Mosti Mondiale More on Topping-Off

[RandyB]

Making an Alljuice Master’s Edition Outback Shiraz and I have an aversion to topping off with water and would like to avoid using a finished wine. If I rack from a 6-gallon to a 5-gallon, it leaves me with close to a 3-Liter jug remaining of unfinished wine.
I then degas the 5-gallon carboy and add the K-meta, Sillgel and Liquigel. Can I then top off the 5-gallon carboy with the remaining 3-Liters of unfinished wine? Keeping in mind that the 3-Liter wine hasn’t been degassed or had any of the finishing agents added?

 

[IQwine]

You might consider racking to a 6 gal to degas and your additions .... then rack to a 5 gal for the bulk aging and bottle the excess for aging in the bottle.

 

[Jackie]

I do as IQwine suggests. I degass in 6 gal and add fining agents then I rack down to 5 gallons and put the rest in approp size containers that I have bungs to fit (I often use mason jars but 1.5L wine bottles work too (as will half gallon glass jugs that juice/cider sometimes comes in--the ones I have willtake a 6.5 bung)--I have bungs in just about all sizes). When cleared, I siphon off the cleared wine from the smaller containers and use whatever I need for topup and bottle the rest.

 

[wctisue]

George's promotion of "make one, age one" is pretty close to the way I've been doing my kits.


I alternate 10L kits with 16-23L kits. All of the kits are made and stablized in 6-gallon carboys. When its time to rack to clear the 10L kits, I rack them to 5-gallon carboys and use the excess to top up the higher quality kits to keep them at the full 6-gallons. So I'm always adding finished wine to a finished wine. While I'm bulk aging all the carboys are full right up in the neck and under an airlock to minimize air contact.

 

[Wade E]

Or you could just add a little of everything to the 3 liters of wine also and still keep them separate and then use that to top up your 5'er later when needed without worrying about clouding it back up.

 

[RandyB]

Been fishing in the middle of nowhere for the last several days and just now made it back to Amarillo TX where I have www service.I was trying to find a lazy way out of racking but to no avail. Went ahead and racked to a 6-gallon carboy- added finishing pouches, degassed and then racked to a 5-gallon carboy and finished with a 3-liter bottle. Perfect.
But I still had 2 carboys to clean!
Thanks