Missing liquid

[crackermonkey]

Started a RJS Ross’s grande a couple of weeks ago , I am trying something new this year and trying g to ferment at at 15 degrees C. It is taking a lot longer to get through the primary stage but that’s what I expected but it seems like now that the most active stage is over it looks like a lot less liquid in the bucket more than a couple of litres . Should I top up with water or leave it alone and add lots of wine wine it’s ready to go into the secondary ?
thx

 

[Brian55]

Wine. Never top up with water.

 

[NorCal]

Rack into a smaller container(s) or top with the same wine or a wine that would blend well with what you made. Adding water will make the wine taste thinner. The important thing is to leave minimal air in the container with the wine.

 

[crackermonkey]

Rack into a smaller container(s) or top with the same wine or a wine that would blend well with what you made. Adding water will make the wine taste thinner. The important thing is to leave minimal air in the container with the wine.

I get all this , I’m just afraid I didn’t add enough water in the first place because there is so much missing , normaly with kit wine the most I would have to top up is a bottle worth but it looks like a couple of litres is missing !

 

[Sailor323]

Did you measure specific gravity in the beginning. If SG was significantly greater than 1.095 it's possible that you didn't add enough H2O. When I add H2O to concentrates, I always begin with less H2O than recommended and add water until SG seems right. Too much water results in thin, flabby wine. Erring on the side of too little can result in a better, fuller wine.

 

[Brian55]

Do you recall how much water you originally added?

 

[crackermonkey]

it is an 18 litre kit so I added 4 litres of water , i use the standard wine making bucket and usually fill to fill to the 5 gallon mark . I have to admit l have gotten a bit lazy with the measuring of specific gravity at the beginning , but now I think I’ve learned a lesson why I should do it every time .

 

[Brian55]

it is an 18 litre kit so I added 4 litres of water , i use the standard wine making bucket and usually fill to fill to the 5 gallon mark . I have to admit l have gotten a bit lazy with the measuring of specific gravity at the beginning , but now I think I’ve learned a lesson why I should do it every time .

You're only 1 litre short of following the instructions. Your Rosso Grande will just be a bit more Grande. It should take about 5 bottles of wine to top up a six gallon carboy. Racking down to a 5 gallon carboy should leave you just a bit over or under. Have you made this one before?

 

[crackermonkey]

I have not made the grande but I have made the super Tuscan and it is a very similar wine

 

[Brian55]

I have not made the grande but I have made the super Tuscan and it is a very similar wine

Having made them both, the Tuscan is very good from almost immediately after bottling (about 1 year old at that point, by my process) up until 4 or 5 years where they start to fade. Whereas the Rosso Grande is a much bigger and bolder wine which requires at least a couple years of aging before I would recommend starting to drink them. Last bottle I opened was 5 years old and it could have aged longer. Unfortunately I only have 1 bottle of that batch left.

 

[crackermonkey]

Having made them both, the Tuscan is very good from almost immediately after bottling (about 1 year old at that point, by my process) up until 4 or 5 years where they start to fade. Whereas the Rosso Grande is a much bigger and bolder wine which requires at least a couple years of aging before I would recommend starting to drink them. Last bottle I opened was 5 years old and it could have aged longer. Unfortunately I only have 1 bottle of that batch left.

So since you have made the Rossi grande so many times have you noticed it loses a lot of liquid during the primary stage? . Because I would be surprised I made such a big mistake. Right beside it right now is the rjs 18 litre zinfadel it looks dead on the right liquid and I made them the same day .

 

[sour_grapes]

So since you have made the Rossi grande so many times have you noticed it loses a lot of liquid during the primary stage? . Because I would be surprised I made such a big mistake. Right beside it right now is the rjs 18 litre zinfadel it looks dead on the right liquid and I made them the same day .

You are not seriously suggesting that kits of different grape varieties evaporate vapor differently, are you? What do you have in mind?

 

[crackermonkey]

If I knew that answer I wouldn’t it be asking it here in this forum . What I know is I made the kits at the same time , they are both 18 litre kits . I would have made them identically .they went through the primary fermenting at 15 degrees C with a renaissance bravo yeast and now 2weeks later one of them is sitting at 22-23 litres and the other 21ish ?

 

[pillswoj]

Was the rossi grande a wet skins kit or a dry skins? If it was wet skins then the juice pack was only 16L (they include the volume of the wet skins in the total), as such you did not add enough water in the initial. The instructions clearly state to add water to 23 L before adding the skins.

 

[Brian55]

So since you have made the Rossi grande so many times have you noticed it loses a lot of liquid during the primary stage? . Because I would be surprised I made such a big mistake. Right beside it right now is the rjs 18 litre zinfadel it looks dead on the right liquid and I made them the same day .

I've made hundreds of kits. Never noticed any difference in volume before, during, or after fermentation, other than the obvious loss when removing the grape skins.