Might of made a boo boo....Please help to clarify

[Leeboy]

Hi Vino Members , Tonight was supposed to be bottling day, but when i went to take my last sample to check, i accidentally pushed the wine thief right to the bottom and my sample came out very murky. I guess i stirred the bottom up a bit. How long would i have to wait for it to sit now , before i can bottle it? Thanks

 

[jimmyjames23]

You should rack the wine before you bottle.

The lees will get stirred up near the end and the bottle to bottle consistency will be "inconsistent".

 

[jimmyjames23]

Did u use a fining agent?

 

[Leeboy]

Im using a supermarket 28 day kit, and the last thing i used was a clearing packet. Between all the steps i kept transferring into a sanitary carbouy with that proper siphon hose . Isnt that "racking" ? Or should i do something else before i bottle it? Thanks for answering

 

[jimmyjames23]

That's racking. Though a racking cane works better. It has a cap on the bottom that prevents (somewhat) the lees from being siphoned.

 

[Leeboy]

Cool, thats what i have . But im afraid i stirred some of the thick stuff on the bottom when i poked it with the wine thief. Can i let it sit a day and bottle or should i wait longer?

 

[jimmyjames23]

Let it settle a few days and go get yourself a racking cane for $4-$6. Rack it one last time before bottling. You'll be good. In no time you'll be pressing grapes, using a hydrometer and tailoring your wines with tannins, acids and back sweeteners.

Picture shown is of the tip of a racking cane.

 

[seth8530]

Just give it a few days. Make sure that the sediment is fairly compact and that the wine is clear before racking.

 

[Leeboy]

Ok thanks , Are you suppose to let the cap actually hit the bottom or keep it a bit above somehow? And Seth, i pulled out 2 samples , the first one i didnt touch the bottom and it was very clear, the 2nd time i hit the bottom by accident.

 

[TonyP]

Leeboy:

Absolutely, wait for the sediment to fall and the wine to clear before bottling. Unclear wine will not clear in the bottle. My suggestion is to give it at least 5 days and probably 10. An additional week or two will do nothing but improve your product. Keep in mind that kit instructions are minimums and wine will usually improve when given the opportunity.

 

[jimmyjames23]

Are you using a carboy with a tapered bottom?.

Usually I put a piece of red (any color will do) electrical tape 2 inches from the bottom tip and keep the tape where I can see it. This ensures that I'm only racking off the top wine as opposed to drawing the wine from the bottom.

 

[Leeboy]

Awesome info everyone, i was scared that if i didnt bottle it the day it said, it would go rotten

 

[jimmyjames23]

I've never made a kit. But I here those instructions are more like "guidelines".

 

[jimmyjames23]

Ok thanks , Are you suppose to let the cap actually hit the bottom or keep it a bit above somehow? And Seth, i pulled out 2 samples , the first one i didnt touch the bottom and it was very clear, the 2nd time i hit the bottom by accident.

With wine that has been racked 3-5 times you can let the cane hit the bottom center which is convex and (usually) lets the lees fall around it.
With wines where the lees have not entirely compacted around this "cone" it is recommended to follow it down and stop when the wine is cloudy. But then you have to put that cloudy wine into a smaller container ( 1 gal for instance) and either use a fining agent agent on it or be patient.
Like the masses say
Wine will fine in Time
But no one would frown on you if you got impatient and bottled early so you could get sloshed.
If you want to drink it, rack off the clear stuff...put the rest in a smaller vessel and reap the fruits of your labor.

 

[Leeboy]

haha....Good one....I feel alot better now. I think i will rack it a couple more times . I dont want "swish"

 

[jimmyjames23]

Here's another racking tip that might be useful. I found it at Home Depot. I believe it was under two dollars.

 

[seth8530]

Yep, be patient, as long as you dont have too much headspace this stuff should keep for quite a while.. While you are at it, feel free to read many of the extremely useful topics in this forum. They will cover all the questions you have and more.

 

[jswordy]

A 1/2" piece of CVPC with a tube all the way down the middle, a cap on the end and a hole drilled an inch up from the end works well, too.

 

[wineutopia]

Awesome info everyone, i was scared that if i didnt bottle it the day it said, it would go rotten

Hey Leeboy. It won't go rotten. Just make sure you keep an airlock on it and you will be fine. I have stored kit wine in carboys for 6+ months already. Do not worry. Just make sure it is clear.

 

[Leeboy]

You guys/gals have been very helpful. I'm going to take my time and make a nice batch. The carbouys I'm using are the spagnolia plastic ones. Thanks again, and I will start doing more reading in my free time on this forum. Who knows, I may even learn to make port and get the party rockin ...haha