Emergency help needed!???

[calhce]

Bleberry wine ( first time wine makers) ....we were stupid and didn't use the fermentation bag. First ferment done ( 1.018)....racking for the first time and we only fill up about 3.5 of the carboy ( marbles we got aren't bringing us anywhere near. We've put the cap on top but don't know what to do. Advice anyone?

 

[calhce]

Wow!!! Live and learn, we're adding more wine ( 2 gallons of a rose )...don't know what else to do. We've made so many mistakes at this point...frustrating, but hopefully the next batch will be better.

 

[ceeaton]

Well, you could go buy a 3 gallon carboy, or you could also purchase a head space eliminator from @vacuumpumpman .

 

[salcoco]

suggest purchasing a three gallon carboy and some one gallon containers. in this way can size accordingly without needing to top up. did you start with 5 gallon of liquid. most recipes call for x amount of lbs of fruit per gallon then add water to reduce the acid. did you follow this concept? go to winemaking.jackkeller.net. this site has numerous recipes of one gallon size that can be increased to 5 gallon via multiplication of ingredients except yeast. also lots of instructions for making wine good luck

 

[Scooter68]

Go to one gallon carboys. And if need be check at recycling centers for 1/2 gallon and 1.5 Liter used bottles. It pays, if you have space, to visit those recycling centers for these things. Amazing what you will find. I get all my bottle there now. I'm drinking my ice tea from someones Nice Clear glass "Silver Dollar City" mug. (Yup, I scavenge like crazy there - no cost shopping)

Anyway break it down into smaller containers. Not much more headache to do so. And you get to keep your marbles instead of losing them over this. ::

 

[garymc]

If you haven't sulfited it yet, you could buy some jars of "Just Blueberry" juice at WalMart and add it to top up and continue fermenting. You would have to take care to see that the sugar concentration in the added liquid was adequate to keep your alcohol level up.

 

[richmke]

All In One Headspace Eliminator
http://www.allinonewinepump.com/product/headspace-eliminator/

However, you will have to find something to create a vacuum

 

[vacuumpumpman]

All In One Headspace Eliminator
http://www.allinonewinepump.com/product/headspace-eliminator/

However, you will have to find something to create a vacuum

Thats correct Rich - you can use a hand operated vacuum pump to make this work, but using the allinonewinepump is the fastest and easiest.