Can I save extra from primary for topping off

[hounddawg]

Someone else might jump in with a different answer but, bottling would certainly create a wine bomb and leaving all that head space raises the possibility it will be ruined. Your next steps should be either move to a smaller vessel(s) or topping up. You mentioned bottling. Do you have bottle neck stoppers and can insert an air lock?

#2 or #3 drilled bung,, crushday is spoton on how i do things
Dawg

 

[BMarNJ]

Use a siphon tube to stir, it takes up very little volume.

Thats a great idea, thanks.
Sorry, one other question, all of the little oak cubes are floating right up in the neck. Will they sink?

 

[mainshipfred]

Thats a great idea, thanks.
Sorry, one other question, all of the little oak cubes are floating right up in the neck. Will they sink?

I don't use cubes but the staves are always floating.

 

[sour_grapes]

Thats a great idea, thanks.
Sorry, one other question, all of the little oak cubes are floating right up in the neck. Will they sink?

Yes, in my experience they will sink.

 

[hounddawg]

By the way, those "universal bungs" commonly used for carboys are "universal" because they also fit wine bottles. You can turn it upside down, and the inner part goes into the bottle:

Another thing I have done with ~a quart or less is to freeze it in a Mason jar. I have done this to keep it on hand for later topping (after a racking off lees). If I wind up not needing it, I just thaw it and drink it!

i'll be double dawg dang, did not know that, but it don't cut muck butter with that sacrilegious marriage talk , spoiled_grape...
Dawg,,, lol

 

[hounddawg]

In a pinch, if you drill out a bung of some kind, stick a piece of hose into the hole, seal it in some way and put the other end of the hose in a glass of water. Arne.

yup or run hem into buckets

 

[BMarNJ]

By the way, those "universal bungs" commonly used for carboys are "universal" because they also fit wine bottles. You can turn it upside down, and the inner part goes into the bottle:

Another thing I have done with ~a quart or less is to freeze it in a Mason jar. I have done this to keep it on hand for later topping (after a racking off lees). If I wind up not needing it, I just thaw it and drink it!

I was having trouble keeping the upside down universal bung sealing with the airlock in it. I switched to a screw top bottle because the glass is thinner on the top with those and the bung fit in further. The universal bung is working great now, thank you for the tip.

 

[BMarNJ]

A vacuvin sealer may work to let air out, just depends upon whether or not it lets the pressure out before it pops out of the bottle. If all you have is bottles and vacuvins, then try it, maybe pull a vacuum on it once a day to make sure you're not building pressure up in there.

Maybe drill a hole in a cork the right size to insert a regular airlock into the cork, cork the bottle with it, and insert the airlock?

@Johnd Just to follow up.. the vacuvin cork seems to be doing well. Small bubbles at the neck show some activity in the bottle, but it has never popped. Since the bottle is filled to the top, the vacuvin clicks with the slightest pull. Thanks always for your input. I will also try to put all through MLF as you suggested, mostly like after next week when the carboy has been at it for a while.

 

[BMarNJ]

@Johnd Just to follow up.. the vacuvin cork seems to be doing well. Small bubbles at the neck show some activity in the bottle, but it has never popped. Since the bottle is filled to the top, the vacuvin clicks with the slightest pull. Thanks always for your input. I will also try to put all through MLF as you suggested, mostly like after next week when the carboy has been at it for a while.

@Johnd I wanted to follow up and thank you. The MLF completed successfully on the carboy and the 2 extra bottles after I swapped half the contents of them about 2 weeks in. All looks good. I also want to thank you and so many others ( @cmason1957 ) for all of your help since I started winemaking a year ago. I just bottled the cab sav I made in May 2019, and it is pretty good despite some of my missteps. It tasted pretty bad initially, so thanks for the encouragement and emphasizing patience, as it did pay off. My 2020 is off to a smoother start with all of the great advice and things I have learned on this site.

 

[cmason1957]

@Johnd I wanted to follow up and thank you. The MLF completed successfully on the carboy and the 2 extra bottles after I swapped half the contents of them about 2 weeks in. All looks good. I also want to thank you and so many others ( @cmason1957 ) for all of your help since I started winemaking a year ago. I just bottled the cab sav I made in May 2019, and it is pretty good despite some of my missteps. It tasted pretty bad initially, so thanks for the encouragement and emphasizing patience, as it did pay off. My 2020 is off to a smoother start with all of the great advice and things I have learned on this site.

We'r are glad to pass along what we'r have learned. All we ask is that you do the same.