Bad Habits

[BernardSmith]

Never certain that the first bottle is slightly different but the tap is at the bottom of the bucket and I add any sugars for back sweetening at the top and then stir but I don't stir as if adding oxygen is unimportant and I don't stir the same way I do when I add rennet to milk when I am making cheese. So I "see" two possible troubles - one the syrup has not totally been amalgamated into the wine top to bottom and side to side and although the syrup is more dense than the wine (by definition) MORE may have dropped to the bottom below the spout than is spread throughout the rest and two- as the wine is transferred into bottles the sugars may slowly collect towards the bottom even given the time it takes to bottle 3 or 5 or 6 gallons (I assume that this is far less of a problem with one gallon batches) and so the first bottle - filled from wine just above the spigot may have less sugar than than the wine ABOVE that level and the last bottle may be filled with wine that has a higher concentration of sugar than any other bottle a) because at that point I have angled the bucket to allow the wine from beneath the spigot to fill that last bottle...
As I say, I generally do not number the bottles but I often think about doing so. What I do is place the first and the last bottle aside and place them on the bottle rack separately or I may place an asterisk on the label to tell me that those bottles are for home consumption and they are not to be given away to friends or relatives.

 

[bstnh1]

Never certain that the first bottle is slightly different but the tap is at the bottom of the bucket and I add any sugars for back sweetening at the top and then stir but I don't stir as if adding oxygen is unimportant and I don't stir the same way I do when I add rennet to milk when I am making cheese. So I "see" two possible troubles - one the syrup has not totally been amalgamated into the wine top to bottom and side to side and although the syrup is more dense than the wine (by definition) MORE may have dropped to the bottom below the spout than is spread throughout the rest and two- as the wine is transferred into bottles the sugars may slowly collect towards the bottom even given the time it takes to bottle 3 or 5 or 6 gallons (I assume that this is far less of a problem with one gallon batches) and so the first bottle - filled from wine just above the spigot may have less sugar than than the wine ABOVE that level and the last bottle may be filled with wine that has a higher concentration of sugar than any other bottle a) because at that point I have angled the bucket to allow the wine from beneath the spigot to fill that last bottle...
As I say, I generally do not number the bottles but I often think about doi king so. What I do is place the first and the last bottle aside and place them on the bottle rack separately or I may place an asterisk on the label to tell me that those bottles are for home consumption and they are not to be given away to friends or relatives.

The reason I keep track of the first bottle is that I do not rinse Kmeta from my autosiphon, hose or bottling wand. I've never really noticed any difference because of that, but I dont want to take a chance on giving someone a bottle of Cabernet-kmeta!

 

[winemaker81]

I often have SOOO many different wines in production that without labels I'd have no idea which is which.

I make labels and using string-n-tape to mark each carboy. I also use painter's tape, which is writable with Sharpies and does not fall off.

Bottles get labels, for all the above reasons.

 

[joeswine]

AVERY IS A INEXPENSIVE LABELING PROCESS.

 

[Dan M]

I put a yellow sticky on each carboy with the name and date. Sometimes I help it with a small piece of Scotch tape just to be sure it stays. Learned my lesson on that long ago.

The tape is important. My dog thinks post-its are delicious...

At this point, I only have about a dozen different wines bottled, so I don't use labels on the bottles. I do put different colored shrink caps on them and list this in a spreadsheet in case I forget. I realize that if I get too many wines, I will run out of colors, but it works for now.

 

[mikewatkins727]

Maybe I'm missing something, but what is the benefit of numbering the bottles?

. . . the fun of numbering your bottles. Actually, the program I use for creating labels has a numbering function. Thiink I'll check this out. Thanks for bring up the subject of "Why?"

