Even if the recipe is strictly followed, situations are possible when the wine does not ferment at all, begins to ferment ahead of time, or the fermentation process stops after a few days. Let's consider the reasons why homemade wine made from jam, grapes, berries does not play and what can be done in each of these situations.

What does the process depend on?

Fermentation is the process of decomposition of sugar contained in grape or berry must into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The main actors are yeast fungi. It is their activity that determines how long the wine ferments, how fast the fermentation process of the wine material will be, and to what extent the quality of the finished drink will be.

Stages

In the history of home winemaking, there are examples when the winemaker placed the container in a more or less suitable place, then happily forgot about it, and after 2-3 months received a passable drink. However, this is either experience or luck. In most cases, it is necessary to intervene in the fermentation process and control its quality.

For any homemade wine, there are two, sometimes three stages (the last two do not have clear boundaries) of fermentation:

  • initial stage - it is at this stage that the fungi “sit quietly”, getting used to the new environment and often causing anxiety in the novice winemaker;
  • active - the yeast multiplies rapidly, the beginning of this period is marked by the active production of carbon dioxide, the mass hisses, bubbles, and a sediment forms;
  • quiet - fermentation continues, but in deep layers. There are few bubbles.

The second stage can be of varying duration, it depends on what strength of the future drink is desired. Active fermentation can be greatly delayed to end up with a stronger homemade wine. Bubbles are very actively visible for the first 2–3 days.

The next phase - quiet fermentation - lasts as long as the fungi have enough food, they will multiply until they have absorbed all the sugar, breaking it down into alcohol and carbon dioxide. In the recipe, the fermentation process is as follows

  • Prepared raw materials for wine (wort, pulp) are poured into containers, covered with gauze, and placed in a warm, dark place;
  • As soon as the first gas bubbles appear (fermentation has entered the active phase), a water seal is put on the container (most often, covered with a glove). This stage has different durations, for example, fermentation of homemade wine from apple juice and rowan (temperature 18–28 °C) will take 25–40 days. The end of the stage is determined by the fall of the glove. The new wine is ready;
  • Maturation. This is a quiet period. You can add sugar to wine. Or alcohol, which will stop the fermentation process. The deadlines are also different. For the same apple-rowan wine, this means 2–3 months in a darkened room at a cooler temperature of 10–16 °C.

Interesting: winemakers have different opinions about the youth of wine. Some believe that it is young only a few days after the end of the stage of rapid fermentation, some give it several months of youth before the start of a new stage of life - the ripening phase.

Deadlines

There is no clear answer to the question of how long homemade wine should ferment. The process can take from 1 to 3 months, depending on the temperature, the amount of sugar in the wort and the quality of the yeast.

Let's look at the general points that a novice winemaker should know about these three pillars of successful fermentation. Knowing them, you can independently find answers to questions about what to do and how to make the wine play a second time if it does not ferment.

Kit one: temperature regime

The optimal temperature for wine fermentation is considered to be in the range of 15–25°C; for white wines, the best temperature is 14–18°C; for red wines, 18–22°C. At what specific temperature the wine should ferment is decided by the winemaker, focusing on the behavior of the wort and adhering to the ranges specified by the recipe.

When selecting the temperature, it is important to take other factors into account. The wort is rich in sugar, cold, the bottles are small, therefore the temperature should be high - 20 °C. The wort is sour, warm (above 12 °C), slightly sweetened - 15 °C is enough.

At a low temperature of 9–10 °C, fermentation is also possible, but it will take longer.

High temperature (above 25 °C) may only be useful at first. For a mixture that already contains some alcohol, this temperature is harmful.

When making at home, it is difficult to regulate the temperature. But there are examples when wine was successfully produced from not very sweet raspberry jam, first left at room temperature and then placed on a cool winter balcony.

Keith two: yeast

Their quantity and activity determine how correct and fast the fermentation process will be. In turn, the amount of yeast is determined by many factors: the already mentioned temperature, the duration of access of air to the wort and, finally, the quality of the wort.

When it comes to grapes, winemakers know that the fermentation of must from grapes grown on fertile, rich soils will be more vigorous and at the same time smoother. On average, the richer and more nutritious the composition of the starting material, the more active and rapid the fermentation process will be.

