"Mark E" > wrote in message
...
> Wine kit: Selection 2003 Hanagan Cabernet Merlot (BC)
>
> Hi,
>
> My wine is in the secondary fermentation process which is supposed to
> last approx. 10 days but it has now been 15 days and the wine is still
> fizzing a little at .0991 gravity, 70 degrees F. The gravity 4 days
> ago was .0996 so it's still dropping...
>

Time tables are just guidelines. But it must be about finished. It is not
going to go much below 0.991. (I assume your decimal is in the wrong
place.) That is very low. Temperature is fine. Incidently, and I am not
pocking fun, fizzing is not a determination for wine fermenting. The
question is, is the airlock still working? If it stops for a day then it is
probably finished, but give it a week more to be sure.

> I have a 2nd batch of wine (Carmenere Malbec) fermenting along side
> this one that finished secondary fermentation at the 10 day mark so I
> don't think it has anything to do with the temperature.
>
> The directions say that I should wait for the wine to stop fermenting
> before adding the metabisulphite, sorbate & chitosan at the clearing
> stage. It also mentions that if the temperature is too low and the
> wine is still fizzing that it should be put into a warmer environment
> to help finish the fermentation process.

They are exactly right. But your wine is very dry already. If you are not
going to add any sweetener, you do not need to add the sorbate. It
stabalizes the wine so it will not restart fermentation in the bottle. But
at your SG, there will be no sugar left so that is not a problem. Just one
chemical that does not need to be added.

>
> Should I put the wine into a warmer environment, continue waiting (at
> 70F) or go ahead and add the clearing agents?
>

No, it is fine.

> Thanks for your help,
>
> Mark

You indicated that you are checking it dayly. I know they suggest this in
many kit instructions but it is really not necessary and can be bad for the
wine. Every time you pop off the airlock and take a sample air is getting
to your wine. This is not good in the later stages of fermentation. If you
leave it alone the CO2 being produced and pushing out the airlock will
protect your wine. You defete this protection when you open it. As long as
the airlock is working you know it is fermenting normally so there is no
need to test it. When it stops fermenting you should test it to see that
all the sugar was used up (SG condiderably less than 1.000). Once you test
it this way you should top up as the air that gets in while testing can be
detrimental.

Ray