WineXpert Batch #1 - VR Reisling

[Wade E]

Slighty tilt the carboy and let them roll down the side. They will not
hit hard as they dont float but they do go slowler than you would think.

 

[grapeman]

Just do it! There have been countless people drop their marbles into the jug without incident

The liquid of the wine slows down their descent and renders the fall harmless. They may clink when they hit, but without consequence. Fill the carboy with the marbles until it is up to the small part of the neck.

 

[brubakes]

how many marbles would it take i wonder. of course its dependent on how much you need them to displace.

 

[Wade E]

I believe Walmart has them really cheap but you should be able to get them at a craft store or even a dollar store!

 

[brubakes]

fig. 14

IMPORTANT NOTE:</font>
I was quick to see that the funnel was doing more harm then it was worth. Using the funnel will cause to much air to get into the mix and potentially ruin the batch. I didn't even get halfway though the transfer before I removed the funnel.

 

[brubakes]

Okay, all past posts aside, here is my current game plan. I welcome comments and suggestions.....

I am currently at the end of step 2 in my directions waiting 10 days before checking the SG to see if it has stabilized. This is the start of step 3. This means I have a 6 gallon carboy with everything from the primary fermenter sitting in my closet waiting for the next step.

After the SG stabilizes, I will add packets #2 (metabisulphite) and #3 (sorbate) into a 1/2 cup of water before adding the mix to the carboy. Then I will stir like mad to help get the CO2 out. This is per the directions. I will then let the carboy sit for another 14 days. During which the must should stabilize and clear.

QUESTION 1:
Is this the degassing part of the process?
QUESTION 2:
I have a whip degasser for this. I also have a mix-stir. Which is better to use here?
QUESTION 3:
Am I on the correct track with this game plan?

 

[masta]

QUESTION 1:
Is this the degassing part of the process?
Yes the degassing is important not only for the end product but if you don't remove it at this step the fining agent will not work properly.


Note: the fining agent is also added after degassing and adding K-meta/sorbate.


QUESTION 2:
I have a whip degasser for this. I also have a mix-stir. Which is better to use here?
The mix-stir is much more efficient for the task of degassing but go easy at first because if you don't you will have the volcano effect (most of the CO2 coming out of solution rapidly causing lots of foam and loss of batch on the floor)

QUESTION 3:
Am I on the correct track with this game plan?


Yes...good job!

 

[PeterZ]

You are right on track. Racking to another carboy instead of bottles is a very common practice around here. I have a carboy of merlot that should have been bottled weeks ago, but is sitting. I'll probably bottle the first or second weekend in Feb to free up the carboy. I'll be starting my next batch around that time, and I like to have at least one empty carboy (I currently have 2 total) for transfers.

 

[Wade E]

Good job bru, everything looks good. I know masta said but just in case
you missed it, your supposed to add your clarifier whicg is probably
Isinglass or SuperKleer. Like masta also said, be very careful when you
go to degass or your carboy will overflow(volcano) like this!

 

[masta]

Thanks Wade for the what not to do picture!

 

[Wade E]

Thats what you pay me for right? Hey wait a minute, I dont get paid do I?

 

[Angell Wine]

Dad used to tell me : "Knowledge is worth a dollar, Common sense is worth two dollars, put them together and they will be worth four dollars"


I guess Wade, you earned four dollars.Edited by: Angell Wine

 

[brubakes]

I recently completed step 3 of my kit’s directions. I took pictures to show everyone, but erased them by accident. There really wasn’t much to see though. The whole process is basically adding the remaining ingredients and stirring the snot out of it.

I had bought both a stainless steel mix-stir as well as a smaller tool used for degassing. I wanted to try them both. The mix-stir does a better job as it’s long and can reach all the way into the bottom of the carboy. However, the degassing tool serves it purpose as well. I used them both just to try. I think either would be fine to use. I ran the drill connected to my devices until the foam was gone.

The directions said that I needed to top off to within two inches of the bottom of the rubber bung. This is to keep oxygen out of the mix while it sits. The remaining C02 will should fill that remaining 2 inches of space and keep any oxygen out. One thing I wasn’t sure of was getting to within those 2 inches. Many have said to fill the mix with similar commercial wine to make up the difference. I really didn’t want to do this unless I had to because it seemed like it would be less “my wine”. Instead I went with a different option. I bought some glass marbles at a local craft center and cleaned and sterilized them. I then put them into the mix and used their volume to displace the mix until I was at the required level. Seemed to workout pretty well.

 

[brubakes]

It was time to transfer and get all lees out of the wine or at least as much as I could on the 1st racking. This is where I deviated from my kits directions. They said it was now time to bottle. After racking and seeing how much lees there are and how easily they can be stirred up into the must I can’t see how this would be a good idea.

I bought a Buon Vino Mini Jet filter and couldn’t wait to use it. I knew I wasn’t going to filter the wine at this point, but I could still use it to pump the wine from carboy 1 to carboy 2. All I needed to do was move one tube and bypass the filtering part of the pump. Below is a picture of the pump setup for use (fig 15). The carboy on the left is the secondary fermentor and the carboy on the right is the new carboy the wine was being racked into.

fig. 15

Here is the picture of the carboy once the racking was complete. It’s clear that there are still some lees in the wine, but since I will be racking again, and filtering before bottling its okay. Actually the picture makes it look like there is a lot more lees then there actually is. The blue area you see is where I added marbles to displace some of the wine allowing me to not have to add a commercial wine to top off the carboy.

fig. 16

 

[brubakes]

I needed to add a few more marbles to my wine to top off the carboy.
You can see in the last picture in the above post where there was still
to much space between the wine level and the bottom of the bung. The
wine is right up to the bung now.

 

[Wade E]

Excellent job Brubakes. How did you like the Bueno as a pump?

 

[Waldo]

Great job brubake and nice looking wine. I wonder if one could use an aquarium pump for transferring wines?

 

[jsmahoney]

Looking Good!