More Wine Making questions.......

chadspad · Post: # 32924Post **chadspad** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 10:55 am

OK, I have made my banana wine following the recipe by C.J.J.Berry. I had to ferment it for 7 days in a bin before putting into fermenting jar with airlock - most of his recipes suggest the 7 days in the bin first. Now I have put it in the fermenting jar there is practically no movement within the airlock, even after 3 days - is this normal? Has most of the fermenting been done already? It was frothing like a mad thing in the bin.

Chickpea · Post: # 32928Post **Chickpea** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 11:59 am

No, the fermenting has hardly started. You should be getting a fairly steady blip blip blip at this stage. It is warm enough?

chadspad · Post: # 32934Post **chadspad** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:51 pm

I have some plum wine next to it thats going great-guns so am assuming temperature is OK. There is a great deal of sediment in the bottom, would that cause it to be slow off the mark?

Chickpea · Post: # 32940Post **Chickpea** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 3:52 pm

Some wines throw more sediment than others, especially early on. Give it a bit of a shake and see what happens. Might get things going. If you get really worried, measure the gravity of it. If you have sugar and yeast present (and water and warmth and nothing deadly to yeast like bleach or campden tablets), then fermentation should occur.

chadspad · Post: # 32989Post **chadspad** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 7:36 am

Gave it a shake and it did start bubbling for a bit but its stopped again this morning. Measured the gravity and its only 1010 but had been 1100 when I had first started out.

zombiecazz · Fri Nov 10, 2006 1:06 am

What happened with this banana wine of yours?

chadspad · Post: # 40461Post **chadspad** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 1:10 pm

Its completely cleared & tastes gorgeous. It seems to be thicker than my other wines and stronger too but have read somewhere that banana recipes seem to be for dessert wines. I need to stabilise, degas and bottle. Very pleased with it - and all the others too!

zombiecazz · Fri Nov 10, 2006 2:03 pm

That fantastic. Glad it worked out.
I had a fruit tea wine that stopped bubbling way before I thought it should, but the reading was 1000. so I thought oh well. Left in the demijohn for two more weeks and then stabilised it. It's now tasting great. I'm going to leave it to mature in bulk for about a month and bottle it around christmas. I have a friend who loves Rose, so She'll get a bottle for christmas. It has a Rose D'Anjou flavour.

chadspad · Post: # 40468Post **chadspad** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 2:32 pm

That sounds nice. Its nice to give homemade wine for presents eh? I have found with most of the other wines that I wasnt giving it long enuf to do its thing - I was expecting the fermenting to start again after like 2 days of racking when it eally takes a couple of weeks to get going again. Im gonna have to learn to be more patient with this winemaking business lol. I have an elderberry & pear that is stunningly gorgeous and I have wondered why I have to bother bottling it, can I not just drink it now from the demi-john?

zombiecazz · Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:35 am

Ditto, I have an elderberry and pear. I just happened to have some bashed pears lying around when I made my elderberry wine, so they went in with the elderberries. Hope mine turns out as good as yours.

I really do think with country wine that once you've syphoned it off the primary and put it into the demijohn, you then make it comfortable and try and forget it for a while. That way you let it get on with doing what it does best.

Turbo cider on the other hand is one that I'm really looking forward to the bubbles stopping. It should be ready about the same time as the ginger beer.....Yummy.