# filling wine bottles



## Neviawen (Mar 11, 2012)

Hi, Quick question about how much wine vs air goes into the bottles when bottling. 
I just bottled up 6 gallons of Pinot Noir last night. I read somewhere to leave 2 fingers worth of air between the cork and the wine level. I filled all the bottles best I could to get them even and at this level. There were 2 bottles however that I think I overfilled a tad and when I put the cork in a few drops splashed out the top. The cork is up against the wine in the bottle and a bit came up the top. There is no air in there. 
Do I have to take the cork out, remove a little wine and re-cork or is it ok to store it w/ no air inside? Could this pose a sanitation problem later on down the line when it's aging? Any ideas?
Thanks so much,
Katie


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## jeepingchick (Mar 11, 2012)

i just cheat. I put my filling rod in and fill till liquid is at top of bottle, when i take rod out the space left is what i have. Always has worked well for me


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## Neviawen (Mar 11, 2012)

I was using a siphon hose attached to a siphon plunger thing (I forget the name of it but it's basically a tube w/ a plunger in it that starts the siphoning suction for you). 
How does a filling rod work? I might have to get something like that for the next batch.


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## Rocky (Mar 11, 2012)

The filling rods have a spring loaded valve at the tip. When you plunge it into the bottle the valve opens and allows wine to flow. As Jeepingchick says, she fills until the wine is at the top of the bottle and then removes the rod. The level goes down by the volume of wine displaced by the rod. I use mainly Bordeaux bottles and try to fill to the shoulder or slightly above. I also use 1.75" #9 corks. On Burgundy or Hoch bottles (which I rarely use) I fill so there is just under an inch between the wine level and the cork.


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## Gekko4321 (Apr 21, 2012)

I measure 25 millimeters/2.125 inches down for 1.75 inch corks. One hand holds wand and other ruler as u finish. Leaves 1/4 inch air gap with cork in bottle 1/8.


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## Runningwolf (Apr 21, 2012)

To answer your first question, Yes open those two bottles back up and remove a bit of wine. Your corks are wet now making them easier to pop out. Like Rocky said about a 3/8 inch above the shoulder is perfect.


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