# First bottling day



## dz-015 (Dec 23, 2010)

My very first kit (!) - an RJS Cellar Classic Shiraz - gave me 29.5 750ml bottles and 3 375ml bottles. The sulfite taste was strong, and it seemed a little thin. After airing it out a couple hours, it tasted better and the body improved.

I was wondering if the body improves after aging?


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## rrussell (Dec 24, 2010)

those look like professional bottles. your labels are very nice. I only see one problem, there seems to be an abundance of empty carboys in the second picture. needs to be addressed immediately.


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## Waldo (Dec 24, 2010)

Beautiful labels and your wine will improve greatly with aging. I would say let it age at least a year and you will see a tremendous difference.


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## ibglowin (Dec 24, 2010)

Looking good!





Did you top off with water or a like wine? How long did you bulk age? How much K-Meta did you add along the way?


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## Runningwolf (Dec 24, 2010)

Awesome labels. Great job!


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## dz-015 (Dec 24, 2010)

Thanks! For my first kit, I decided to follow the directions to the letter. I topped off with a cheap, dry Shiraz, and the only bulk aging I did was the 30 or so days after stablizing according to the instructions. The only K-meta I added was right after I racked from the primary to stabilize with k-sorbate, and then 1/4 teaspoon right before bottling.

Labels were printed on parchment paper. I don't really have rows of grape vines in my front yard (thank you Photoshop!).

Next up - Peach Chardonnay, Blackberry Shiraz, and RJS Winery Amarone...


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## AlFulchino (Dec 24, 2010)

i have two things to say....
1- top job on the labels
2-plant some grapes in the front yard...what good is grass anyway?


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## ibglowin (Dec 24, 2010)

You were a bit premature on the extra addition of sulfite. Your good for at least 90 days (and probably more) on that initial 5gm package that comes with the kit. It may fade with more bottle time. Letting the wine breath for 30 mins or so will help eliveate the sulfite smell as well. Time will help improve the body as well.


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## Scott B (Dec 24, 2010)

Great job!


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## grapeman (Dec 24, 2010)

That is a great looking package you have there. Nice start!


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## gaudet (Dec 25, 2010)

Congrats on your first bottling..... Beautiful job on the labels...

And plant some grapes as mentioned before.

It wasn't nearly as bad as you thought it was going to be now was it?


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## tonyt (Dec 27, 2010)

Great job. I think your winery area is far to clean and neat. Nessy it up a bit and I think your wine will improve.


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## dz-015 (Dec 28, 2010)

Thanks for the words of encouragement! I'm looking forward to making many more gallons.

Everything went fairly smoothly on my first kit, except for when I was degassing and I dipped my hands in the iodophor sanitizing solution just in case, and as I was stirring, a drop of the solution from my hands rolled in sol-mo down the spoon and into the wine, after which I feared I completely ruined it; and when I found a gnat (not a fruit fly) floating in the wine after 3 months of aging, not knowing how the heck it got in there, then fishing it out not quite intact; and when the hose came off the primary bucket spigot as I was bottling, spraying about 1/4 bottle of precious wine all over the cabinets, which were fortunately stained dark; and when I cut my hand ever so slightly with the double-handed corker and fearing the vapors in my iron-laden blood would contaminate the cork in some way.

Other than that, it went pretty smoothly.


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## dz-015 (Dec 28, 2010)

Oops, I meant to say three _weeks_ of aging, not three months.


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## Waldo (Dec 28, 2010)

Al Fulchino said:


> i have two things to say....
> 1- top job on the labels
> 2-plant some grapes in the front yard...what good is grass anyway?
> 
> ...


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## Scott (Dec 29, 2010)

Isn't that the truth Waldo? 


Thank God for dandelions they make great wine!!


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## scubaman2151 (Dec 30, 2010)

Excellent labels! Congrats on the first kit, your hooked now. I see your from Avon Lake; I am from the east side of Cleveland!


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## dz-015 (Dec 31, 2010)

Howdy neighbor - I used to live in Painesville Twp!


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## Flem (Jan 2, 2011)

dz-015,


How Impressive!


I'm a newbie myself. I just joined yesterday. I haven't even received my first kit and supplies yet. You set the bar pretty high for us newbies. 
That's great! It gives me a goal to try to achieve.


Congrats!
Flem


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## dz-015 (Jan 4, 2011)

Flem said:


> dz-015,
> 
> 
> How Impressive!
> ...



Thanks! Beauty is only skin-deep



. I've probably made every newbie mistake on this batch. This is a great forum to learn from - here are some small things to watch out for, most of which have been stated previously by the experts here:

1) When you secure your airlock to the primary bucket lid, put the airlock on first before closing the lid. If you put on the airlock after closing the lid, you may push in the grommet into the must.

2) Even though you may be at exactly 6 gallons in the primary bucket, the made-in-Italy carboys are closer to 6.25 gallons, so be prepared to either top up with a like wine, or use sanitized glass marbles.

3) I highly recommend a brew hauler for each one of your carboys (when, not if, you get multiple carboys). I've had my carboy slip from my hands and bounce off the utility sink. I've also heard of carboys breaking off at the neck.

4) Don't literally follow the timetables in the instructions. Instead, 
use the specific gravity measurement as your triggers for racking. I 
racked from bucket to carboy at exactly 14 days, even though my SG was 
0.001 higher than the upper end of the range. I could have waited 
probably another few days. My ABV was kind of low for a shiraz.


5) Get a stainless steel stir rod that couples to your electric drill. I
stirred so much with the spoon that pieces of plastic were being 
scraped off the handle where the spoon rubbed against the mouth of the 
carboy.

6) RJS recommends adding 1/4 teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite at 
bottling if storing for more than 6 months, at least on my kit. 
Actually, k-meta is added at stabilizing so the timeframe is too short 
to add additional k-meta. Either wait longer (90 days) before adding k-meta at bottling, 
or don't add it if you're following their timetable.


7) Start collecting bottles as soon as possible if you don't want to spend $$$ on new bottles. I've asked friends to save their bottles for me. I asked a manager at a restaurant to save me bottles, who graciously did. One friend owns a catering business - one event or party can bring in several cases of bottles.

8) If bottling from the spigoted bucket, make sure your hose is securely fastened, preferably with some kind of hose clip, or you may find yourself tempted to lick it off the floor when it falls off the spigot.

9) If you're using a bottling wand, some wine bottles with very high punts may interfere with the spring-loaded lever at the bottom of the wand. Be patient with these - the wine will eventually fill the bottle.

10) Put on the shrink-wrap PVC capsules before your labels. Heat water until boiling, turn the bottle upside down, slip the capsule on, use a long ladle to hold the capsule in place, and dip the top of the bottle into the water for 1.5 to 2 seconds. I got a perfect, smooth seal on every bottle.

And a million other little things... Good luck on your first batch!


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