What to do if my wine is not fermenting?

Troubleshooting Wine With No Fermentation After 72 Hours:

  1. Move the wine to a warmer area to see if the yeast doesn’t kick in. Give it 24 hours before you move on to the next step.
  2. Create a yeast starter.
  3. If all else fails you can do what we refer to as a reverse starter.

Why is my must not fermenting?

To put it simply: yeast eats sugar and turns it into alcohol. Lack of sugar stops the fermentation. This problem can be solved by checking the sugar level with a saccharometer and replenishing it if necessary. Wrong temperature – check the temperature at the place where your fermentation mixture stands.

What causes wine to stop fermentation?

The most basic way to halt fermentation is with sulfite additions and cooling the wine down near freezing temperatures (which for a 13% ABV wine is approximately 22 °F/-6 °C) for an extended time. There is a lot of misinformation available that simply instructs to add sulfite in order to stop fermentation.

Why is my home brew wine not bubbling?

If the airlock is not bubbling, it may be due to a poor seal between the lid and the bucket or leaks around the grommet. Fermentation may be taking place but the CO2 is not coming out through the airlock. This can also be caused by adding too much water to the airlock.

What causes slow fermentation?

Slow initiation of fermentation, rate becoming normal (in red below): Slow fermentation initiation generally reflects either the presence of a toxin, high viscosity, specific fermentation conditions (such as low juice temperature) or a deficient population of healthy starting yeast.

How do you increase fermentation in wine?

Warm wine ferments faster. This is a pretty obvious driver of fermentation activity. As you know heat is a catalyst and when applied to a fermentation the yeast will ferment must more quickly. Cool the wine down and the rate of fermentation will also slow down.

Should you stir during fermentation?

Once you add the yeast you will want to stir the fermenting wine must around as much as you can. The goal is to not allow any of the pulp to become too dry during the fermentation. Stirring it around once or twice a day should be sufficient. In a winery they call this punching the cap.

How do you speed up fermentation?

The initial fermentation temperature can be increased, as can the temperature of the active fermentation. Breweries can also speed up fermentations by blending actively fermenting beer with fresh, aerated wort (a form of kräusening; see kräusening).

Should I shake my wine while it’s fermenting?