The quality of yeast also varies. PWD (pure cultures of wine yeast) behave more actively and smoothly, wild yeast is more unpredictable.

During the fermentation process, yeast cells settle to the bottom, blocking the access of air by being at the very bottom - inert zones are formed that slow down the process. Stirring them periodically with a spatula will help speed up the process, so as to destroy the layers. To destroy them, it is enough to also throw in a few fresh berries. Sometimes, to speed up fermentation, it is recommended to ventilate the wort, providing the fungi with oxygen at the initial stage.

Whale three: sugar levels

Wine made from a sweet source, such as wine made from jam, does not need additional sweetening. Only natural sugars contained in fruits and berries can be used. In ready-made recipes, it is difficult to indicate exactly all the parameters on which the sweetness of berries and fruits for wine depends: their degree of ripeness, variety, harvest time, time from harvest to the moment of use. Therefore, the expected sweetness of the wort does not always correspond to the real one, and yeast fungi, which require sugars to reproduce, may simply not have enough nutrition.

These are general points that should be understood before using any recipe. What to do if either berry wine does not ferment or has stopped fermenting - you need to look for the answer to this question yourself, including your own instincts. It’s not for nothing that many winemakers call making wine a creative endeavor, and even claim that they enjoy the process more than the result.

All possible difficult issues and ways to solve them are discussed below. But this does not mean that there is only one reason why your wine does not ferment; there may be several of them.

The process has not yet started

You should not think that installing a water seal automatically means the start of fermentation. The wine will begin to ferment in a few days. Three days before the start of the process is normal. The period depends not only on the type of yeast, but also on the amount of sugar, temperature and raw materials.
For example, jam wine, which is popular at home, often tests the patience of novice winemakers. To begin processing sugar, yeast needs to become accustomed to a new environment.
If bubbles indicating the start of fermentation have not appeared after 72 hours, then problems have indeed arisen in the wine preparation procedure. Sometimes, if the room is cool, it makes sense to wait longer - 5 days.

Wine does not ferment: reasons

Here we will look at all the possible reasons why wine does not ferment, and we will provide ways to solve each problem. Here you can find answers to the question why the wine stopped playing ahead of time and what to do to stimulate the process.

Temperature

The room is not warm enough (less than 18–25 ºC), perhaps the container is in a draft. In walk-through rooms there are often low drafts that are invisible to humans. At temperatures below +16 ºC, yeast fungi “fall asleep”; in heat (above 25 ºC) they die. Is it possible to save wine that has been left at the wrong temperature and has not started to play? Yes. Move the jar to a suitable place, add live yeast or starter.

Particular attention is paid to low temperatures, they can greatly slow down the process. Wine under a glove can ferment in a warm place for only a few weeks, in a cool place - up to several months. If you have come to the conclusion that the problem is the coolness, is it possible to move bottles of wine to a warmer place to speed up its preparation? Yes. Just make sure that the temperature in the new room is not too high.
There is a caveat when using a pure yeast culture. Such yeast is not added to the main container, but a starter is prepared for faster activation: 1 tbsp per glass of wort. l. sugar, add yeast to this nutrient medium, wait 40 minutes. The finished starter is introduced into the main wort. It is necessary to ensure that the temperature of the starter and wort in the main container is close. Even a slight difference of 5–7 °C is traumatic for fungi, and they die.

Sugar

There is little sugar in the wort. In this case, the yeast simply has nothing to feed on, they do not reproduce, alcohol is not produced, and the process does not proceed. Sugar should make up from 10 to 20% of the wort volume. To check whether the level of sugar content is sufficient, it is best to purchase a special device - a hydrometer (or saccharometer). It is inexpensive - about 300–400 rubles. However, if it is not there, all that remains is to use a very inconvenient subjective method - taste. If homemade wine does not ferment for this reason, you need to add sugar.
After adding sugar, the liquid is thoroughly mixed until dissolved. Even better: drain 1 liter of wort, dissolve the required amount of sugar in it, and pour the resulting syrup back into the main wort.

