Step 4: Then strain into a fermenting jar, fit an airlock then let it stand until fermentation ceases & the wine clears, usually in about three months.
Sploshing buckets of blackcurrant wine into a demijohn via a sieve & funnel is potentially pretty messy, & blackcurrant is likely to stain - so it's on with the pinny. All the kit sterilised (demijohn, sieve, funnel, jug, sample tube, hydrometer & airlock), then first up is to measure the SG to see what all that frothing has been about.
At 998 already, the yeast has romped through the sugar, and an SG this low implies that we will have lip-puckeringly dry wine - so now is the time to add some more sugar. Another 4oz goes into the bucket, and then the is SG taken again. The reading this time is a more reasonable 1006 - the SG will drop further as the wine continues to ferment, & we're aiming for a final SG of about 1000.
I put the wine through the sieve & funnel into the demijohn (there's some leftover which goes into an old milk carton for the minute - we'll need this for topping up once the wine is siphoned off the rest of the blackcurrant pips & sediment) and an airlock fitted.It's back into a warm room for a few days to carry on fermenting - then I'll put it up in the cool attic room to be forgotten about for three months or so until it starts to look clear with the sediment in a layer at the bottom.
Hello! Is it important to top the demijohn right up, or there always an air gap at the top? At what temp (roughly) did you do the fermenatation, and will it now sit in a cooler place to settle? Thanks! Olly
ReplyDeleteHi Olly! I think that you're right and that the air gap at the top should be kept to a minimum but I can't remember why it's important!
ReplyDeleteAlthough a really vigorously fermenting wine will fizz out through the air lock if it the dj is too full so if I have a lively wine, I'll start it off for a few days split into 2 half full demijohns rather than risk it overflowing then transfer to one full one when it's calmed down after a few days/a week or so.
The demijohn sits in my office for a couple of weeks to ferment away - it's quite warm by the radiator (18-20 degrees) but then it goes up into the attic room which is much cooler (12-14 degrees)to clear.
Thanks for the reply, been following your progress, the final article should be great - hic! Olly
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