Strawberry Wine

[DMBOX]

1) Used 17.5lbs of fresh strawberries. I started with a specific gravity of 1.090. At what point should I rack this over into the secondary? I've been stirring it a couple times a day.

2) Do I need to add anything when racking it to the secondary? Ie. Campden etc?

3) I understand you want it to be about an inch from the top of the Carboy, so it doesn't oxidize. When in the secondary no stirring or degassing, correct?

[grapeadmin]

1) Rack it when the wine reaches about 1.010 to 1.020

2) Do not add anything, just allow it to complete the fermentation process

3) You do not need to stir or degas

thanks
john
g and g

[DMBOX]

How long do you wait to rack it? I was under the impression that you rack once every 30 days, after it enters the secondary from the primary.

[grapeadmin]

My schedule usually is something like this:

5-7 days- primary to secondary

7-10 days- secondary to tertiary

30 days- tertiary to fourth fermenter

rack again when bottling

thanks
john
g and g

[DMBOX]

After the tertiary, how long do you keep the wine in the quaternary before bottling?

[DMBOX]

Also, what's the ending gravity that I should be looking for? Is that how I tell it's ready to bottle or not? A tad confused on this part.

[grapeadmin]

Bulk age until the wine is clear and stable. The exact gravity will vary a bit from wine to wine but generally it will be around .996

thanks
john

[DMBOX]

1) So I left the strawberry in the primary 8 days and racked to the secondary at 1.020. It spent 7 days in the secondary and was only at 1.016. Should I still rack it to the tertiary on the 10th day in the secondary, regardless of the SG?

2) I've got a Blueberry fermenting that was only at 1.050 after a full week in the primary. I've let it go a few extra days and will check it tomorrow. You shouldn't rack to the secondary before hitting 1.010-1.020, right?

**All had initial SG =1.090

[Mike-G&G]

I would wait and just be patient with both wines. It won't hurt if it sits for a couple more days until it reaches the desired SG. If in your mind the sediment may be an issue it won't hurt to rack it. So really at this point you can rack, or you can wait a little longer. Personally I would just wait the couple days. You can't rush a good fruit wine. I know this from experiance.