It would be optimal to initially calculate the amount of sugar per kg of raw materials as accurately as possible, and not blindly trust the recipe. There are special formulas.

If the wine stops fermenting after sweetening, then perhaps there is too much sugar, in which case it acts as a preservative. The wort should be diluted with warm filtered water.

It is advisable to adhere to the rule of gradually adding sugar. The total amount, calculated based on the type of raw material and the degree of sweetness of the finished drink (sweet, semi-sweet, dry), is divided into four doses. 2/3 - before fermentation begins. Divide 1/3 into three equal parts and add it to the wort after 4 days, a week and 10 days from the start of fermentation.

What to do with fermented homemade wine? Usually, by fermentation of the finished product, they mean a completely different fermentation - bite. Acetic acid bacteria break down wine alcohol into water and acetic acid. Within 3–5 days, the wine acquires an unpleasant sour taste. A sour drink can no longer be saved. This trouble can only be prevented. In industrial production, sulfidization (sulfur treatment) is used.

Yeast

Not enough yeast. This problem often arises when they try to make wine with “wild” yeast, that is, those that were on the surface of the berries. There might not have been enough of them initially, or they might have died (for example, in the heat). If the wine does not ferment well for this reason, then it is enough to buy wine yeast in specialized stores. It is also possible to add dark, unwashed raisins. It is possible to prepare sourdough, but it will take quite a lot of time. Or you should put the starter in advance: 200 g of raisins, 50 g of sugar, pour 2 glasses of warm water, cover with a gauze stopper, and keep in a warm, dark place for 3-4 days. The finished starter can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

A nuance for those who work with pure cultures of wine yeast. Before adding them, the wort is often sterilized with sulfites. And this is where patience is needed: you cannot add yeast immediately after processing; you need to wait a day for the sulfur to evaporate from the liquid. During this day, the container with the wort is covered only with gauze.

Oxygen and sealing

Little oxygen. Quite a common mistake for beginners. The fermentation process consists of two periods: the first is short and the second is long. At the first stage, air (oxygen) access is important; tightness is needed at the second stage. If there is too little oxygen during primary fermentation, the yeast becomes nutrient deficient and stops multiplying. That is, at first it is not needed, just cover the neck of the container with gauze folded in several layers. If the water seal is already on, simply remove it and replace it with gauze.

Lots of oxygen. This problem occurs during the second stage of fermentation. Here, on the contrary, tightness and only small access for the release of carbon dioxide are important. If the size of the holes is too large, too much oxygen will enter the wort, and this leads to oxidation of the product - it will be impossible to save the sour drink. It is best to use a medical glove as a water seal, which is placed on the neck of the vessel. To release carbon dioxide, it is enough to make a small puncture on one finger with a thin needle. This type of water seal is easy to control. The glove has deflated, which means the fermentation process has stopped. Either the puncture is too large and the glove needs to be replaced, or the joints should be checked, perhaps carbon dioxide is escaping in other ways.

A convenient way to control air access are single plastic or glass blockers with two flasks and a hose. A sulfite solution is poured into each blocker flask a little less than halfway, and the end of the hose is dipped into the wine. Carbon dioxide sequentially passes through the hose through the first flask (or chamber), then through the second. If the gas pressure has decreased and a vacuum has formed, the sulfide solution moves into the first chamber; it is urgent to add wine to the container.

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What to do with fermented jam? This is exactly how winemakers are often born: by chance a suitable source turned up, and now the beginner is working magic with gloves and studying the technology of preparing alcoholic beverages. And then he wonders why the wine from the jam does not ferment at a normal pace, ferments for a long time, or the process has stopped. Possible error in this case: the raw material may be too thick. In a jelly-like environment, it is difficult for fungi to reproduce. Those who make wine from pulp, that is, from skins and seeds, may face the same problem.

Solution: if the wine does not ferment for this reason, you should add clean, filtered, warm water. If the pulp was pressed (the juice was used for primary wine), then the amount of water should correspond to the amount of juice removed. Be sure to pay attention to whether there is enough yeast for the new quantity.

