# had my first bottle pop



## dralarms (Aug 9, 2012)

Bottled mixed berry on 3/6/12. Moved a few boxes around to gain access to it and just moved my head and bam. Put a t cork in and shot it out. Put a used synthetic cork in and it stayed. Turned the bottle over to see what was happening on the bottom and the synthetic
Cork leaks.

What I don't understand is I've opened 18 is of these and this is the first popper. 

Could the neck of the bottle be larger than the others? It is an odd bottle.


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## Wade E (Aug 9, 2012)

Most likely thats the problem. There are some imported bottles that are both larger and smaller then a normal cork is. Also, with the synthetic corks, sometimes depending on the brand the Port floor corker can put a crease in the sides of syn. corks due to not enough strength in the nylon iris.


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## rob (Aug 9, 2012)

I might be a bit of an expert on this, haha ...it truly looks like they are starting to referment in the bottle. Try opening another and see if the cork pops out like champagne, also do you have sediments in the bottom of the bottle


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## dralarms (Aug 9, 2012)

There is sediment, of course I've opened abut 18 to 20 of these already. They do pop but no more than the commercial wine I got from a local winery.


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## keena (Aug 10, 2012)

Was it clear b4 bottling? If so then hold it up to the light and see if its still clear, if you see floating stuff then you are going into a fermentation again.


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## dralarms (Aug 10, 2012)

Nothing floating but sediment on bottom. I rebottled in a known good bottle and it seems fine.


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## Julie (Aug 10, 2012)

I am agreeing with Rob, I think you have re-refermentation. Do you know what your sg was when you bottled? Take a reading now and see if it has changed.


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## joeswine (Aug 10, 2012)

*Pop goes the cork*

ALWAYS A SIGN OF EXCESS PRESSURE IN THE BOTTLE,IF A CORK LEAKS ,NOT A GOOD FIT FROM CORK TO BOTTLE,,THESE THINKS DO HAPPEN ALONG THE WAY,THEY CERTAINLY DO


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## dralarms (Aug 23, 2012)

Opened my first bottle tonight, it's carbonated,not sure if I like it or not. Makes it hard to drink to me.

I'm thinking about putting it all back in the carboy and dosing it with campden and sorbate, then super kleering it again.


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## rob (Aug 23, 2012)

yep, that is what you will need to do


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## BernardSmith (Aug 23, 2012)

Can wine that has been stabilized with sorbate and Kmeta go through MLF? Does such bacterial fermentation produce gasses? Might this be what is happening here?


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## dralarms (Aug 24, 2012)

I'm glad I unbottled this. I had 18 out of 24 that were a disaster waiting to happen.


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## keena (Aug 24, 2012)

My first apfelwien I bottled started popping and I'm glad I put mine back in a carboy, eventually I think they all would have blown


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## dralarms (Aug 25, 2012)

Well, I sorbated and used camp den tabs. I also super kleered it.

Then I ran it through a 10 micron filter.

Now its back in the carboy. Time will tell.


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## joeswine (Aug 25, 2012)

*Not the first time*

I think, we have all ran into a situation like this one time or another ,. If it's too harsh to drink as a sparkling wine, then be totally prepared to read bottle it the gas and go! O


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## dralarms (Aug 25, 2012)

Well I don't understand that, but I just checked and after filtering through a 10 micron filter I have 1/2 inch of sediment.


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## dralarms (Aug 25, 2012)

Oh and its not "harsh", I just don't care for the carbonation.


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## dralarms (Aug 26, 2012)

Well it was not as bad as I thought, there was a real fine dust on the bottom of the carboy, maybe 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch.


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## saramc (Aug 26, 2012)

dralarms....first let me note my condolences for asking all these questions, but it helps me to "walk thru" everything. Sorry.

The sediment you are mentioning since yesterday, did you have sediment form two times 1/2" and then 1/16-1/8"?

