Hello and welcome back.
I have updated the last post with pictures so all of you that are following can understand what I am doing and what tools I am using, I have also included a link to a site that I visit frequently for advice and recipes.
Over the weekend, besides adding pictures to the last post, I tested the second batch in the primary and found it was time to rack to the secondary, (siphon from the bucket to a glass jug) the SG (specific gravity) was at 1.030.
The second batch has taken a little longer to ferment to this level, I believe it is because there aren't as many nutrients in the left over must (pulp and juice from the first batch) to effectively feed the yeast, I had to add yeast and yeast nutrient half way through the fermentation process to keep it going. It was a nail biter for a little while but it seems to have pulled through.
If you look at the pictures from my last post you will see a picture of two jugs one darker than the other, the darker jug was the first batch the lighter color jug is the 2nd batch, both taste good however the color and the flavor is a little lighter in the second batch.
The first batch has been in secondary for about 10 days now, and there is about a 1 inch layer on the bottom of sediment, this sediment called LEES, is the pulp from the fruit and dieing yeast, this is also how the wine clears, It will still be months before I am ready to bottle but these are good signs of things to come. I have not yet tested the 1st batch as far as SG goes but next week I will rack (siphon from one jug to another and refit airlock) again and test it. I will let you all know how it is coming.
The second batch is still fizzing and was just racked to the secondary so it will be about 2 weeks before I open it again.
I have 2 wine bottles that I also filled with must to ferment along side the gallon jugs, these wine bottles you can see in the pictures from my 4th post are going to be used to "top up" (fill the gallon jugs to the top after racking) when you rack from one jug to another you loose some of the total volume because the pulp and dead yeast also have volume, so when you rack to another jug you leave the solids behind and therefore have less liquid volume in the second jug so you need to add liquid to TOP UP. Some people use distilled water for this which thins the wine just a bit, but since I had extra wine to begin with, I will be using wine to top up.
After I rack again it will be 2 months before I have to do it again, so in the mean time I am looking at starting a batch of rhubarb wine and I have a few more projects that I will be starting around my house so stay tuned.
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