Mold

This is a common occurrence among those using wild yeast. The surface of the must becomes covered with a film, an odor appears, and the wine does not play. Mold is also mushrooms, but not the ones you need. They begin to multiply due to the entry of pathogens into the wort (there were rot particles on the berries) and favorable conditions for them (high temperature, 22–28 ºC, high humidity, above 85%, low alcohol, low acidity of the starting material). Alas, if it is severely infected, it is better to throw away the wort. Not only will the finished product in this case have an unpleasant taste, but such wine can cause poisoning.

If the solution is not yet heavily contaminated, it can still be allowed to ferment. Remove all moldy areas and then pour the concentrate into a fresh container. Make sure that the top layer does not get into the new dishes, so it is better to pour through a rubber tube. The wort is boiled at a temperature of 70–75 °C for several minutes, left to cool at room temperature, and then stabilized by adding fresh juice and sugar. If there is a lot of mold, removing its visible parts will not help; the drink is already contaminated.

To prevent mold from appearing, use prevention methods: thoroughly sterilize all elements in contact with the material, wash your hands, carefully select raw materials - remove berries even with barely noticeable dark spots. The berries are not washed, but it is not difficult to ensure the cleanliness of all objects in contact with them.

It is very risky, from the point of view of mold, to make wine from pulp. When floating, the pulp comes into contact with oxygen, which can lead to the development of unwanted fungi. Stir the wort so that the pulp sinks back. It was already said above that the wort should not be too thick. But it should not be too liquid either, this provokes frequent floating of “solid particles”. Too low acidity also contributes to the appearance of mold; you can add a little citric acid. And, of course, carefully monitor the level of oxygen access to the future drink.

The process started and then stopped abruptly

A situation where the wine has stopped fermenting can also occur. The process has started successfully, the wort is in the second stage of fermentation, and then the process suddenly stops. There are two reasons for this. The first is that homemade wine does not ferment because the liquid is contaminated with microorganisms that suppress the proliferation of yeast fungi. In addition to mold, there are a lot of other “creatures”: viruses, bacteria that cause diseases that are dangerous for homemade wine. In this case, there is little chance of saving the product.
The second reason why wine does not ferment is that there is already too much alcohol in the liquid. Fungi die if the alcohol content is more than 14%. If this is the case, the wine will begin to ferment after adding warm water, yeast and checking the temperature. If balance is reached, the process must continue.

Completion

If no hissing is heard, no bubbles are visible, the glove has fallen off, then the fermentation procedure may have already completed successfully and the wine is ready. Ready dates are as follows:

  • Wild yeast – 20–30 days. In ideal conditions (warm, plenty of nutrients) – 2 weeks.
  • Pure yeast cultures are able to process all the sugars from the wort - in 5 days or a week.

If berry wine stops fermenting after a week, what should you do? Taste it; perhaps the fermentation process was so successful that it has already been completed. The finished drink will not be sweet; it has a bitter-sour harmonious taste without pronounced sweetness. You can use a hydrometer. The specific gravity of the wine ready for the next stage is 998–1010 g/dm3. This drink is clarified and sent for quiet fermentation in cooler conditions.

If the wine at home stops fermenting after a week, but still remains syrupy and sweet, then the process has stopped ahead of schedule. Analyze the possible causes from the list above and take measures to stimulate fermentation. It is not recommended to drink unfermented wine.

Let's sum it up

A simple answer to the question of why wine does not ferment and what to do in general is impossible. It all depends on the stage at which the stop occurred and the specific conditions (temperature, recipe, type of yeast). To find the exact cause, analyze all the parameters that could affect the behavior of the yeast. In general, a winemaker's flair is not so much a natural talent as it is experience.

Attention, TODAY only!

The technology for making homemade wine has many subtleties and features, failure to comply with which leads to various difficulties. Only exact fulfillment of all requirements and strict adherence to the recipe makes it possible to obtain a high-quality drink. One of the possible problems associated with a violation of technology is a condition in which the wine does not ferment well. This situation can adversely affect the final organoleptic properties of alcohol.

Violation of the fermentation process

The situation when wine stops fermenting is by no means uncommon. In most cases, it occurs due to improper adherence to the recipe or violation of the sequence of actions described in it. Lack of fermentation, violation of its intensity and premature stop entail serious consequences and can lead to the loss of the entire batch of wine.

