WineXpert Newbie looking for some Advice

[OldWino1]

Hey after you have a few batches you can top off with your own. Cant get any less expensive than that. Or you can make a table white and red for topping off purposes but becarful there because mine ended up tasting pretty good and we use it in cooking dishes aswell. so it can go pretty fast.

 

[cheesegod99]

Alright finally bottled it today using the bucket with the spigot -
ended up leaving quite a bit in the carboy as I didn't want to suck up
any sediment - but I still ended up with 27 bottles with enough left
over to have a few glasses.



Oh and this might sound like a dumb question - but what is the best way
to put on the labels? Do they need to be wet or something to activate
the glue? Oh and if anyone has used shrink wrap seals, can you just use
a hair dryer or should I use boiling water?



Thanks again for all the feedback , I'm definitely hooked now...

 

[masta]

Congrats on getting your wine into bottles!

If you got the labels from George than get wet the labels with water and stick them on.


Many use boiling water but I prefer a heat gun as it is quick and easy( I can do 30 bottles before the water boils) . A hair dryer will not get hot enough to shrink the seals.

 

[smurfe]

I used a sponge to wet the labels George gives you with the kits.


It worked great and you didn't over saturate the label. In regards to the shrinks, I use boiling water. Some use the steam from the boiling water, I turn the bottle upside down, hold the shrink in place with a long handled teaspoon and give the neck of the bottle with the shrink a quick dunk. It is the best way i found.


I tried the wifes hair dryer that I thought would be more than hot enough but itdidn't work well. I tried my heat gun butit was too hot and melted them. If I held it back I never could get it right cause they would shrink up crooked and not look pretty.


Also, sorry it took me this long to welcome you to the forum and our world.


Smurfe

Edited by: smurfe

 

[Angell Wine]

I've used a spray bottle for the wheat glue labels before, worked great. If you decided to print your own and have a ink jet printer, spray lacquer on the front of the labels so water do run the colors.


Oh yea, be sure to drink a bottle before you put on the labels that way theywill bestraight, until the next day.

 

[Bert]

Good job Cheesegod99....pretty nice feeling having those bottles of wine that you made....Are you ready to start the next batch??? Again congrats and be sure to have some fun with new hobby.

 

[earl]

cheesegod


Something I do that really is easy forputting on caps:


Take an old coat hangar and cut the long bottom part off of it. Then bend the last couple of inches to make it look like a 7. Put your cap on your bottle then put the top of the 7 over the cap. The rest of the 7 you hold with your hand against the bottle. Then turn the bottle upside down and dip the cap in boiling water. The coat hangar keeps the cap on and you won't burn your hand.


earl

 

[Lenore]

You can buy a heat gun at any craft store like Hobby Lobby, it was cheap and it shrinks those wraps right on. It really lends that professional touch to the bottles that will impress the recepient!! Congrats on your first batch, how did you like the taste and how do you think it compares to wines you have bought?

 

[grapeman]

The best way I have found to apply the shrinkwraps is probably the easiest and cheapest. If you don't have one of thes applicators in the kitchen already, you can buy one for a couple a bucks. Just grap the old tea kettle and put in about an inch of water. Bring it to a boil so the kettle starts steaming. Doing this you can hold the bottle upright and the cap stays put pretty well. If the stam is coming out pretty good, put it in the steam stream about an inch in front of it. Give the bottle a guick spin. The whole process takes about 1-2 seconds. Just don't hold it still too long and you get a perfect wrap every time.


Remember safety first- don't put your hand or arm in the stream of steam, it burns quicky. You could use an oven mitt, but it might make the process awkward.

 

[smurfe]

You can buy a heat gun at any craft store like Hobby Lobby, it was cheap and it shrinks those wraps right on. It really lends that professional touch to the bottles that will impress the recepient!! Congrats on your first batch, how did you like the taste and how do you think it compares to wines you have bought?

HMMMM, I tried using my Black and Decker heat gun. It is one of those you can strip paint with.