1. What kind of wine is this?
2. What was the S.G. when you initially bottled?
3. Was this wine back-sweetened? [what was the date]
4. If applicable: How much k-meta/campden and sorbate did you use prior to backsweetening? [what was the date]
4a. Any chance the k-meta/campden and/or sorbate was expired or stored incorrectly? 
5. Did you allow the wine to rest under airlock after stabilizing/backsweetening for any amount of time to monitor for refermentation with hydrometer & to allow additional sediment to drop due to backsweetening/yeast cells dying? 
5a. If #5 was answered YES, how many days did you monitor the wine for?
5b. If #5 was answered YES, was the wine racked one final time before bottling?
6. Was the wine filtered prior to bottling, if so what micron?

The wine now:
7. What was the S.G. after you opened them and returned to carboy?
8. What was the S.G. when you dosed with campden/sorbate/superkleer?

Thanks, Sara


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## dralarms (Aug 26, 2012)

Tried to answer all you asked but my tablet won't let me put the answers after each question so I'll try here.

Mixed berry. Heavy on fruit.

Final sg was 1.006 and stayed there for 7 days.

Yes, back sweetened on 5/11/12

I sorbated but did not use camp den tablets, when I bottled it I didn't know I needed to use it at the end as well.

Questions 5 & 6 no.

7 & 8, I haven't checked it.

Now, I did not have 1/2 inch and then 1/16 to 1/8 additional it was only once and it actually was more like a dusting on the bottom.

I was just frustrated with the fact that I had so much sediment in the carboy ( before filtering). 

I will be getting some better filters, 10 micron just ain't good enough.


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## dralarms (Aug 26, 2012)

A little more info,

Not sure when I bottled, forgot to change the date on the label so according to the label it was bottled over a month before it was started.

By sediment I'm talking about a real fine powder, we decided to just let it be for a few days/weeks to see how much fall out. Got to get it back k in the bottle though. Its been one of my better wines.


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## dralarms (Aug 27, 2012)

I refiltered it tonight using a 5 micron filter. After filtering I added 1 campden tablet per gal. We shall see.


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## rob (Aug 27, 2012)

This goes back to the selve life of the sorbate, I think someone came up with one year, but they never put the date on the bottle


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## dralarms (Aug 27, 2012)

I understand. Not sure what to do about that but at 5 micron there should be no yeast left , at least I hope.


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## rob (Aug 27, 2012)

Not true, you have to have a .45 absolute filter


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## dralarms (Aug 27, 2012)

Gee thanks. That makes me feel so much better.


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## rob (Aug 27, 2012)

I know, sorry. I use a 1 micron and they can pass thru that with no problems


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## dralarms (Aug 27, 2012)

So what should I get? A .5 micron?


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## rob (Aug 27, 2012)

Nope, it needs to be .45 and the key is it needs to be absolute. Absolute means (absolutely nothing larger than .45 will pass thru). If it is Just .50 and not absolute than there is still a chance something larger than .50 can pass thru. The absolutes are much more expensive.


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## dralarms (Aug 27, 2012)

Never heard of an absolute filter. Where do I get them?


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## rob (Aug 27, 2012)

Internet? Google search it. There are a lot of people on here that never use a filter and never have a problem. If you have no sediment in the bottom of your carbon for several months You shouldn't have any yeast problems


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## dralarms (Aug 27, 2012)

Well this is my first year and to be honest I've been in a bit of a hurry. Now that I have a little stockpiled I can let it set in the carboy longer to make sure of no sediment. Guess I'll stick to the 5 micron filters as a final transfer to carboy. Then I'll let it set for a while to make sure no more sediment or no chance of re fermentation.

I did do a search for the absolute filters. At 31.00 plus shipping each they can keep them. I do have a wine supply store that will filter it for 4 bucks a carboy..