Fermentation is caused by the action of yeast fungi or yeast, which convert sugar into alcohol, and also provide the familiar taste and aroma. Its violation is fraught with a wide variety of consequences, ranging from changes in the taste characteristics of the wine to spoilage of the wort.

In this situation, a completely reasonable question arises: what to do next and how to save the wort. It can be answered only by understanding the reasons that served as the impetus for the disruption of the fermentation process. Today, several factors are known that influence the fact that wine stops fermenting ahead of time. These include:

  • insufficient sealing of the fermentation tank;
  • inaccurate adherence to temperature conditions;
  • too high or low sugar content in the wort;
  • low-quality yeast;
  • mold has appeared.

The factors listed above affect the characteristics of the must and may cause the wine to stop fermenting a week after the start of the process. At the same time, some of the situations considered can be neutralized and the drink can be saved. Others are irreversible and lead to damage to the wine.

How to fix the situation

Fermentation cannot occur instantly. The yeast fungus that covers the skin of berries or fruits needs time to multiply and increase in number. At the same time, the use of special wine yeast speeds up this process. However, depending on actual conditions, it can begin within a few hours or after 2–3 days. In most cases, this situation does not pose a danger to the wine. The winemaker just needs to be patient and wait 3-4 days, during which fermentation most often begins.

Violation of the tightness of the fermentation tank is another reason why wine finishes fermenting early. Air entering the container can cause the wine to sour and turn into vinegar, which cannot be corrected. To avoid such problems, it is necessary to carefully check the tightness of all connections, and if cracks are detected, correct them in a timely manner.

Violation of the temperature regime is one of the most common problems that can cause wine to ferment poorly. Wine yeast activity is at its peak at temperatures between 10 and 30 degrees Celsius. Lower temperatures lead to the preservation of the fungus, and exceeding them is fraught with its death. The optimal conditions for fermentation in winemaking are recognized to be a temperature of 15–25 degrees Celsius, at which the process of processing sugar into ethyl alcohol reaches the best parameters. In this case, the temperature should be constant and not fluctuate throughout the entire fermentation period.

The optimal sugar content of the wort should be in the range of 10–20%. Deviation from such indicators also leads to fermentation problems. Reduced sugar content can lead to its stoppage, which occurs as a result of the lack of food for the yeast. The increased sweetness of the wort leads to the fact that sugar becomes a kind of preservative that neutralizes the effect of yeast.

Poor quality yeast can also cause homemade wine to stop fermenting properly. Homemade starters or special wine yeast, which can be purchased ready-made, will help to avoid such a development of events and resume fermentation. In this case, the starter can be prepared at home yourself from unwashed raisins, which contain a large amount of wild yeast.

The appearance of mold is one of those cases when homemade wine can no longer be saved. Determining its presence is quite simple, since it has a characteristic appearance and emits a specific odor. The development of mold occurs due to the use of unwashed containers, equipment or the hands of the winemaker. It is impossible to get rid of it. The only thing left to do is pour out the entire batch of wine. In order to avoid such an outcome, immediately before creating an alcoholic drink, all containers and related devices must be thoroughly washed and doused with boiling water.

Conclusion

It’s quite simple to answer the question of why the wine stopped fermenting, but normalizing the situation sometimes turns out to be quite difficult. Therefore, it is better to try to prevent such developments and fully comply with the technology for preparing the drink, as well as control the fermentation process of the wort. This is the only way to guarantee the preparation of high-quality and tasty homemade wine.

Among professional winemakers and experienced amateurs, this method of removing carbon dioxide and limiting the flow of oxygen is considered primitive, but beginners like it because of its ease of implementation. A rubber medical glove instead of a water seal works no worse than other methods and is suitable not only for wine, but also for any mash, therefore it has a right to exist, especially for small batches of wort.

Theory. During fermentation, yeast converts sugar or fructose into carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol. To prevent excess pressure in the container, which could lead to an explosion, carbon dioxide must be vented outside. However, prolonged contact of wine with oxygen and the environment should not be allowed, otherwise infection with third-party microorganisms (for example, mold) will occur or the finished wine will turn sour - when air is exposed, bacteria are activated, which convert alcohol into acid.