I didn't have much luck.


Smurfe

 

[daveb50]

I use a hobby heat gun that I also use to heat shrink covering on model airplanes, works great. This has lower heat than the usual "paint stripping" heat gun. Mine can be held right up to the heat shrinks without burnin through. Try [url]http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0095P?FVSEARCH=heat+ gun&FVPROFIL[/url]=++

 

[PolishWineP]

I got one of the do-hickies that George sells to hold the cap on while submurging it in hot water. Works like a charm.


We quit using labels and just print on high quality paper and stick them on with a glue stick. A couple minutes in some hot water and they come right off.

 

[peterCooper]

I just use a small pan of boiling water and a little technique.
The I hold the cap on the bottle until the end is in the water then I let go.
It's plastic, it floats so it stays on as the neck descends to the bottom of the
pan (about 1/2 sec).
As I let go I rotate so that the cap is immersed at some point all the way
round. Two seconds later it's done.

 

[Lenore]

Mine is also not for paint stripping. I believe it is for scrapbooking. It is pretty small and you can hold the gun a couple of inches from the bottle and the shrink wrap just molds right to the bottle. It takes about 30 seconds for the gun to warm up and each bottle shrinks in about 15 seconds. It is very quick, painless, safe and easy. Oh and cheap!!

 

[smurfe]

Mine is also not for paint stripping. I believe it is for scrapbooking. It is pretty small and you can hold the gun a couple of inches from the bottle and the shrink wrap just molds right to the bottle. It takes about 30 seconds for the gun to warm up and each bottle shrinks in about 15 seconds. It is very quick, painless, safe and easy. Oh and cheap!!

If it is a scrapbook item, I will have to ask my wife. That is her big hobby. She has scrapbook parties all the time. She had a houseful of woman while I was in Dallas at Winestock. When I called home that Friday night I don't know who had more to drink, us or them

I normally enjoy her scrapbook meets, I get to be the bartender.


Smurfe

 

[PolishWineP]

Smurfe!


Bring her on up to Minnesota! I'll get a houseful together and you & Bert can tend bar for us!

 

[cheesegod99]

The wine was Chianti and definitely needs some ageing - so hopefully
I'll be able to keep my hands off for a few months! Thank you all for
the suggestions on the labels and caps - I think I might pick up one of
those crafty heat guns (and keep it stealthily hidden from my RA). I
still need to put the labels on (I've been a touch lazy since the
bottling) - so I guess I just need to break out the scissors and get
them ready (although the slicer on the library might serve nicely....)
I was thinking for my next kit a mezza luna red... I hear they don't
need to age very long...

 

[smurfe]

The wine was Chianti and definitely needs some ageing - so hopefully I'll be able to keep my hands off for a few months! Thank you all for the suggestions on the labels and caps - I think I might pick up one of those crafty heat guns (and keep it stealthily hidden from my RA). I still need to put the labels on (I've been a touch lazy since the bottling) - so I guess I just need to break out the scissors and get them ready (although the slicer on the library might serve nicely....) I was thinking for my next kit a mezza luna red... I hear they don't need to age very long...

If I remember your kit was a VR kit correct? If so, give it a couple months in the bottle to get over the bottle shock and it should be good to go. It will get better with some age like over 6 months but most VR kits, even the reds are quite drinkable after a couple months. In fact. Wine Expert expects you to drink it all up by a year. It will last longer but that is the target goal for the life of a VR kit.


Smurfe

 

[smurfe]

Smurfe!


Bring her on up to Minnesota! I'll get a houseful together and you & Bert can tend bar for us!

Now that sounds like a plan. I definitely like to "pour"


Smurfe

 

[Lenore]

I wash just bottling a Stag's Leap Merlot and I was looking at the gun. It is Stampabilities Heat Embossing gun. Here is a link to one that is online http://www.creativepapercrafts.com/detail.aspx?ID=1996 I bought mine at Hobby Lobby.