DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[wineview]

I never understood that part and don’t do it. I rack into a bucket to degass then to a carboy. If you are making the six gallon batch, there won’t be enough to fill a 6 gallon carboy. After degassing I rack to a five gallon carboy and whatever is leftover usually into a 3 liter bottle for clearing.

 

[user 52751]

I never understood that part and don’t do it. I rack into a bucket to degass then to a carboy. If you are making the six gallon batch, there won’t be enough to fill a 6 gallon carboy. After degassing I rack to a five gallon carboy and whatever is leftover usually into a 3 liter bottle for clearing.

Thank you. That was what I was thinking. I certainly don't want to throw away perfectly good wine.

 

[wineview]

No need to. Remember the five gallon carboy’s take more than five gallons to top up. That typically leaves about three liters or so.

 

[winemaker81]

For a 23 liter carboy, consider scaling the recipe up to 25 or 26 liters, so the carboy will be filled after losses due to sediment.

 

[wineview]

That certainly is an option but my largest fermenting bucket is 7.9 gallons. Next time I may try that because this wine does not have a volatile fermentation.

 

[Jovimaple]

@Richard Taylor Just a note that brewing is for beer and fermenting is for wine.

Good luck with your Dragonblood! I'm about to make another batch soon myself!

 

[winemaker81]

That certainly is an option but my largest fermenting bucket is 7.9 gallons. Next time I may try that because this wine does not have a volatile fermentation.

DB has less solids that most wines, so it shouldn't go too crazy during fermentation. Scaling up 1 or 2 liters shouldn't be a problem.

 

[user 52751]

@Richard Taylor Just a note that brewing is for beer and fermenting is for wine.

Good luck with your Dragonblood! I'm about to make another batch soon myself!

Noted.

 

[FinFam]

Hello Everyone, if I'm using campden tablets, how many do I use for the 6 gallon batch to equal the 1/4 tsp. Sorry if the question was already asked but I couldn't find it. Thanks.

 

[Jovimaple]

Hello Everyone, if I'm using campden tablets, how many do I use for the 6 gallon batch to equal the 1/4 tsp. Sorry if the question was already asked but I couldn't find it. Thanks.

Welcome to WMT!

Unless the label on your campden tablets says something different, the general dose would be one crushed tablet per gallon, so 6 tablets.

 

[FinFam]

Welcome to WMT!

Unless the label on your campden tablets says something different, the general dose would be one crushed tablet per gallon, so 6 tablets.

Thank you. This is my first DB batch, looking forward to it. I've made SP and we loved it.

 

[wineview]

Welcome to WMT!

Unless the label on your campden tablets says something different, the general dose would be one crushed tablet per gallon, so 6 tablets.

If you will be making more and more wine, I believe purchasing powdered KMeta is more economical.

 

[Jovimaple]

@FinFam Don't forget to mark your SP and DB here: How many gallons of Lon D's Skeeter Pee have been made?

I am getting ready to start another batch of DB soon myself!

 

[Rich398]

I am at the wine clearing stage of my first batch of Dragon's Blood. What is the reasoning behind mixing it with sugar and then waiting for another two weeks? I see that in the instructions for Dragon's Blood and also for Skeeter Pee. I have made multiple Skeeter Pee batches and never waited after sweetening and bottled it immediately. I have never had an issue. I would think waiting for another two weeks in the carboy would increase the chances of introducing wild yeast and causing a larger problem. Curious if you wait the extra weeks and why you do it.

 

[Jovimaple]

I am at the wine clearing stage of my first batch of Dragon's Blood. What is the reasoning behind mixing it with sugar and then waiting for another two weeks? I see that in the instructions for Dragon's Blood and also for Skeeter Pee. I have made multiple Skeeter Pee batches and never waited after sweetening and bottled it immediately. I have never had an issue. I would think waiting for another two weeks in the carboy would increase the chances of introducing wild yeast and causing a larger problem. Curious if you wait the extra weeks and why you do it.

Leaving it for a couple of weeks before bottling accomplishes 2 things:
1) allows the sugar to thoroughly mix into the wine, and
2) allows you to make sure your stabilizing (kmeta and sorbate) worked and to prevent any of the yeastie beasties from fermenting the sugar you just added. If that were to occur in the bottle, you could get bottle bombs, and leaking or exploding bottles are not a good thing.

If you have the carboy topped up and under airlock, the chances of wild yeast causing fermentation to restart is slim.

But it's your wine and your risk tolerance. If bottling right after backsweetening is working for you, then go for it.

I have sometimes bottled right after sweetening but my current protocol is to rack to a bucket, add kmeta and sorbate, add the sugar or simple syrup, then rack back to a carboy and let everything meld together for a few more weeks before bottling.

 

[Rich398]

Leaving it for a couple of weeks before bottling accomplishes 2 things:
1) allows the sugar to thoroughly mix into the wine, and
2) allows you to make sure your stabilizing (kmeta and sorbate) worked and to prevent any of the yeastie beasties from fermenting the sugar you just added. If that were to occur in the bottle, you could get bottle bombs, and leaking or exploding bottles are not a good thing.

If you have the carboy topped up and under airlock, the chances of wild yeast causing fermentation to restart is slim.

But it's your wine and your risk tolerance. If bottling right after backsweetening is working for you, then go for it.

I have sometimes bottled right after sweetening but my current protocol is to rack to a bucket, add kmeta and sorbate, add the sugar or simple syrup, then rack back to a carboy and let everything meld together for a few more weeks before bottling.

Add Kmeta and Sorbate on top of what was added originally with the sparkolloid?

 

[Jovimaple]

Just one dose of sorbate should be fine, so you should be good.

I add a dose of kmeta at every racking and at bottling time. The kmeta protects against oxidation, and racking is one of the times the wine gets exposed to oxygen. (When I am aging wine longer term without racking, I dose the wine with kmeta about every 3 months or so.)

 

[Rich398]

Just one dose of sorbate should be fine, so you should be good.

I add a dose of kmeta at every racking and at bottling time. The kmeta protects against oxidation, and racking is one of the times the wine gets exposed to oxygen. (When I am aging wine longer term without racking, I dose the wine with kmeta about every 3 months or so.)

Thank you for your thoughtful responses. Really appreciate it.

 

[FinFam]

Fermentation has stopped. Can I rack into another primary to degas first before I rack into glass carboy then add campden tabs and sorbate and sparkaloid? I remember the mess it made trying to degas with SP in carboy.

 

[David Violante]

I don’t see why not, as long as it’s not staying in there for some time. It should work fine to rack off the gross lees, degass with a whip or similar, then move right to a carboy with the additives in the bottom (its helpful for mixing in when you fill it). If you’re thinking of having it sit for some time I wouldn’t do that unless it’s under airlock and the primary is sealed. Vacuum racking also helps tremendously.