At the same time, a special device - a water seal - allows you to remove carbon dioxide and prevent air from getting inside. There are different designs of water seals, both factory-made and home-made, but at home, along with the classic one (a tube from a fermentation tank lowered into a jar of water), an ordinary medical glove is used.

Benefits of placing a glove on a wine jar:

  • accessibility and simplicity - gloves are sold in any pharmacy, and even women can build the structure; there is no need to solder, drill or glue anything;
  • reliability - the glove works no worse than other water seals;
  • when installed correctly, it is an indicator of fermentation - the glove is inflated, which means the wine is actively fermenting; if it drops, the process is over or something is wrong.

Flaws:

  • low reliability - the glove often falls off and breaks, especially in large containers;
  • not suitable for narrow neck bottles - it is very difficult to attach a glove to a narrow neck;
  • unpleasant odor - since carbon dioxide is not released into the water, but into the environment, with poor ventilation in the room there may be a specific smell of fermentation.

How to install a glove on wine

1. Prepare a clean medical glove: check for the absence of a “rubber” or “medicinal” odor and the integrity of the material.

Attention! Only a medical glove is suitable; household gloves usually smell unpleasantly like rubber, this smell is transferred to the wine and cannot be eliminated.

2. Using a thin sewing needle or a syringe needle, make 1-5 punctures in the outer phalanges of the gloves. The number of holes depends on the volume of the wort: 1-2 liters - 1 puncture, 3-25 liters - 1-2 punctures, more than 25 liters - 3-5 holes.

3. Put a glove on the neck of the fermentation container. To ensure secure fastening, tie the neck of the glove with an elastic band, thick thread, or wrap it with wide tape (optimal for sealing). Transfer the wine to conditions suitable for fermentation.


The main thing is to securely fasten the glove to the neck and not completely fill the container, leaving room for foam

4. 4-12 hours after installation, the glove should at least slightly inflate, this means that fermentation is proceeding normally and the structure is airtight.

The reasons why the wine glove does not inflate are described in a separate material.

5. At least once a day, check that the glove has not torn or fallen off. If necessary, replace or reattach the old one.

6. When the glove is deflated (fermentation is over), remove the wine from the sediment.

An inflated glove means the wine is fermenting; a lowered glove means the process is over.

Questions and problem solving

Do I need to pierce a hole in the glove?

Depends on the volume of the container. In a liter of fermenting wort, little carbon dioxide will be released, but in 3 or more liters – quite a lot. Securely attaching a glove to a container larger than 20-25 liters is problematic.

If the wort is less than 2 liters, you can not pierce a hole or limit yourself to one puncture. With a volume of 3-25 liters, at least 1-2 punctures are required, otherwise the glove will fly off or burst. If the wort is more than 25 liters, make 3-5 punctures and check the integrity of the glove at least once a day.

Will air get in through the holes?

During fermentation, the pressure inside the container is higher than atmospheric pressure, as a result, carbon dioxide pushes air from the inside, preventing contact with the wort. After fermentation is complete, the glove material will almost completely close the hole (if the puncture is made with a needle). The amount of oxygen penetrated will be minimal and will not affect the wine in any way.

What to do if the glove is too inflated

Remove the glove (fermentation is active, so even being open for a couple of minutes, the wine will not be damaged), make several punctures and place it back on the container, sealing the connection.

A heavily inflated glove needs additional holes, but before puncturing the glove itself must be removed, otherwise it will burst

Why did the glove get pulled in?

This situation occurs due to the difference in pressure inside the container and the surrounding environment. Possible causes of pressure drop:

  • the design is not airtight and too much air gets inside - it is more secure to fasten the glove;
  • sudden changes in temperature, for example, day and night - move the container to a room with a stable temperature;
  • wine does not ferment - find and eliminate the problem that interferes with fermentation;
  • wine diseases - a retracted glove may indicate the activation of mold or other pathogenic microorganisms; treatment of the must is required;
  • fermentation is over - you need to drain the wine from the sediment.

A glove drawn in almost always indicates problems with the wine; you must not hesitate!

