WineXpert How bad will it be????

[Darryl]

I started My first wine kit(WE Worlld Vineyard Chillean Malbec)on Dec. 3 2008... Moved it to secondery fermentation on Dec. 9, 2008... Everything was going GREAT... But holidays and had go out of town for 10 days(work) and today... I added my metabisulphite and Sorbate... Degased and added the chitosan and degased again... and I topped up.
My question is will my wine be ok or have I ruined it!!!!!!!! It look ok, but it is my first time...Help please!!!!!
Darryl

 

[Bert]

It will be OK....The CO2 from the fermentation will have protected it....I usually let my secondery fermentation go longer than the number of days called for just to make sure it is done fermenting.....Enjoy and have fun..

 

[Tom]

You should be fine !


I secondary longer if I added the clairifier. Reason is it gives a longer time for the clairifier to mak your wine clearer.


Just continue as if you were on schedule. keeping in mind you are checking what the gravity should be.

 

[grapeman]

Did you rack it to a clean carboy before adding everything and degassing? WE has you do that to help with the clearing. Some others keep it on the lees, but WE doesn't. If you racked it, degassed and added everything you listed, it will be just fine. A few extra days here and there actually can help more than hurt.

 

[Darryl]

Thanks for the support guys!!!! Appleman my instructions said not to rack before stabillising and clearing so I did not!!!!!! winexpert kits require the sediment to be stirred back into suspension. It also said racking the wine off the sediment prio to fining may permanently prevent clearing!!!!

 

[grapeman]

You are right darryl. You keep the sediment before the final clarifiers. What I was referring to was that you rack off the lees between primary and secondary stages and I wanted to make sure you had racked it off those lees at least once. The way I read that you described it the wine was still sitting on the original lees. There are so many brands now all developing their own unique methods that it is hard to keep them all straight. Some even change them and it is months before all their kits have the same instructions in them. I have found over the years, time is the best clarifier there is.


My main point was to reassure you that your wine will be fine. Just follow the directions the best you can.

 

[Wade E]

Thats what I thought Darryl about fining and not racking off lees with W.E. kits as they use Chitosan which requires all lees to be stirred back. It has been sitting on lees for awhile so hopefully there isnt some off taste from that but I dought it. Lots of wineries actually do this to gain more mothfeel from this methos=d and it is called Surlees. Google it and you can read many articles on this subject.

 

[Darryl]

Sorry guys!!!!! I did rack the wine from primmary to secondary!!! I went from the bucket to a glass car-boy.... and that is where I added my stuff and degased... I will let it go 14 days and see if it clears up and I will let yall know!!!! Thanks for all the help!!

 

[Vince]

So while you patiently wait you can do what we all do over here, start another kit!

 

[Tom]

Oh yea, start another kit.


Speaking for some, you will find out real fast how fast your wine will be consumed.


You can NEVER make to much wine..

 

[Millzy64]

So true. I started my first batch of wine this September. Chardonnay from grapes. Since then I've made, apple, cherry, old vine zin, elderberry port and now have a batch of merlot in primary. Already ready to start a raspberry/cranberry as soon as I rack the merlot into the secondary. This does become an obsession. Be careful!

 

[Wade E]

How did you go about this Chard, do you have a crusher/destemmer or did you have it done at the facility and where?

 

[Millzy64]

We have a press but not a crusher so we actually crushed and destemmed completely by hand. Three cases of grapes. It took forever. Then we put it into the press. Next year I'm going to borrow or rent a crusher/destemmer and then let it all sit with some pectic enzyme for a day prior to pressing out the juice. I skipped this step this year and really left allot of juice in the skins.