Finer Wine Kit Moscato Tavola Finer Wine Kit Trouble?

[Billdean]

I started make my FWK on 3/29/23. I follow the direction, at least so I thought I did. I just realized that I shorted the water by about 1/2 of a gallon but am not sure exactly how much. The 7.9 gallon bucket I used seem to be off after the 5 gallon mark. Here are the stats as of 3/30/23 as I started fermentation.

SG was 1.110, PH was 3.67, temp was 79*.

On 4/9/23 I racked the wine into a 6 gallon carboy and it only filled it up to the shoulder of the carboy. There was some loss after racking. I degassed according to the direction for 3 minutes with a drill motor. I’ve kept the wine under vacuum sense that time. I did not top off as I did not have anything but water to do so. As of today the wine has still not cleared the way it should. It still seemed to have a lot of gas so I hooked up the AIO vacuum to degas it. There was a lot of gas still left in it. I left it hooked up until it stopped bubbling. My questions are how much water could I have shorted it? The SG is pretty close to the book. Will it hurt my wine? Why is it still cloudy? Maybe because I did not degass it enough? This is my first premium wine kit. I hope it is all right! I have not tasted it yet

 

[Ohio Bob]

In my opinion the amount of water is a guide, not a mandate. The SG is most important. I highly recommend getting a store bought wine to top off the carboy. IMO, bad practice not to. Other than that you’re doing fine, just be patient. Wine ferments at it’s own pace sometimes.

 

[Jovimaple]

What is the current SG?

Did you use the Kieselsol and chitosan packs after you degassed?

 

[Billdean]

What is the current SG?

Did you use the Kieselsol and chitosan packs after you degassed?

What is the current SG?

Did you use the Kieselsol and chitosan packs after you degassed?

Yes i used the clearing agents. The SG .998

 

[Jovimaple]

You could try another dose of clearing agents.

I am on the "top up and leave it alone for a few months" bandwagon, though.

I rack with my AIO and therefore I never stir to degas - the racking process seems to get the degassing started. Once or twice I have added a second dose of clearing agents if I didn't want to wait for time to do its thing.

Just a note about carboy sizes - they can vary. It's probably your carboy that is off, not your fermenter. That being said, I have never gotten a full 6 gallons from a 6 gallon kit. I usually rack down to a 5 gallon and a 13 cup Mogen David wine jug - a size 6 bung (same as for a gallon jug) will fit it so I can keep it airlocked. The other alternative is to top up with a similar wine. I have done that, too.

Good luck!

Here's a picture of the 13 cup Mogen David jug - I have a few of them because one of my besties is married to a pastor and they use this wine for communion.

 

[Billdean]

I do understand the top up, but it is my understanding keeping it under vacuum accomplishes the same thing. I am using the head space eliminator put out by All In One wine pumps, though I just got back from the store and bought a big bottle on Moscato I will top it off with now. You maybe right about the carboy being off. What threw me off is FWK said to bring the water up to the first ring in a 7.9 gallon bucket. Thats what I did but maybe my buckets are 6.5 gallons. I will have to figure that out I guess!

I rack with my AIO pump also. Now I am use the head space eliminator to degas with if I still have some left. I have about 6 or 8 one gallon carboys I can use but I need a few more 6 gallon ones.

Your wine in that jug looks nice. I won’t bottle mine until it looks good and clear. Thank you for your reply!

Here is that head space eliminator. Headspace Eliminator, removes CO2 + harmful headspace in your carboy

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[Billdean]

Oh by the way. My porch is my wine room. The only place I have. I keep my wine shielded from the light with black garbage bags and it‘s cool out there.

 

[winemaker81]

What threw me off is FWK said to bring the water up to the first ring in a 7.9 gallon bucket. Thats what I did but maybe my buckets are 6.5 gallons. I will have to figure that out I guess!

If you're going to make 23 liter kits, get a 7.9 US gallon fermenter. 6.5 gallons doesn't give you a lot of space for expansion, and a vigorous ferment will overflow it. Generally speaking, don't fill a fermenter more then 3/4 full to avoid problems. It may not happen often, but once is more than enough.

 

[Billdean]

Thanks 81……I was thinking I was using a 7.9 gallon bucket, but now I am sure it was 6.5 gallon. I may have screw this kit up, but I have learned a valuable lesson. Measure twice and cut once! Or so to say

 

[Billdean]

Hi everyone….I racked this kit on 4-9-23. I was worried I may have screwed it up. I still don’t know. Looking at the wine now it has cleared up good. I am happy with that! I was thinking it maybe time to rack it again and bottle it. I would add 1/4 teaspoon of K-Med. I started the kit on March 29. My question is should I rack it now and bottle it or should I leave it alone?

 

[cmason1957]

Hi everyone….I racked this kit on 4-9-23. I was worried I may have screwed it up. I still don’t know. Looking at the wine now it has cleared up good. I am happy with that! I was thinking it maybe time to rack it again and bottle it. I would add 1/4 teaspoon of K-Med. I started the kit on March 29. My question is should I rack it now and bottle it or should I leave it alone?View attachment 101342

I would think you can rack it into a carboy, add K-Meta (I just add it to the bottom of the receiving carboy and let it mix via the racking), then bottle. Alternatively, depending on how much lees you have in the bottom, you could just add the K-Meta to this carboy and bottle straight from it, probably no real need for that extra rack.

