My first bottles... pics

[Beta_Grumm]

Well here they are:

Look at those babies SPARKLE!
Unfortunately I underestimated the number of bottles I would need for 4+ gallons of wine, I have a full gallon and a half sitting in a small fermentor till tomorrow when I can go get some more bottles. (those are just hand me downs)
Taste is pretty good I must say. The strawberry (bottles) I just sweetened to taste. Dump and stir. The mead, (gallon jugs) is completely dry, and pretty good that way too. I did plan on bottling the mead, but I as you can see I have already drank 2/3 of the one gallon. Might not make it into bottles.

I will say though, the mead was done in two different fermentors, and one tastes just a hair more..... I wanna say sour / funky but its really faint. It was also just a tad cloudier then the other. I think I might have missed it when I stabilized. Not sure.

Anyways, I sill have to prep my blueberry and 3 concords so more photos to come!

Cheers.

 

[arcticsid]

Looks great from this angle man!! Keep on keeping on.

Be careful! I just recently learned about these wine gremlins. They sneak in when you are sleeping and help themselves to your wine!!!LOL


At least thats my story, and I think for now I am going to stick with it!!



Troy

 

[rocket man]

Wow, those babies do sparkle. Did you filter them or did you let them clear on there own. If you let them clear on there own how long did it take?

 

[TheTooth]

Lookin' good... congrats on bottling your first batch!

 

[xanxer82]

Looking great. I just bottled my first batch this week too.
You'll have to show us your label when it's ready.
On average 6 gallons of wine will fit into 30 standard bottles.

 

[Beta_Grumm]

I did not filter it. After fermentation was done I stabilized, racked and just let it sit. It sat longer then I intended it to. The strawberry sat for about 3 months. The mead a little less. But yeah, i was pleased with how well it cleared. And no off flavors.

One of my biggest fears with the Strawberry was 1: I didn't now how long it could sit on the lees with out getting a tainted flavor (can't remember what that's called), and 2: I used a 2 piece air lock on it, and didn't pay attention to the alcohol in the lock. It evaporated down low enough that it no longer created a liquid seal.

Apparently nothing got in. I think I got lucky.

 

[Wade E]

Beta, you have to rack off the lees once in awhile. For every gallon of wine you need 5 750ml bottles.

 

[Runningwolf]

looks great. I look forward to seeig your labels.

 

[Beta_Grumm]

Labels.... right... (forgot about those)
see, that part requires creativity... not my strong point. But I guess, it's unavoidable.

I have a week of vacation coming up, we'll see what I can drum up.

 

[Beta_Grumm]

So I think its bad news for the blueberry.

It's not much younger then the strawberry, but it has not been stabilized or racked besides the once from primary to secondary. I racked it tonight, and added stabilizer. It's not tasting all that great. Now I know it could be the additives, and the fact that it just got racked, but it was pretty clear. Anyways I racked it and will try it again when i get back from vacation in about a week. i'm hoping to bottle it about then provided it tastes ok.

We'll see.

 

[Wade E]

Did you sweeten it? Dont be afraid to play around with it like sweetening it a bit to improve it. Bottle it and give it more time. Some wines will taste OK or even great early on in the game but others will require lots of time then all the suddn come around fast. Sadly, some will improve but not enough but theres no telling until after at least a year or more.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

Did you sweeten it? Dont be afraid to play around with it like sweetening it a bit to improve it. Bottle it and give it more time. Some wines will taste OK or even great early on in the game but others will require lots of time then all the suddn come around fast. Sadly, some will improve but not enough but theres no telling until after at least a year or more.

agreed, sometimes time will heal all wounds. others never do.