whino-wino
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2008
- Messages
- 335
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Although the question has probably been answered sufficiently at this point, I just wanted to chime in and say two things.
First....Welcome to the forum. I'm a seasonal visitor myself. I'm here all winter and gone all summer. Summer is a very busy time for me and I just don't get the chance to do much with the wines. I bulk age them over the summer and change the solution in the air locks twice and that's about it.
Second, as to your question on the lids. This may sound like blasphemy to some, but I've never used a lid. There's enough CO2 in there to protect the wine for the most part. All you want to make sure of is that no bugs and stuff get in there. I just throw a towel over the top and use a bungee cord to secure it around the rim. I feel this lets it "breathe" a lot better during the primary fermentation stage. Once my S.G. drops between 1.02 and 1.01 I rack it into a carboy and secure an air lock. I've never had an issue doing this.
First....Welcome to the forum. I'm a seasonal visitor myself. I'm here all winter and gone all summer. Summer is a very busy time for me and I just don't get the chance to do much with the wines. I bulk age them over the summer and change the solution in the air locks twice and that's about it.
Second, as to your question on the lids. This may sound like blasphemy to some, but I've never used a lid. There's enough CO2 in there to protect the wine for the most part. All you want to make sure of is that no bugs and stuff get in there. I just throw a towel over the top and use a bungee cord to secure it around the rim. I feel this lets it "breathe" a lot better during the primary fermentation stage. Once my S.G. drops between 1.02 and 1.01 I rack it into a carboy and secure an air lock. I've never had an issue doing this.