What to do if the wine glove bursts or falls off

Replace with a new one. This usually happens during active fermentation due to excess pressure, so if the wine has been open (without gloves) for less than a day, it’s okay, since the released carbon dioxide will prevent oxygen from contacting the wort, just follow the recipe.

This is why it is so important to periodically monitor the integrity of the glove.

Winemakers sometimes encounter a significant problem that threatens the process of making homemade wine - the cessation of fermentation of the wort. It would seem that all the ingredients are laid in accordance with the recipe, and the raw materials are of excellent quality, but why doesn’t homemade wine ferment? , I can't understand. This problem has several causes, most of which can be eliminated before they even appear.

What does wine fermentation depend on?

Regardless of the technology for making wine at home, let the wine ferment , yeast fungi respond. They process artificial or natural sugar, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide as a result. Natural sugars are found in grapes and fruits - glucose, fructose, sucrose. Their number directly depends

  • from the ripeness of fruits, berries and grapes;
  • on the variety of fruits and grapes;
  • from the time of harvest;
  • from the time elapsed between the collection and placement of raw materials into the wort.

If there is little natural sugar in the wine material , It is very difficult to calculate the correct amount of granulated sugar to add to a recipe. In this case, the low sugar content of the wort will become an obstacle to fungal activity, and fermentation will slow down or stop.

Problems and solutions

The quality depends on the accuracy of adherence to the technology of preparing wine at home. the resulting drink. Here are the main mistakes made by novice winemakers and options for eliminating them:

  • not sealed. If oxygen from the air gets into the container with the wort, oxidative processes start and acetic souring of the wine occurs. It is almost impossible to correct this mistake; all that remains is to take it into account and not repeat it in the future. The resulting wine vinegar is used in the household.

You can check the tightness by the absence of carbon dioxide bubbles that do not appear in the seal water or by the fact that the glove on the bottle with wort does not inflate. Why won't the glove lift up? There is no tightness at the junction with the container.

What to do? Seal the joints at the junction of the shutter tube with the lid, secure the glove more tightly to the can. This can be done with raw dough or other natural material.

  • The wort temperature is too low or too high. One of the main reasons why homemade wine does not ferment. The activity of wine yeast appears at temperatures from +10º to +30ºС. Low temperatures render yeast inactive; high temperatures kill them. Temperature fluctuations during the day negatively affect the activity of wine yeast.

The optimal temperature range for wort fermentation is +16+24ºС, without sudden changes.

What to do? Check the temperature, move the container with the wort to another place when

necessary. If the wort reaches a temperature of +30ºС even for a short time, you need to add starter and wine yeast to it.

  • The concentration of natural yeast is not enough for active fermentation. Strains of “wild” yeast from the surface of grapes, fruits and berries may cease to function, or there are not enough of them to activate fermentation in the must.

What to do? You need to add homemade starter, unwashed raisins (50-100 g per 15 l), and a handful of crushed unwashed grapes to the wort.

  • Increased or decreased sugar content in the wort. For active fermentation, the sugar concentration in homemade wine needs to be about 15 - 20%. If there is not enough sugar, there is no food for the yeast; if there is too much sugar, it prevents their work.

Check the sugar content by taste or with a hydrometer. The taste of the wort should not be cloying or sour, but moderately sweet.

What to do? If there is a lot of sugar, you need to dilute it (up to 15% of the volume) with water or a portion
wine material to which no sugar has been added, or sour juice. If there is a shortage of sugar, add about 50-100 g per liter of wort.

  • The fermentation is over. How long should homemade wine ferment? Until the alcohol concentration in it reaches 10-14%, approximately 35-45 days. The only way to raise the temperature is by adding alcohol. Regardless of how long the wine should ferment, signs of the end of fermentation will be its lightening, the appearance of sediment (tartar), and the cessation of gas evolution.

Stopping fermentation

  • The wine ferments too long;
  • It is necessary to maintain the achieved strength of the drink;
  • It is necessary to preserve the currently existing sugar content of the wine.

Experienced winemakers have several methods at their disposal that are suitable for all types of homemade wines.

