Saving an over sweet parsnip wine.... Helllllllp!

[Cuke]

Having successfully made a kit wine I had my first go at a proper country wine from scratch back in February. I made up three gallons of parsnip wine simply because I was overrun with the things from my allotment. It all looked like it went fine, it fermented for a while (can't remember how long) then I moved it into a secondary FV to get it off the dead yeast where it bubbled a bit more before stopping and slowly clearing.

A couple of weeks ago I racked it into a single large demi-john where I was planning on letting it sit till nearer the end of the year before bottling it. The problem is I risked a quick taste and it's horribly sweet, we're talking desert wine sweet here, you wouldn't want a whole glass at a time kind of thing. The OG reading was 1108, and while I admit I've not taken another reading since it stopped fermenting it's clearly not fermented down to anywhere near low enough. I'd imagine it was because the cold weather during Feb/March killed the yeast as the FV was left in a spare bedroom with no over night heating meaning the temp probably dropped below the recommended levels every night.

So, my question is, is there anything I can do to salvage it?

The only thing I can think of is racking off a gallon into a 'test' demi-john, pitching some wine yeast and nutrient in, letting it ferment away and see what happens. Then doing the same to the rest if it works... In my innocent newbie brain this sounds plausible as surely it'll just carry on where the original yeast left off just a few months later...

Otherwise I'm thinking I may be screwed, unless the rhubarb wine I have on the go at the moment ends up ultra dry and I can mix the two to create a weird country wine mashup... lol

Thanks for any advice...
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Fermenting: Apple Wine, Rhubarb Wine.
Conditioning: Woodfordes Admirals Reserve, Parsnip Wine
Drinking: Woodfordes Wherry

[CyberPaddy66]

Your plan sounds very good to me but before you go any further get an SG reading posted so we know what's going on, also use the ABV calculator on the right to see just how strong it is.

If it's above 12% you may need to get a 'high alcohol' yeast for it or keep it as a desert wine and mix it with an uber dry white to bring it back into line.
_________________
Drinking: Rum and Coke.
Maturing: Prohibition Rum, London Bitter (AG), Elderflower Wine.
Brewing: Nadda!
Planning: GobHoblin (AG) plus Geordie Mild w/Honey and Head Cracker.
Dumping: Are you mad?

[Cuke]

Thanks for the reply!

Ok, well FG is approx 1038 at the moment, sothats about 9.5% at the moment... How does that sound? Any recomendations on what yeast to try pitching?


_________________
Fermenting: Apple Wine, Rhubarb Wine.
Conditioning: Woodfordes Admirals Reserve, Parsnip Wine
Drinking: Woodfordes Wherry

[CyberPaddy66]

A standard wine yeast should manage anything up to 13% but you need to try and get another 5% out of your brew so any high alcohol yeast will do the job.

http://www.the-online-homebrew-company.co.uk/shop/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=50_88&products_id=1275

That should do the trick
_________________
Drinking: Rum and Coke.
Maturing: Prohibition Rum, London Bitter (AG), Elderflower Wine.
Brewing: Nadda!
Planning: GobHoblin (AG) plus Geordie Mild w/Honey and Head Cracker.
Dumping: Are you mad?

[Cuke]

Thats great, thank you so much!

Would you still advise me to do a 'test' demi-john first or just do the whole lot right away?
_________________
Fermenting: Apple Wine, Rhubarb Wine.
Conditioning: Woodfordes Admirals Reserve, Parsnip Wine
Drinking: Woodfordes Wherry

[CyberPaddy66]

at that high an SG I'd go ahead and do the lot but if you want a nice dessert wine then bottle a few before to carry on.
_________________
Drinking: Rum and Coke.
Maturing: Prohibition Rum, London Bitter (AG), Elderflower Wine.
Brewing: Nadda!
Planning: GobHoblin (AG) plus Geordie Mild w/Honey and Head Cracker.
Dumping: Are you mad?