 

[Billdean]

Thank you @cmason1957……I decide to rack half of it into a 3 gallon carboy. I added 1/8 teaspoon of K-meta. First taste was not bad I think. It has a little sharpness to it or maybe not real smooth yet. I am not much of a wine taster but I am trying to get better. I guess the wine is still young and will mellow a little with some age. It’s not to strong with alcohol probably about right. I will bottle the other 3 gallons today. I ordered another FWK that should be here tomorrow along with some Glycerine . Would anyone add glycerine to a kit? I have read about it so I thought I better get some on hand in case I needed it.

 

[Ohio Bob]

The sharpness you taste is probably CO2 dissolved in the wine. It’s a sign your wine is not degassed. Since the kit was pitched in March, not unsurprising. My opinion is to degas, or let it bulk age another few months.

 

[Ohio Bob]

Would anyone add glycerine to a kit?

Yes, I add glycerin to whatever reds I make. Whites I like on the crisp side, so no glycerin for my Riesling or Viognier.

 

[ratflinger]

Racked too soon, biggest issue I have with kits, ferment to dry - I leave wine in the primary for about a month, white or red. When you rack the 1st time and add the settling agents there is no need to worry about 'topping off'. There's enough CO2 coming off to handle that. My wine sits for a month in the kill jar also, no topping up. I've used vacuum to degas, IMHO a waste of time. Time in a carboy handles degassing just fine. When I rack out of the kill jar then I keep the wine topped up from then on, 5 or 6 month minimum.

 

[Billdean]

I did degas with the AIO head space eliminator. No more bubbles was coming when held under vacuum. I did bottle 3 gallons of it. The other 3 gallons I will leave in a topped up carboy for another few months. Maybe sharpness was the wrong way to describe it for me.

The sharpness you taste is probably CO2 dissolved in the wine. It’s a sign your wine is not degassed. Since the kit was pitched in March, not unsurprising. My opinion is to degas, or let it bulk age another few months.

 

[Billdean]

Racked too soon, biggest issue I have with kits, ferment to dry - I leave wine in the primary for about a month, white or red. When you rack the 1st time and add the settling agents there is no need to worry about 'topping off'. There's enough CO2 coming off to handle that. My wine sits for a month in the kill jar also, no topping up. I've used vacuum to degas, IMHO a waste of time. Time in a carboy handles degassing just fine. When I rack out of the kill jar then I keep the wine topped up from then on, 5 or 6 month minimum.

I am kinda of new to wine making. Only been doing it for 1 year. I guess I don’t know what a kill jar is or how to use one. It doesn’t reference that in the instructions.

 

[Shurt1073]

There is a ton of information on the forums with bulk aging and the three gallons you have in a carboy will be better over time. Now you have 12-14 bottles to drink. It will interesting to see if the wine clears even more in over the next 3-4 months in the carboy.

I'm also buying the FWK's and you might pay a little more but you are getting a bigger bang for your buck. Keep reading and asking questions. You're on the right track.

 

[ratflinger]

I am kinda of new to wine making. Only been doing it for 1 year. I guess I don’t know what a kill jar is or how to use one. It doesn’t reference that in the instructions.

Okay, no problem. I'll explain my process, but you will have to account for the equipment you have on hand, which is what we all have had to do. My wine comes out good from this, but other people do it differently and guess what? Yep, their wine comes out good too. Many ways to get to the same point.

I'm running pretty much a contentious process:
* 2x 7.9gal fermenters - sits for a month here
* 2x 6.5gal glass carboys - my 'kill jars', this is where I add kmeta, glycern, and clearing agents. The extra space lets me really whip the wine for degassing, then sits here for a month, not topped off but airlocked
* 2x 6gal glass carboys - my 2nd racking, topped off and airlocked - sits for a month
* 2x 6gal Better Bottle carboys - 3rd racking, filter through a 1 micron filter, topped off and airlocked with a silicone bung airlock. Wine will set here for a min of 4 months to bulk age. A good place for oak spirals too.

I have 8 of the better bottles so it's all lined up and running. The last 2 carboys have wine that is 7 months old and it either goes into bottles for storage or we drink it. Might have a week or 2 of downtime at various times, just depends on when I want to start & when Label Peelers has a sale.

 

[Shurt1073]

I have 8 of the better bottles so it's all lined up and running. The last 2 carboys have wine that is 7 months old and it either goes into bottles for storage or we drink it. Might have a week or 2 of downtime at various times, just depends on when I want to start & when Label Peelers has a sale.

Sale started today on what is still in stock or leftover. 50% off .... Bought the Tavola Syrah with one skin, and Forte Pinot Noir with double skins pack. I've never had wine kit with skin packs. Hurry, rumor is they sell out quick on this 50% off sale. I'm like a kid at Christmas now waiting to open my presents.