 

[mikewatkins727]

Never certain that the first bottle is slightly different but the tap is at the bottom of the bucket and I add any sugars for back sweetening at the top and then stir but I don't stir as if adding oxygen is unimportant and I don't stir the same way I do when I add rennet to milk when I am making cheese. So I "see" two possible troubles - one the syrup has not totally been amalgamated into the wine top to bottom and side to side and although the syrup is more dense than the wine (by definition) MORE may have dropped to the bottom below the spout than is spread throughout the rest and two- as the wine is transferred into bottles the sugars may slowly collect towards the bottom even given the time it takes to bottle 3 or 5 or 6 gallons (I assume that this is far less of a problem with one gallon batches) and so the first bottle - filled from wine just above the spigot may have less sugar than than the wine ABOVE that level and the last bottle may be filled with wine that has a higher concentration of sugar than any other bottle a) because at that point I have angled the bucket to allow the wine from beneath the spigot to fill that last bottle...
As I say, I generally do not number the bottles but I often think about doing so. What I do is place the first and the last bottle aside and place them on the bottle rack separately or I may place an asterisk on the label to tell me that those bottles are for home consumption and they are not to be given away to friends or relatives.

This thought came to me several years ago. I crossed that bridge by back sweetening long before bottling. Also I use the AOI system and this helps to "quietly" rack and mix the wine & sugar. Setup is quite simple: use a long dip tube to get to the bottom of the donor carboy and a long dip tube in the receptor carboy to which I have already added the sugar solution. The incoming wine swirls and mixes the wine/sugar solution.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

This thought came to me several years ago. I crossed that bridge by back sweetening long before bottling. Also I use the AOI system and this helps to "quietly" rack and mix the wine & sugar. Setup is quite simple: use a long dip tube to get to the bottom of the donor carboy and a long dip tube in the receptor carboy to which I have already added the sugar solution. The incoming wine swirls and mixes the wine/sugar solution.

I guess an OLD DOG can still learn new tricks - I really like this idea and I am going to start using it - NOW - Thanks Again -Steve

 

[joeswine]

Call me old , but isn't that where your supposed to add the simple syrup? In the primary once you knew what your final SG. Was.
Or am I misunderstanding this thread.

 

[mikewatkins727]

@joeswine Maybe I can expand on this a little to help clarify. After the wine has finished ferment and has aged a min. of 3 - 4 months I bench test for sweetness. After deciding how much simple sugar to add, I add it to an empty carboy (the receptor carboy). I then set up the apparatus with the AOI and dip tubes that reach the bottom of the carboys. The swirling action of the incoming wine into the empty carboy with sugar solution mixes the wine and simple sugar. I will let the wine set for several weeks after backsweetening before bottling.

Yes, you could add the simple sugar to the wine in the carboy straight away but then you are left with the problem of stirring/mixing the wine without over oxidation.

 

[winemaker81]

I use a process like @mikewatkins727's for adding K-meta and other additives at racking time. I start the rack so there is wine in the primary, then add the K-meta, give it a brief stir, and let the rack complete.

I've done this with backsweetening, and afterward checked the SG of samples taken from several places and depths. Since I got the same reading in all samples, I was satisfied the sugar was mixed properly.

With dry chemicals, I learned to add after there was wine in the primary. One time I dumped K-meta into a damp primary (had rinsed with K-meta water), and when I was done racking back into the carboy, most of the K-meta was in a lump on the bottom of the fermenter. There had been enough liquid to make it into a paste, and the wine did not dissolve it.

 

[bstnh1]

I use a process like @mikewatkins727's for adding K-meta and other additives at racking time. I start the rack so there is wine in the primary, then add the K-meta, give it a brief stir, and let the rack complete.

I've done this with backsweetening, and afterward checked the SG of samples taken from several places and depths. Since I got the same reading in all samples, I was satisfied the sugar was mixed properly.

With dry chemicals, I learned to add after there was wine in the primary. One time I dumped K-meta into a damp primary (had rinsed with K-meta water), and when I was done racking back into the carboy, most of the K-meta was in a lump on the bottom of the fermenter. There had been enough liquid to make it into a paste, and the wine did not dissolve it.

I'm not a big fan of dumping dry chemicals into an empty or full carboy. I prefer dissolving Kmeta, etc. in a bit of spring water or wine and adding it to the empty carboy before racki.ng

 

[joeswine]

I think what I'm saying is just my way, nothing more.
My process starts out with knowing the starting SG target, but the final sugar level.. at the finish.
Maybe it's me but I've never back sweeten any of mine , the wine starts and should finish at beginning of the process.

 

[Sage]

I put different color foil caps on each variety as I bottle. Write date on top and variety or blend on the side with a Sharpie (after the heat gun shrinks them on)