Aging questions?

[cmcca27966]

As you will probably be able to tell by my post I am very new to wine making.
I started off with 5 gallons of welches concord in a carboy for trial and error reasons.
My SG at start was 1.110 and I began on Wednesday so I am very very early in the process.(I started a batch the week before and failed miserably)
I have a small American oak barrel(5.23 gallons) and I would like to use it to age my wine when that time comes. My barrel came with 2 bungs, 1 fits tight and the other fits loose. I would like to know what each of them are for? My other question is can I just drink the wine from the barrel once it has been topped up and sealed OR must i just use the barrel for aging and bottle it once it is aged?

 

[TonyP]

First, welcome to WMT. On your first question, I take it you have 2 bungs and 1 bunghole. I can't figure what the loose bung is for. I'd understand if it was too tight but not loose. (There's probably a reason, but I don't know what it could be unless they're allowing for the barrel to shrink.) On your second question, though, don't consider drinking wine directly from the barrel unless you intend to add more wine to it, called topping-up. You want the barrel to stay full for a variety of reasons relating to oxidation plus the general way in which barrels work.

Lastly, it sounds to me as though you're using the carboy as a primary fermenter. This may create problems for you in the early going (unless the carboy is at least 6 gallons) because yeast need some oxygen to do their thing and the small area at the top of the carboy will soon fill with CO2.

 

[cmcca27966]

Thanks Tony. As far as the carboy goes, Its only filled up to About 4.5 gallons so i have a larger surface area.(hope that helps me) I will wait and see. I am planning to check SG after 5 days. Do you have any other suggestions for initial fermentation and when to check SG? I would love to have some thoughts on this...

 

[TonyP]

The typical process is for wine to be fermented in something like a large bucket that allows the wine's surface area maximum contact with air. Over time, oxygen becomes less and less important, eventually becoming detrimental to the wine. Before that happens, we move the wine into a secondary container, usually a carboy with minimal airspace and an airlock on top to protect the wine.

At some point, therefore, you'll be going from a carboy with head space being a good thing to it being a bad thing. I suggest, first off, you figure out how you'll deal with this, possibly by moving it to smaller container(s). Also, your barrel seems too large for what you're doing. Typically, wine makers may go from a 6 gallon carboy to a smaller barrel and leave some wine in a gallon jug for topping.

On SG, there's no need to check regularly. I assume you have an airlock that's bubbling. Wait until activity has stopped or very close to it before checking.

A lot of wine making is doing nothing. If you've been to a winery you see a lot of storage and no one around. There's a reason for that.

 

[JohnnyRico]

First, welcome to WMT. On your first question, I take it you have 2 bungs and 1 bunghole. I can't figure what the loose bung is for. I'd understand if it was too tight but not loose. (There's probably a reason, but I don't know what it could be unless they're allowing for the barrel to shrink.)

I would guess the loose bung is for those who ferment inside the barrel, allowing for the increase of pressure from all the Co2.

 

[Noontime]

I've never used a barrel, but I've made plenty of wine so I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. As Tony said, you seem to have more barrel space than wine, which is a bad thing; once the fermentation is almost done, you don't want air to contact with the wine, so you fill the entire container (and thus you don't want to drink out of it because then you have to replace it with more wine). Considering the expense of barrels, I'd probably save it for a more appropriate wine. I'm making a summer wine from welches frozen concentrate right now as a matter of fact, but even when it's ready for next summer after a year of aging, it's still going to be something I don't mind putting ice in or using for sangria (or drinking on its own). My point is Welches grape juice might be a poor choice for new oak.

Or it might be a killer wine...who knows. Like I said, just my 2 cents. Welcome to the forum and congratulations on going all in...good for you!

 

[DoctorCAD]

I'll second Nooners post. The Welches (although an easy way to make wine) is really not very good. Using a barrel on it is really a waste. Barrels don't get very many uses before they are worn out or neutral.

 

[TonyP]

Make that +2. I didn't want to get into the quality of what you were doing because you didn't ask, but it does seem a shame to start with Welch's Concord. Barrels do have a life and while I consider it longer than you may realize from DoctorCAD's comment, his and Noontime's point is spot on. If you want oak character in your Corcord wine, drop in some cubes, chips, or spirals. You can get them for under $10.

 

[cmcca27966]

I just took a good whiff of that Welches fermenting through the airlock and it smells heavenly. I Don't know if that is good or bad folks but its bubbling at about 66 per minute so I guess it will be a while before I check SG for a secondary. My SG starting point was 1.110. What would change if my starting SG was 1.120? are there specific wines that one would want to start off with a higher SG?

 

[TonyP]

Good to hear your wine's moving along well. Perhaps a wine maker's primary interest in SG change is it's impact on alcohol content. A start of 1.110 fermented to 0.995 would have an alcohol percentage (ABV) of 15.63% while a start of 1.120 would yield 16.98%. I'm not familiar with Welch's Concord, but that's a pretty high alcohol level - more like port or vermouth than table wine.

 

[cmcca27966]

I just checked SG and its now down to 1.060. Is there an acceptable way to halt or stop the fermenting at between 12% & 15% or is it better to let it go?

 

[TonyP]

Given that you are "very new to wine making", my suggestion is to let it go until fermentation ends. What's happening is fermentation: yeast are consuming the sugar in the wine into alcohol and CO2. Thus, stopping fermentation will end alcohol production but also leave residual sugar. The balance wine makers seek is between the alcohol level and sweetness, not just alcohol.

Doing this with some precision requires experience. Many wine makers let fermentation end, then adjust sweetness by adding sugar later, called back sweetening. Your thought of adjusting alcohol level means taste would be compromised.

Here's a link that explains the basics of stopping fermentation so you can get a sense of it:
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/finishin.asp .

 

[cmcca27966]

Is it acceptable to top up with wine on secondary providing the alcohol content is adequate and fermenting has stopped. My concern is that I am a quart or possibly 2 quarts from the neck of the carboy.
Thanks in advance!