This group has been a great wealth of knowledge and help so far for
me, and I turn to it again for some advice.

My first kit, a peach wine, has stopped fermenting and my SG is still
at 1.045. I've written in here about this kit before, as I screwed up
initially and started primary fermentation in a 6G carboy instead of
the standard plastic bucket. It was slow to start because my
temperature is a bit low (15-18C), but with all your help I got the
fermentation going and watched my SG drop from 1.090 to 1.045.
Yesterday however, CO2 production was very very slow (the air lock
would "bubble" maybe once per 5 minutes). I don't have any bubbles on
top of my wine anymore, and my SG has remained constant for two days
now.

In an email, someone here mentioned it is possible to restart
fermentation, but at this point I'm asking myself if it is even worth
it. If I restart fermentation is it just going to stop again? Should
I rack the wine into a proper fermenter or leave it in the carboy?
Should I toss it down the drain and consider it a $45 lesson learned,
or is it still really easy to save this wine?

Thanks in advance,
Harry

BTW -- I've since started a Pinot Noir kit, and it is going
fantastically and is not giving me any grief.

Harry,
Was your starting SG 1.090? If so, then your starting % alcohol by volume
was 12%. If you are at SG 1.045, then your % alcohol by volume is about 6%.
12% -6% = 6% alcohol by volume, so that is a bit low for storing and keeping
the wine longer term. According to the instructions with my hydrometer, an
ending SG of 1.045 is a sweet wine. Since I'm not familiar with this kit -
what kind of wine are you trying to make? If it is a sweet wine with a 6%
alcohol by volume, then you're there - if not, then you can do a couple of
things to help it along. I wouldn't throw it away - chalk it up to
experience and keep going.

Are you still keeping it in a warm place? You could try racking to another
container and letting it splash, the additional oxygen might get it going
again. If that doesn't work, you can buy a packet of yeast, create a yeast
starter and add to your must to get it going again. There's a good set of
instructions on how to do this at Jack Keller's homemade wine site -
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp. Or you could just chalk it up
to experience and continue with the kit- do you or your friends like
drinking a sweet wine? I'd be interested to see what others have to say.
Hang in there.
Darlene

"Harry Colquhoun" > wrote in message
om...
> This group has been a great wealth of knowledge and help so far for
> me, and I turn to it again for some advice.
>
> My first kit, a peach wine, has stopped fermenting and my SG is still
> at 1.045. I've written in here about this kit before, as I screwed up
> initially and started primary fermentation in a 6G carboy instead of
> the standard plastic bucket. It was slow to start because my
> temperature is a bit low (15-18C), but with all your help I got the
> fermentation going and watched my SG drop from 1.090 to 1.045.
> Yesterday however, CO2 production was very very slow (the air lock
> would "bubble" maybe once per 5 minutes). I don't have any bubbles on
> top of my wine anymore, and my SG has remained constant for two days
> now.
>
> In an email, someone here mentioned it is possible to restart
> fermentation, but at this point I'm asking myself if it is even worth
> it. If I restart fermentation is it just going to stop again? Should
> I rack the wine into a proper fermenter or leave it in the carboy?
> Should I toss it down the drain and consider it a $45 lesson learned,
> or is it still really easy to save this wine?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Harry
>
> BTW -- I've since started a Pinot Noir kit, and it is going
> fantastically and is not giving me any grief.

> In an email, someone here mentioned it is possible to restart
> fermentation, but at this point I'm asking myself if it is even worth
> it. If I restart fermentation is it just going to stop again? Should
> I rack the wine into a proper fermenter or leave it in the carboy?
> Should I toss it down the drain and consider it a $45 lesson learned,
> or is it still really easy to save this wine?

Harry,
You should be able to restart your fermentation. You never
mentioned what type of yeast you used but there are more
aggressive ones out there such as EC-1118. You shoulud add
some yeast nutrient, bring the temperature of the must up
to 68 F or more and add the EC-1118 after creating a starter.
Check the best before date on the yeast when you buy it.
Lalvin's has it stamped on the top ridge.

A yeast starter can be made by boiling some water and using
it to sterilze a small jar and then filling it with about
1/2 cup of water. When the temp of that water gets down to
about 104 F or slightly warm to the touch add the yeast.
Wait about 10 minutes and add it to warm must.

Do a Google Groups search on "stuck fermentation", "yeast
nutrient" for more info. Also check these pages:

http://consumer.lallemand.com/dansta...n/winefaq.html

There's info on stuck fermentations there as well as yeast
rehydration and EC-1118.

Don