TOP 10 REASONS

FOR FERMENTATION FAILURE

Reason #8

Too Much Alcohol Already In The Wine:

One thing that must be understood when making wine is that
alcohol is a preservative. By definition, a preservative is
something that helps a perishable to remain in its current
state--to not change, but remain as is. How this translates to
wine making is that the alcohol itself can be the reason a must
is no longer fermenting.

Musts that are just beginning fermentation and are still at lower
levels of alcohol concentration, say 5 percent, do not experience
much problem hosting a fermentation. But, as a must's alcohol
level rises, one will usually begin to notice a slowing of the
fermentation activity. This slowing is primarily due to the
increased preserving effects the rising alcohol is having on the
must.

And, as the alcohol level continues to rise throughout the latter
part of the fermentation, 10-12-14 percent, the fermentation
becomes slower and slower until it simply can no longer overcome
the increasing effects of the alcohol.

To put an analogy to this, if you have ever seen a tractor pull,
you can think of a fermentation as a single pull. It takes off
with little hesitation, but as it grinds on further and further
and the resistance from the weighted trailer becomes greater and
greater, there comes a point when the yeast can't pull any more
and it simply has to shut down.

And, it will shut down regardless of how much sugar may be left
in the must. So, it is possible for a must to have more sugar
than the yeast can turn into alcohol, resulting in a wine with
significant alcohol but way too much sugar to be drinkable.

Using a hydrometer is the key to knowing how much sugar can be
safely added to a wine recipe. By using a hydrometer you can add
the correct amount of sugar to a recipe to shoot for a specific
alcohol level that is reasonable and achievable.

Expect wine yeasts to produce up to 12-13 percent alcohol with
minimal effort, this is assuming that all other environmental
conditions for the yeast are optimal, such as: temperature,
nutrients, and so on. Anything beyond 13 percent, you're on your
own.

If you want to experiment with producing higher alcohol wines
beyond 13 percent, you will want to carefully read the article,
"Making High Alcohol Wines" listed below.

Related Articles:

-- To read more about producing wines with higher alcohol, see
the following article listed on our web site:

"Making High Alcohol Wines"


-- To learn more about how to use a hydrometer to control alcohol
levels in your wines, see the following articles on our web site:

"Getting To Know Your Hydrometer"

"Hydrometer Scales And What They Mean"

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Home Wine & Beer Making Supplies

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