Hi all!
Everything I have read has stated that to know that fermentation has completed, you want a hydrometer reading of 0.998 S.G. or lower. For my second batch (wine kit/fruit wine) I racked at 0.999.
This decision was made mostly out of convenience, based on the time I had available to rack/degas/add stabilizing and finishing agents etc. (Admittedly, there was a tad of impatience that influenced the decision not to wait a bit longer... but the timing was such that it would have been another week or so, and, I decided to just "go for it" and see how it turned out).
It looks like everything worked out; the wine is on day 12 in a glass carboy for clearing and has settled and cleared beautifully from the looks of it (no airlock activity either).
So my question really is, how firm is that 0.998 S.G. level as an indication of fermentation activity being complete? Aren't there some wine varieties that call for racking/stabilizing at higher S.G. readings?
(I do not intend to make a habit of this - I know that good winemaking requires patience and attention to detail. Just trying to learn a bit more context around interpretation of S.G. readings).
Thank you for any insights you can share!
Holly