Cleaning Questions (3)

[CapeBretonWino]

First Question:

I am starting my second kit today. I bought Island Mist (Apple Riesling).

I think it was mid March when I finished my first kit and I haven't did any since then because I was busy with school and finding summer employment etc.

I took my box of equipment out today and noticed the carboy had some spore looking things at the bottom. There aren't many spots but there are a few noticeable ones. I'm assuming it's mold. I cleaned it really well after I finished with it back in March but I guess there was still some moisture in there.

Will this be fine after I clean and sanitize it thoroughly? My uncle actually gave me two glass carboys that he used for homemade beer a few years back so I'm assuming they ill be pretty dirty too and might have some mold as well.

Second Question:

My first batch was pretty much given away to family and friends. A family member who received some kept the bottles but didn't clean them. She gave them back to me in the last couples of week and told me she forget to rinse them out when they were finished drinking the wine.

Are those salvageable or should I just replace the bottles with new ones?

Third Question:

Those wine dryers that hang upside down. Are they necessary? They look to be worth the money but I was wondering if everyone dries them that way or is there a way to do it without buying the apparatus? I will probably buy it anyway.

 

[olusteebus]

I am a newbie also but I think I can speak to the wine drying. I don't have a wine bottle tree. After washing the bottles, I took a plastic storage bin ( a milk carton or file carton will work) and set it about a 45 degree tilt. Enough so that I could place the first bottle in there and it would stand on it's "neck". I continued this until I could not get any bottles in the bin. I then laid the bin down with the bottle opening down.

I would wash and sanitize the bin before I did that.

 

[cpfan]

CapeBretonWino:

1. glass carboys can usually be cleaned. If you have trouble, try leaving a solution of Diversol in it for a couple of hours. A bottle washer (like Fermtech's Blast) will help too.
2. similarly, glass bottles can usually be cleaned. The bottle washer will help here too.
3. I like the bottle draining trees. There are other options as olusteebus pointed out. But you don't need the bottled to dry before filling them. Just drain most of the sanitizer out.

Steve

 

[Runningwolf]

I agree with Steve and the bottle tree. I have four of them and I use everyone on bottling day. When I use to dry my carboys, I used a 6" pvc coupling upside down and placed the carboys upside down on that. I also drilled a few holes in it for vents. Now a days all of my carboys are stored with meta solution in them.

Steve a question for you and Lon, are carboys considered soft glass? In the new winemakers magazine they frown on using almost every cleaner in them. They omnly recommended a laundry detergent and Pro-Zyme. I'm not familier with either.

 

[dangerdave]

I am starting my second kit today. I bought Island Mist (Apple Riesling).

Oh, you'll like that one. I've made several---just bottled one. My wife loves it!