WineXpert First kit - BIG mistake! Help

[paubin]

JohnK,

A word of warning, be very, very careful to never leave your carboys
alone! Even within hearing distance may not be good enough! These
little buggers have a way of reproducing that I haven't figured out
yet. First you have one carboy, then three and soon your need an
entire room in the house to contain them. And Cpt. Kirk thought he had
it bad with tribbles, HA. Before you know it you will have so many
carboys they will overflow the small room you set aside for them. Be
afraid, be very afraid! I wonder how they are reproducing as they are
all boys (carBOYS). maybe some of them are actually cargirls in
disguise?

Oh well, I've warned you but as I see in your posts it has already
started for you. Your first kit isn't even done yet and soon you will
have three of them in the house. It is probably to late for you already!



On a lighter note, I would do the same as what Masta says. He is one smart cookie and you can't go wrong following his advice!



Good luck in your wine making future

Pete

 

[JohnK]

JohnK,

A word of warning, be very, very careful to never leave your carboys
alone! Even within hearing distance may not be good enough! These
little buggers have a way of reproducing that I haven't figured out
yet. First you have one carboy, then three and soon your need an
entire room in the house to contain them. And Cpt. Kirk thought he had
it bad with tribbles, HA. Before you know it you will have so many
carboys they will overflow the small room you set aside for them. Be
afraid, be very afraid! I wonder how they are reproducing as they are
all boys (carBOYS). maybe some of them are actually cargirls in
disguise?

Oh well, I've warned you but as I see in your posts it has already
started for you. Your first kit isn't even done yet and soon you will
have three of them in the house. It is probably to late for you already!



On a lighter note, I would do the same as what Masta says. He is one smart cookie and you can't go wrong following his advice!



Good luck in your wine making future

Pete

LOL!

Thanks Pete. Yes it has already started.... and my first kit isn't finished yet. Everyone here has been so helpful, and George has a great site. I'm sure I will be a great customer for years to come.

Cheers everyone ! (Ching....Ching....)

 

[JohnK]

I have done as Masta suggested, and 4 days ago racked to a (6) gallon Carboy, added my fining and clearing chems. and topped up with additional water. So I now have the proper 6 Gallons of wine.

The wine is VERY cloudy at this point. It also took a very long time to de-gas the wine. I did the add....mix 2 min...add...mix 2 min routine, and I wound up mixing for about 5 minutes after that! I made a point to stop mixing when it started to foam up. Waited till it settled and mixed some more... I've read about someone else having this problem and it was suggested that they had an incomplete fermentation. I checked SG and it was .990. Temp was 72 degrees. I was worried about introducing too much oxygen. Is that something I should worry about? I was using the drill mounted stir. So I switched back to my manual spoon.

back to my original question.... the wine is very cloudy. I realize I need to let it sit for approx 10 days to 2 weeks +, but is it advisable to rack to another Carboy at that time to further clear for another period of time? If so, how long would you suggest?

John

 

[peterCooper]

It sounds like you did it just right. You are not going to introduce too much oxygen by stirring. What you are doing is releasing CO2. It's relatively heavy. It is the closest thing to your wine so it's tough for oxygen to get near the surface. It would take a long long time to stir in a signficant amount of 02.

If you've topped up properly (which again,it sounds like you have) you are all set.

After stirring it will be cloudy, but it should settle over the next few days and clear nicely. Difficult to tell in a red wine but a white should begin to look good soon.

Someone, maybe Hippie or Waldo, said something about shining a torchlight through the carboy. This only works for whites. If you can see the beam it hasn't finished clearing.There is no harm in waiting a longer time than advertized. That wine can sit in the carboy for a month instead of 10 days. It won't change the outcome except to be sure it is clear.

Also, before you bottle, rack to another clean sanitized carboy. and bottle from it. That way you make sure no sediment gets in the bottle.

I rack off the top 90%, then bottle from it. Then rack whatever I can from the remainder. As a result I have 24-27 perfect bottles and only have an issue with the last three.

I also split my bottles into 3, those that I label and cap etc which are my display bottles (usually about 20-24). These sit in my wine rack looking good or get given away. Then another 4-7 bottles which I rough label. These are my taste testers (or I am dying for a drink, what can I find?). The remainder are my 'muddy bottom', which I use to top up the next batch. Edited by: peterCooper

 

[masta]

John,


I agree with Peter and everything sounds fine at this point. I normally don't even think about doing anything with my wine after stabilizing/fining for 3 weeks. This gives it plenty of time for the fines to settle and then you can rack for bottling.


Another tip: I give my carboys a gentle rocking a few times while then are clearing. This helps to settle the lees and also knock the fines off the sides of the carboy where it settles along the ridges. I have my carboys sitting on a wooden shelf covered in newspaper but be careful if your carboys are on a hard surface.Just grab the carboy at the neck and carefully rock it back and forth.

 

[JohnK]

Thanks everyone. Good to know everything is going correctly. I be sure
to let you know how it turns out when it comes time to bottle. I'm sure
there will be one bottle that is "short". From what I have read though,
the Chianti is better if aged 1 year. I'm sure there will be a few
bottles that won't make it that long.

Pete I like the idea of splitting the bottles into 3 catagories. I
figured I would have at least two. 1 set that is clear, and a few that
may have a slight bit of lees. It will be my first time bottling,
so I'm sure it won't go perfect. I like the idea of of the (3) because
I would then have some reserved for topping up my next batch.



Is it advisable to wax my corks for long term storage? I would like to take a few bottles the I would age for several years.



Thanks again.



John