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## rob (Aug 27, 2012)

Please tell where you found one for 31.00 that is cheap


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## dralarms (Aug 27, 2012)

Fleabay. Of course


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## saramc (Aug 28, 2012)

*Always use sorbate plus Campden/k-meta*

Appreciate the answers. Very quickly noticed what I suspect is why you started popping corks...did not use Campden/k-meta in combination with the sorbate *unless you had recently dosed with Campden/k-meta and the levels were still up there*...that will definitely cause refermentation. But you have indicated you now realize they are a combination addition.

The sediment that drops after your wine has cleared and you rack and appear to have no sediment, then you stabilize and backweeten---well, the sediment comes from that last step of stabilize/backsweeten. Is quite common for additional dead yeast cells to drop out. That is why many choose to rack one final time before filtering-if they choose to and then bottling.

The absolute filter you found...do you use an inline house filter for your filtering, or what are you using? If house filter, make sure it is not a carbon filter--a no-no for wine. I use a 1 and 5 micron with my 10" slimline and have no issues, paid less than $5 for each of them, with a flat $5.95 shipping for entire order. My entire filter setup was less than $30 and I purchased 2 of each filter. The price the store offers: for the $4 per carboy will they run it thru a series of filters for that price, or is it a single pass?



dralarms said:


> Tried to answer all you asked but my tablet won't let me put the answers after each question so I'll try here.
> 
> Mixed berry. Heavy on fruit.
> 
> ...


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## dralarms (Aug 28, 2012)

I don't know about the wine supply store, I'm assuming its a single pass. They are 50 miles away so I don't use them.

However there is no sediment in the carboys this morning.

After filtering last night I back flushed my filter (standard 10" housing) and ran a mixture of 1 gal water and 3 campden tablets, then drained and placed in a freezer bag and stuck in the freezer. Is this OK, I guess I'm asking if I can use it again or are they 1 time and done filters?

Oh I found out the hard way about carbon filters, bought a case of fridge filters and ruined my peach wine, stripped it of almost all color and flavor.

I really appreciate your help.


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## mmadmikes1 (Aug 28, 2012)

First off I will climb on my soap box. Sorbate does not stop fermentation, Second it does not dissipate so you should not add a second dose. Sounds like you bottled to soon. I have said all the sorbate and K Meta in the world will not prevent corks from flying if you bottle before wine is truly stable. I do not use sorbate, I do backsweeten and I do not have corks flying out. Sure sounds like wine was not finished fermenting and at 1.006 it is a great possibility. Patience is needed here. Let the wine set and age before bottling and this will not happen. The real bad thing I see with all the kits now days is they are pushing fast wine. If you think sorbate and K Meta(campden) will stop a fermentation you are incorrect and I wish people would stop saying it will. I am not entirely correct here, it will stop it but the levels you will need will render wine undrinkable and probably toxic. Other causes for popped corks(Not case here) are: not enough space between wine and cork, not degassed completely.


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## dralarms (Aug 28, 2012)

Didn't get an answer about reusing the filter. Can the filter be reused?


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## dralarms (Sep 9, 2012)

OK, its back in the bottle. 2 passes with the 1 micron filter and did not get any more sediment.

Thanks for all the help.


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## Midwest Vintner (Sep 10, 2012)

mmadmikes1 said:


> If you think sorbate and K Meta(campden) will stop a fermentation you are incorrect and I wish people would stop saying it will. I am not entirely correct here, it will stop it but the levels you will need will render wine undrinkable and probably toxic. Other causes for popped corks(Not case here) are: not enough space between wine and cork, not degassed completely.



Yep, adding k-meta/ sorbate doesn't ensure stopping the yeast. Also, adding sorbate multiple times is bad and can cause off flavors (not sure about toxicity), especially if you DON'T add k-meta. Always add k-meta with sorbate because the k-meta keeps the sorbate from making off flavors. 

However, an absolute .45 micron can filter yeast, but I wouldn't do it. Let it ferment dry and re-sweeten is the easiest way. Let it sit for 2 weeks and then bottle. 

Splash racking is another good idea.


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## mmadmikes1 (Sep 11, 2012)

I meant the levels of K Meta needed to stop it could make it toxic.


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