Home made wine; help?!

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you let it sit until your airlock has stopped bubbling... otherwise there is still yeast alive eating the sugars.

The length of time it will take to go through the fermentation stage largely depends on the type of wine you are going to be making. It you're recipe doesn't state anything, then this will just be general terms to go by. The primary fermentation will generally take about 5-7 days after the yeast is added. When the bubbling stops and the foaming occurs, you'll be about ready. Rack the wine and then it will enter the secondary fermentation. This part can take anywhere from 1-2 weeks, or perhaps a little longer, depending how much sugars and nutrients are still available. You'll then let it sit and rack it for about 2-4 more weeks, or until it is clear of any remaining sediment. Then you'll bottle your creation, let it age for anywhere from 1 month to several months. Again, if the recipe doesn't say, look up similar recipes to help you gage this part. You can try a bottle at different times to figure out when it tastes how you want it.

Remember these are just ballpark numbers, because I don't know what type of wine you are brewing. But, hopefully this helps give you an idea about what to expect!


Here's a few more articles that go into more depth about the fermentation process that can help you judge when it's ready to rack, bottle, etc:
http://www.homebrewit.com/blog/2010/10/1…
http://www.homebrewit.com/blog/2010/08/3…

Let ir have two weeks in the primary, then at least two in the secondary fermenter. If the wine still needs clearing, you might rack to a tertiary. Once you bottle,let the wine go for a month and sample it. That will give you an idea of how long to let the bottles go before you sample again. Generally, whites are ready to drink before reds are.

FOR 6 MONTHS