Headspace question

[Denis whalen]

Does headspace in a carboy really matter on a 4-6 week kit your just going to bottle and drink soon anyways? I can see why you do it for bulk aging but when its just sitting undisturbed for 2 weeks to clear i cant imagine it would have and negative effects. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[ithink2020]

In the past (I'm just getting back into wine making after ~10 years), it was said to always top up. However, I recently heard someone say it was not necessary on a 6 week kit to top up. Then I saw this statement in the new Winexpert Kit instructions for 4-8 week kits:

"Topping up the carboy during the clearing process is not required. If choosing to top-up use a similar style of wine. Water is not recommended."
https://winexpert.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/GVI-4-8week-Rev10Nov2018_FINAL-JW.pdf
I'm wondering if thoughts are changing about topping up...

UPDATE:
Looking at the Winexpert instructions for kits with grape skins they do state:
"If choosing to carboy age wine, top-up with a similar style wine and fit with a solid stopper. Bottle aging is the preferred method."
https://winexpert.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/GVI-withgrapeskins-25Sep2019-rev.pdf

 

[cmason1957]

If you are absolutely following the timelines in the kit instructions, then no topping up isn't as big a deal, but it won't hurt anything to do it and it is good practice to get into for when you decide to age those kits a bit longer than the instructions say.

 

[sour_grapes]

In addition to what Craig said, (and as I often like to point out), what is the argument against topping up? It's not like you are throwing away the top-up wine. You get to drink it, just delayed a little bit. Why NOT top up?

 

[ithink2020]

In addition to what Craig said, (and as I often like to point out), what is the argument against topping up? It's not like you are throwing away the top-up wine. You get to drink it, just delayed a little bit. Why NOT top up?

Very good point.

 

[Denis whalen]

In addition to what Craig said, (and as I often like to point out), what is the argument against topping up? It's not like you are throwing away the top-up wine. You get to drink it, just delayed a little bit. Why NOT top up?

It's only because i don't have a similar wine handy it seems like it would defeat the purpose of making my own wine if i still have to buy more. I imagine as I get further into this journey of wine making ill start to acquire more varieties and smaller carboys or bottles to top up with. This is in reference to a strawberry watermelon island mist kit i have going but if you have a recommendation of something that you would top up with I'll take any ideas as I'm still fairly new to this and learning more with every kit.

 

[GR!]

I just got back into wine making too, suddenly a lot more time on my hands. Had the same debate with some kit whites I wanted to push to bottle quickly to get my feet back under me. I just bought the AIO Headspace Eliminator to deal with it

 

[jpwatkins9]

I don’t top up during the primary or secondary fermentation as the CO2 produced takes care of that. I also sometimes use a gallon to make some sparkling wine (especially Rose’) and don’t want any Potassium sorbate in there (lots of it in commercial wine) killing off the yeast. topping up for bulk aging is another story.

 

[sour_grapes]

It's only because i don't have a similar wine handy it seems like it would defeat the purpose of making my own wine if i still have to buy more. I imagine as I get further into this journey of wine making ill start to acquire more varieties and smaller carboys or bottles to top up with. This is in reference to a strawberry watermelon island mist kit i have going but if you have a recommendation of something that you would top up with I'll take any ideas as I'm still fairly new to this and learning more with every kit.

Yeah, I didn't realize it was a strawberry watermelon island mist. I can't fault you for not wanting to muck about matching that one. I think you would be fine without topping that for two weeks. If you decide to do so, I'd go with a crisp white, but who knows?

 

[Ajmassa]

Does headspace in a carboy really matter on a 4-6 week kit your just going to bottle and drink soon anyways?

No. Not really. You’ve got no worries.

But if your gonna be making more wines it’s not a bad idea to grab a 5gal carboy for times like this. (Or 1 gal jugs if your making 3gal kits) And can just put the remainder in bottles.

 

[CabSauv]

Sanitize some marbles, place in a muslin bag and put it in the carboy if you can't find like wine.

 

[Ajmassa]

Sanitize some marbles, place in a muslin bag and put it in the carboy if you can't find like wine.

Yeah. That too. A whole lot of people swear by the the marble technique.
Early on before I really utilized this forum I had this same dilemma but for some reason didn’t have the foresight to google it to troubleshoot. I made this contraption with a ballon taped to an extended straw through a bung And a tube clamp.
It was so ghetto I don’t even wanna post a pic lol.

 

[Fingaluna]

If you are planning to age for some time, excluding air from the headspace is ideal in order to eliminate the Oxygen in the headspace.

Pouring-in other wine will also add Oxygen and will increase the DO (Dissolved Oxygen) due to the mixing of Oxygen while pouring. Also, there is a fairly high Oxygen Transfer Rate through the cork / cap / crown liner into wine while in the bottle.

By far the easiest way to deal with this is to flush bulk aging vessels with CO2 or N2 for a few seconds prior to filling by siphon. This dilutes the Oxygen concentration significantly, resulting in a much lower DO from racking, and lower O2 in the headspace. FYI, the idea of a CO2 "blanket" is a fallacy - CO2 and O2 diffuse into a uniform mixture in the gas layer above the liquid.

The idea of racking from larger vessels into smaller ones is also sound, although not quite as effective as flushing vessels with inert gas.

If none of these are an option, then treating wine / cider / beer with BOTH Ascorbic Acid AND Metabisulphite at 5g/hL (both) is highly effective at binding free Oxygen that becomes dissolved in the liquid. Note that BOTH is much better than just Metabisulphite, as the two work synergisticly to protect the wine / beer / cider.

If you're not planning to age the wine for very long / plan to drink it within 3 to 6 months, a bit of Metabisulphite is likely just fine.

 

[Denis whalen]

Thank you everyone, this forum has taught me so much in just a few months. I truly appreciate everything.