Confused by Elderflower 'Champagne'

[Rogermort]

So here's the thing. Knocked up 25 litres of Elderflower 'Champagne' on Wednesday evening. 40 heads, 4 kilos of sugar, eight lemons (zest and juice) and a sachet of Crossmyloof sparkling wine yeast.
Once all mixed in the fermenter the hydrometer read 1.058.
Two days later there have been no visible signs of partying in the airlock but the hydrometer now reads 1.068?

Tastes incredible but if the process is the same as beer that's a current ABV of -1.3%

What's going on?

 

[Clint]

Not blinking much! Perhaps it needs a bit longer....I've used loads of CML yeasts..beer and cider and they've all worked well...not used the wine..but I've got one they sent me free!

 

[Ebob01]

Could try adding yeast nutrient.

I would add more yeast, just sprinkle on top, then leave the lid off the fermenter for the first 2-3 days, cover with a clean towel and after the first 24 hours stir twice a day before adding the airlock.

 

[kelper]

Did you boil, or use hot water? If the SG rose, it suggests the sugar was not all dissolved initially.

 

[Rogermort]

Dissolved the sugar in boiling water then added water to take the temp down/increase the volume.
After six days fermentation appears to be happening albeit slowly. Last Wednesday it was 1.058, Friday it was 1.068, Sunday it was 1.046 now 1.042.

 

[prog99]

What temperature was it at when you took the 1.058 reading?

 

[Rogermort]

Schoolboy error!!! I don’t know, but it would almost certainly have been higher than it was two days later. I always adjust for temperature when I’m brewing. No idea why I didn’t for plonk!
Doh.

 

[Tony Palmer]

Hi,
25Litres with 4000g sugar gives a calculated initial gravity around 1061as a rough guide.

 

[Rogermort]

Well, it's heading in the right direction, albeit slowly. Now down to 1.038. Panic over. I think I was looking for something a bit more vigorous.

 

[QED]

So here's the thing. Knocked up 25 litres of Elderflower 'Champagne'...
Tastes incredible....

On a side note, just totally agree about Elderflour Champagne. Made some last year and it was fantastic. Used Hugh Fearnley's River Cottage recipe. Totally making some this year again!

 

[Rogermort]

Just thought I'd report back on the Elderflower Champagne. After three weeks it had fermented down to 0.998 from 1.068 (regular readers will know my OG went up a day after going into the fermenter because I didn't originally take temperature into account!!) which gave me an ABV of 9.3%.

The moral of the story is I should just have been a bit patient. It ain't like fermenting beer! :)

 

[kelper]

For all my fruit juice wines I now warm them up to 25C before adding the yeast. My all-red-grape-juice WOW is dropping fifteen points a day!
Since the juice was in the fridge it was too cold and the yeast never really got going.