Fermentation Log #5: NoName Wine

Started (Oct 12th 2024) by mixing the following:

• 1.13L of NoName Grape Punch
• 2.28L of water
• 0.59L of 3:1 sugar to water by wt. mix
• 1 tsp of yeast nutrient
• 1g of Lavlin EC-1118 yeast

Measured sg of water and juice was 1.060. Expected 1.057. Adjusting sg of grape concentrate to 1.180 from 1.172 to compensate.

Measured sg of water, juice, and sugar mix to be 1.110. Expected 1.106. Adjusting sg of sugar:water mix from 1.372 to 1.400 to compensate.

Rehydrated yeast and slowly added must along a period of 1hr to acclimatize.

Expecting to ferment dry to 1.000 and make 14.4% alcohol. Expecting to backsweeten with 270mL of 3:1 xylitol:water mix to bring sugar up to 62g/L like Jam Jar. Final gravity expected to be 1.024.

Expecting the following specifications:

• Total Acid: 4.8g/L
• Citric Acid: 0.2g/L
• Tartaric Acid: 3.6g/L
• Malic Acid: 1.0g/L
• Lactic Acid: 0.0g/L
• Alcohol: 14.4% before sweetening, 13.5% after.
• Residual Sugar: 62g/L
• Final Volume: < 4.27L
• $/L: 8.26

Fermenting in mesh-covered 5gal bucket until Oct 17th.

Oct 16th 2024: fermentation has stalled. Must is still very sweet with very little, if not any activity. Could be because of a) unlabeled preservatives b) cooler temperatures (~19c) c) high acid content. Not sure about that last one as I don't have a pH meter yet.

To try to fix: added 1tsp of yeast nutrient, added 20W bucket heater to increase temp to about 25c, and added ~2g of yeast. Still no activity Oct 17th

Measured sg at 1.110. That means that fermentation did not start at all. Could be because of osmotic stress, but the EC-1118 is tolerant up to 18%, and is a champagne yeast, which makes me think it can handle the sugars. Also I tasted for acids, and while the must is very sweet and masks the flavor of acid, it is still not very acidic at all. #3 was more acidic. I tried adding 1tsp of bread yeast, just in case the yeast I was using was bad (it was a packet I opened earlier and stored sealed in the fridge). I really hope that the preservatives. Oxygen levels are very good (open top bucket with mesh instead of lid). No sulfites added.

Oct 17th 2024: fermentation start up again. Bubbles seem to be smaller but in larger quantity. Heater is required. There seemed to be an off-smell at the re-start of fermentation. Yeast are stressed for some reason.

Oct 18th 2024: Aerated. SG measured at 1.100

Oct 20th 2024: SG measured at 1.100. Stalled again. Added 1tsp baking soda to raise pH in hopes of revival. Measured must temperature with heater to be at 27C. Added 900mL of water to bring up to 3.78L at sg 1.064. Transfered to 1gal glass jug with airlock.

Oct 26th 2024: Lots of bubbling action in both the liquid and airlock. Cloudy.

Nov 4th 2024: Bubbling is still going. Sg at 1.035. So some of the sugars have fermented out but not all. Still wondering if acids are too high. Added 1tsp of baking soda to raise pH.

• Appearance: 1/3 - Poor. Cloudy. #40082a
• Aroma: 3/6 - Pleasant. Fruit jam. Strawberry. Cut grass.
• Taste: 2/6 - Acceptable. Very sweet. No balance. Overripe fruit.
• Aftertaste: 2/3 - Good. Tart. Drying.
• Overall: 1/3 - Good.
• Pleasant: 9/20

Nov 22nd 2024: sg measured at 0.998. First time seeing an sg below 1.000! Tastes like nail-polish remover.

Nov 23rd 2024: racked into another 1 gal glass container. Still not as clear as I would like.

Dec 2nd 2024: bottled into 4.5x 750mL bottles.

Tastes very alcoholic, with not much flavour, or acidity. A bit of bitterness. This is the worst fermentation so far.