What
you're seeing is just degassing of the residual CO2 generated in the
fermentation. The sugar won't fo down but it might integrate over time,
so the perception of sweetness might not be as strong - however, the
difference won't probably be enough in this case.

> Anybody got any idea of what I might have done wrong or what I ought
to
> do? SHould I rack it this weekend to get it off the sediment?
Should
> I wait until the lock stops bubbling all together? Should I have
added
> the f-pack in drips and drabs, watching the SG rise as I did so until
> it reached the target range?
>

You could have waited longer but it sounds like the ferment was done
anyway. High sugar fermentation are finicky in general, so ending
slightly sweeter than wanted is not unusual. The best strategy would be
to use just a part of the f-pack until you get the desired sweetness.

> If I leave the wine alone, is there any chance it could still ferment
> down to a more reasonable SG? I know ports are often fortified with
> brandy to bring the alcohol level up to 19-20%. Should I blend this
> syrupy stuff with a dry wine to make a more reasonable finished
> product? Any other thoughts?

You will need to do some sort of blending. If you use dry red wine, you
can always boost it by adding vodka or Everclear to 18% or so before
blending, that way your alcohol level will stay where it should be.
Alternatively, you could get the same kit again, ferment it to the
stabilizing stage, don't add the f-pack and blend the 2 together.
>
> -geo