Home Wine Kit

pistolero

Hi, Pretty new to this. On my second home wine kit - both Saddlers Reserve. First one a Pinot Grigio went exactly as per the instructions ( tastes great) - this one a cabernet sauvignon is still fermenting on day 32( airlock level well up and odd bubble visible)- kit instruction say should be finished day 18/24. Have been sampling and taking SG readings - it is at 0.996, it is clean, smells great but still tastes acidic, very raw which I would expect. Should I leave it longer or rack it and start to clear it? Any advice appreciated.
Cheers and Thanks.

CaptainAhab

Hi pistolero - How regular are the bubbles? Judging by the SG it is most likely fermented out at this stage - I recommend moving onto the next stage -

I have a sadlers reserve kit on at the moment and after only 14 days fermentation has more or less ceased - but there is the odd bubble still coming out.. But i think the best gauge is the SG reading - anything below .999 is normally fermented out

Hingo

CaptainAhab wrote: »

Hi pistolero - How regular are the bubbles? Judging by the SG it is most likely fermented out at this stage - I recommend moving onto the next stage -

I have a sadlers reserve kit on at the moment and after only 14 days fermentation has more or less ceased - but there is the odd bubble still coming out.. But i think the best gauge is the SG reading - anything below .999 is normally fermented out

I'm in the same boat with saddlers merlot-Shiraz, at 0.999/8 fermented in 14 days, would have thought it'd take 20-24 days from instructions. Gonna rack it at the weekend

pistolero

Great stuff - thanks for getting back to me, sorry about my delay responding - left it another few days - today actually and the level dropped back to original- racked it and degassed it - now fingers crossed. I had a Saddlers Pinot Grigio which seemed to stop at 15 days- I left it the 24 days - and when I racked it is started to bubble slightly, it turned out absolutely brilliant, but like the advice- think the SG is the real guide- cheers and thanks again -BTW is there a section here for this stuff - would be interested in reading what others are at and learning as I go,

CaptainAhab

I reckon the 24 days of fermentation is just a guide - if you can ferment in a consistently warm place (i.e. my hotpress at 18 degrees) and there is sufficient yeast nutrient then it should happen in 2 weeks I believe..

Hingo - the merlot/shiraz was my first kit by them - I have had a hard time trying to keep any bottles as it tastes great young..