Search results

Excellent advice guys, thank you! I will follow your processes from here on out, that way I'll get more bang for my buck. I appreciate your time.

Huh, I thought that would ruin it, but i also see your point. So what do you guys do with all of the gunk on the top of the first fermentation? I loose the first gallon just trying to avoid the sediment and the gunk on top.

I hadn't thought of that, but I get what you mean. Thank you.

I'm on my third batch of kit Merlot. While trying to avoid transferring top fermentations, and bottom sediments during each racking, by the time I'm done I've lost half of my wine. Is this normal, or is there a better way to retain a larger volume of finished wine? Thanks for your time. Gill.

I tried your suggestion, while I didn’t pick up the same smell, what you say makes sense. I read something that led to my miss understanding. I’ll keep racking and give it some time. Wine making isn’t as easy as making beer. It’s much more forgiving by what I have been told by colleagues.

Thanks for this. I see your point. Thankfully there are some YouTube videos further explaining how to bench test, and to rack it off once you have treated the whole batch.

Just ordered some copper solution. It seems a few drops will do it. I take it you add the solution, replace the bung, then rack it again after a few days?

I'll say the smell of sanitizer / campden. Now that I know how to properly splash the wine I'll give that a few tries to see if it helps the problem. All of the responses have been very helpful.

Thanks for the explanation.

Perfect, thanks for the clarification. I’ll get on it.

I'm more than willing to try it. By "aggressively splash racking it", would that be the same as racking it again and letting it splash in the middle of the carboy, in lieu of letting it run down the side (splashing) of the carboy. The definition is a bit confusing. I can also degas it with a...

I'll have to get back to this one tomorrow. I need my wife to verify. I'm not familiar with rotten eggs, so I am leaning toward a burnt match. It's the same smell it has after initial fermentation, just stronger. The same wine was added to a one gallon glass carboy (with campden tablet)...

Interesting. Sorry if this is a silly question, but do you mean normal grocery store peroxide? I ask only because it is the only kind I am aware of. Good to know Bentonite will not change the SO2, yet another misunderstand I have picked up from reading.

Thanks for the explanation. By what I have read, it seems I misunderstood the complete intent behind the campdon tablets, I thought they were to help with oder and taste as well as adding longevity. I have some racking to do.

Thank you for explaining splash racking. This is my second batch (ruined the first one), and I'm learning the nuances of the language. I'm five months in, mainly since I let it clear for a few months due to work.

I’ve racked my cleared Merlot a time or two and I will do again, but the sulfur smell gets worse each time. I have been adding campdon tablets each time, but it’s not helping. I ordered Bentonite hoping I can save it with that. I’ve realized I am not racking carefully enough, and will be...

Thank you! I have sodium metabisulphite, and ordered potassium metabisulphite. I’ll definitely give it a try. I’ll wait to bottle it until I've added it. I’ll have to guess the SO2 levels. I looked up checking it and it got complicated quickly for a guy with 3 kids. Thanks again for the...

Good day, I made my second batch of Merlot kit, hit the clearing stage, and left 3-4 inches of air space in a 5gal carboy. A month in, I realize that was a mistake. I won’t get to it for another two weeks. If it’s flat or something, can I recover? Suggestions appreciated. Thank you.

Awesome! Thank you for the response, I really appreciate it. It’s what what I thought, but didn’t have any clarification. What you say makes sense.

So if a kit recipe says to let it clear for 10 days, there’s no issue letting it sit for months until I get around to bottling it? I don’t see why it would hurt, but I thought I would ask.