WineXpert fermentation question

[grapeman]

Tepe, I know I am hooked now!!! I am using all the airlocks I have in the house all at once!!!

I have a few free airlocks right now. After rackings and topping up, etc, I have one free 6 gallon carboy and 4 gallon jugs along with a half dozen free airlocks - out of 65 total airlocks!

When I filled them all a month ago with Vodka, it took half a liter! When I did it I splurged and bought the best vodka 6 dollars could buy.

 

[Tom]

Appleman,

You say you have "I have one free 6 gallon carboy and 4 gallon jugs along with a half dozen free airlocks".


You can sent the carboy to ME !

 

[B.J.]

Well, yesterday I degassed the wine. Boy that still took a good amount of time even with the drill mounted degasser. I can't imagine some trying to do that by hand

I added the stabilizers and isinglass per theinstructios and noticed today only after 24 hours that the wine is a heck of a lot clearer than just yesterday!! It just seems like everything in this kit is going faster than it seems like it should. Now I'm leaving the wine to clear for the full 8 days no matter how clear it gets in the next few days just the follow the directions exactly. Has anyone else had any kits that seemed to go faster than the directions indicate?

 

[Wade E]

Many times there BJ! If you can tilt the carboy a little like with abook under 1 side so that when you rack later one side will have very little sediment there and you can stick the racking cane in that side and not have as much sediment transfer to the next vessel.

 

[B.J.]

Many times there BJ! If you can tilt the carboy a little like with abook under 1 side so that when you rack later one side will have very little sediment there and you can stick the racking cane in that side and not have as much sediment transfer to the next vessel.

Thanks for the tip

. That will definitely make the process easier. Nice to know someone else had kits do the same. Since this is my first kit I kind of figured the directions would be close. I can't wait for the Meglioli Reisling kits to arrive this month. I already want to star on another kitand that's next on my list!!!!

 

[grapeman]

Many times kits seem to go faster than the directions say they will. Just a little built in insurance. Just don't rush to the bottle. Even if it looks clear, if you rush it you may get sediment in the bottles later. Give it plenty of time and you will be glad you did.

 

[B.J.]

Many times kits seem to go faster than the directions say they will. Just a little built in insurance. Just don't rush to the bottle. Even if it looks clear, if you rush it you may get sediment in the bottles later. Give it plenty of time and you will be glad you did.

That's my attitude also

That's why I'm waiting the suggested amount of time in the instructions before moving on the final steps.

 

[B.J.]

Ok, I checked my wine and it was very clear so I racked to another carboy. I think I did pretty good about not getting any sediment transferred or at least very little. I added the 1/4 tsp k-meta and added the remaining wine I had leftover from the first racking. My local store didn't have any spanish rose wine or similar so I had to add about 1.5 cups of water. Will that dilute the wine any? I might leave it in the carboy for a month and a half or so and the bottle it.

 

[Wade E]

Maybe a little but W.E. kits say that they are designed for this addition so dont worry.

 

[grapeman]

Doing great B.J. You will be bottling and drinking before you know it!

 

[B.J.]

Thanks guys!! When I get ready to bottle I'll give it a taste test and report back

 

[B.J.]

I checked my wine for clarity last night and it was very nice and clear. I will probably bottle it tonight instead of letting it age for awhile longer in the carboy. I figured since I don't plan on drinking it for 6-9 more months it would be ok to age in the bottles. Plus I am going to need the carboy soon for my Meglioli Reisling!!

It smelled great!! I took a little sip of it and it was pretty dry like it is supposed to be and I found it to be light and fruityand surprisingly smooth!!! I was very impressed on how it smelled and tasted for being as young as it is!!! I can't wait to see how it tastes after about 9 months!!! I have to say that this was very enjoyable for my first kit. I can now see why so many enjoy making multiple kits at the same time. I see many more wine kits in my future...

 

[Tom]

Why don't you keep in in the carboy till you really need it? When you start your next wine I am sure you do the primary in a bucket. In doing that it gives you at least 2 MORE weeks in the carboy. I like to bulk age in the carboy.

 

[Vinnie]

BJ, it's best to age it longer in the carboy. I did this same wine last year and everything looked clear and so bottled it in clear bottles. Now the bottles are showing sediment. It's a lesson learned by me to give it more time in the carboy.

 

[Tom]

BJ,

Yea I agree with Vinnie. Looking back your wine is just 1 Month old. Just about everyone here will say leave it in the carboy.

Now that the BUG bite you I would suggest to get another carboy or 2 or 3 ,,,LOL You see whate this is going...

 

[Wade E]

I would also have to concur.

 

[B.J.]

Boy I'm glad you guys are here to keep me on the straight and narrow of wine making!!

I bought a couple more carboys from George and got one from a friend of mine. I figured since I'm good now on carboys(at least for now...

) I'll let it age in the carboy until the end of April. That would give it close to two months of aging before bottling. Also I have an unrelated question. I bought a funnel and strainer from George with my last order and I noticed that even water takes some time to get through it. Would I be able to use this strainer to strain some of lees out of my wine when I rack? Granted I added less water than Winexpert expects when I made my kit, but I figured the more I could strain the wine out of lees the more wine I could use.

 

[grapeman]

The lees are generally so fine they plug a screen up in no time. When you rack, you will get close to the lees and suck some up. This can't be avoided. If you want just siphon down to before it starts sucking it up. Switch over to a 1500 ml bottle and keep going untill it is just plain solid lees and stop You can tell by the colors going through the tube. Put the bottle in the fridge with a cork in it. That will stop fermentation. Let the wine settle a few days until it separates. Then pour off the clear into a clean bottle and discard the gross lees. Keep the wine for topping up or if the carboy isn't full, you can add back in now to let it finsih fermenting.