  • How to stop fermentation by fixing with alcohol - the wine is drained from the sediment and grape distillate is added to it to 16⁰ alcohol concentration, or 10-15% of the volume of the wine being fixed.
  • How to stop fermentation by cooling - containers with wine are placed in a room with a temperature below +10⁰С. In this case, the yeast fungi go into a state of suspended animation, precipitating. After 4-5 days, the cooled wine is removed from the sediment and stored at temperatures up to +16⁰С.
  • How to stop fermentation by heating - the wine is pasteurized for about 15-20 minutes at a temperature of +55+70⁰С, cooled to +10+12⁰С, and sealed. When cooling, you need to limit the access of air to the wine, which is not easy to do at home.

If the wine does not ferment, you need to check the temperature of the room in which it is located, the sugar concentration, and add active yeast. Stopping fermentation can be done by heating or cooling the wine, as well as by fortifying it with grape distillate.

A rich harvest of grapes, berries and fruits is a reason not only to stock up on jams and compotes for the winter, but also to try yourself as a winemaker. Which is what many people use. But not everything is so simple; often beginners find themselves in situations where something goes wrong. And then questions arise like: “The wine is not fermenting, what should I do?” Indeed, creating wine is a creative process that requires special attention to detail. Therefore, for a person who has recently decided to join the great art of winemaking, finding out why homemade wine does not ferment is not only not shameful, but also extremely necessary. Well, we will try to help with this.

What is fermentation?

As experienced winemakers say: “If the art of production is sometimes on the verge of mysticism, then the magic of obtaining excellent wine is often beyond this border.” We, of course, will not insist that mysticism has anything to do with the fact that wine does not ferment. What to do in such cases will become obvious if we consider in detail the fermentation process itself. It is known that fermentation is the process of breaking down the sugar contained in grape juice into carbon dioxide and alcohol under the influence of enzymes produced by a culture of wine yeast. And yeast requires certain conditions for its normal functioning. If they are not met, the wine will not ferment. What should be done in this case? Of course, create a favorable environment for yeast.

Types of Fermentation

Note that professionals, as well as experienced winemakers, distinguish two stages of fermentation. Violent fermentation - before removal from the sediment, and quiet fermentation or “fermentation”. In this case, we will be interested in the stage of vigorous fermentation. Because before the pulp is separated, there is no wine as such yet - there is wort, and after removal from the sediment the situation is no longer so critical. Thus, we have clarified during what period it is dangerous for a situation to arise when the wine does not ferment. What to do in such cases?

Fermentation conditions

In order to clearly understand what stage of production we are talking about, we will briefly outline the part of the technological process that interests us. So, after fermentation and separation of the pulp, a cloudy liquid is obtained, which is fermented juice and is the prototype of the future wine. This liquid can be transformed into wine of one quality or another only if the necessary conditions are met and if the winemaker acts correctly.

The physical conditions necessary for fermentation are, first of all, the temperature of the environment. The most favorable temperature is 15-20 ºС. At temperatures above 25 ºС there is a high probability of ruining the wine (the process will go too quickly and it will become impossible to control it), at 10 ºС fermentation will stop. Physical conditions should also include the size of the container in which fermentation occurs and the possibility of oxygen access. Important biological conditions are: the purity of the yeast culture, its concentration, as well as the saturation of the nutrient medium. If wild yeast is used, especially at low temperatures, fermentation can slow down significantly. If the sugar content is low, it may stop altogether. Too high a sugar content also threatens to stop fermentation.

Your actions that will lead to the resumption of fermentation

If the wine does not ferment, what should you do first? First, make sure that the temperature in the room has not dropped below critical (sometimes it is enough to increase it just a few degrees). The most accurate way to check the sugar content using a hydrometer (household wine meter) is in grape juice. If there is not enough sugar, you need to take part of the juice, add part of the required amount of sugar to it and dissolve it, heating to 50-60 ºС. After the juice has cooled to room temperature, pour it into the fermentation container. Then you should “restart” the wine with a new yeast starter. It is hardly worth reminding that the result may be more convincing if a pure culture of wine yeast is used. Usually 2-3% of the starter (depending on the amount of juice) is enough, it depends on the strength of the wine you want to get.