Help with damson wine fermentation

[NWC]

Hi All,
I have made some damson wine as in this thread viewtopic.php?t=15949
but unfortunately fermentation has slowed to a near standstill (I bubble per 40/50 seconds) at about 1062 gravity.
This started off at a very high OG - prob about 1150/1160 (off the scale), so it has an OK alcohol content, however I'm worried that it will be probably too sweet to drink.
I have tried shaking it, and that doesn't help.
I used the bordeaux yeast - is this why it has stopped at about 13%?
Could I try and restart the yeast with some Youngs yeast restarter or should I chuck in some high alcohol yeast? or should I remove to new demi-john and pitch more yeast correctly?

It took a bit of work, so I don't really want to lose this potion!!!

[ciderviser]

hello there,your wine had too much suger in at the start and now the yeast is weak from the alcohol produced to carry on ferment. next time only ever add enough suger to get it going say og1050, then add more suger in 2 oz doses using your hydrometer each time the gravity falls to 1000. .this way you never end up with oversweet wine but can add suger at the end for personel taste.as for this gallon try making another gallon exactly the same way except dont add any suger but instead mix the new dry wine with the stuck wine a bit at a time and hope it gets both working. hope this is usefull .

[NWC]

Thanks cidervisor - I did follow a receipe (believe it or not), although that recipe called for fresh bakers yeast and I just cheated with the wine yeast!!

[Aleman]

You could try adding one of the turbo yeasts . . . IIRC there is one that now ferments up to 27%. These things are supposed to be used with a sugar solution to produce a plain unflavoured base to be used with the liqueur flavoring kits.

What I'd do, is to start off a pint consisting of 1/3 pint of your wine and 2/3rds pint water, add the turbo yeast and when fermenting add another pint of your damson wine . . . when its fermenting well add 2 more pints of your wine . . . repeat with 4 pints when that's fermenting . . . Hopefully everything should restart.

[NWC]

Hi Aleman, thanks for the suggestion.
Would this "Turbo" yeast be like the Youngs sweet wine/hi alcohol yeast?

Thanks

[lockwood1956]

I think you likely have around 13 - 14% alcohol in there allready, and more alcohol will not enhance this wine.

I would recommend making another wine, fermented to dry, and blend the two.

make a gallon of wine using :

1 litre supermarket red grape juice
1 litre supermarket pomegranite juice
1 tsp tartaric (or citric) acid
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 tsp pectolase
sugar to 1.080
water to 1 gallon


blend with the damson 1 to 1 and you should end up with a nice medium wine.

[NWC]

Thank you all v much for your help and advice.
I think I will leave it a few more weeks - it is still fermemnting VERY slowley - its down to 1052 now!!
The damsons were from my father-in-law's new house, so wanted to make him something relative to his new house for Christmas. We'll see what happens in a few weeks.

On a positive note - the damson gin I made is blinking gorgeous

[NWC]

Well - I got bored of watching it do nothing so I battled it and had a sneaky taste.
Its not as bad as I thought it was going to be. It is very sweet, but also qite fruity and strong - so it feels a bit like a douce sherry or a Malmsy mediera. You can get a good taste of the damsons, and it will make a nice winter warmer.
Al in all - not a complete waste, but I don't think I will use that recipe again.