WineXpert Sediment in the bottle

[Runningwolf]

I have made about 10 WE kits in the last six months without any problems until now. About four months ago I made a batch of Red Merlot for a friend. Today I went to my wine cellar to look at it and when I held the bottle upright I noticed a lot of sediment in the bottle. I Racked this wine three times before bottleing and it was very clear in a cup up to the light. Will this effect the taste? Is there any way to clean this up. I did the same procedures I do with the other kits without any issues.

 

[Rocky_Top]

Welcome to the forum


Red wines are good at leaving sediment in the bottle. It will not hurt anything. There are a few tricks to clear the wine better before bottling . (age longer, cool wine, and filter) I do not filter my wine. ( "I" think that it takes more than just sediment out. Many or Most might disagree)

 

[Tom]

Don't worry. Reds can do that. If it bothers you add another rack or two. Did you use any clairifires? How long did you age it before bottling.....

 

[Runningwolf]

Thanks Guys. Its too late to rack again as its been bottled for over three months. I did use the clairifier that came with the kit and followed all the directions. I don't remember exactly how long it aged in the carboy but it was about a week longer then the instructions. Glad to hear that it is still ok. W/E said to wait at least three months before drinking. Realistically how long should I wait? six months?

 

[Tom]

Kit wines I would wait a min of 1-2 months before drinking. In 6-12 monthe it will be MUCH better. If this is your 1st kit enjoy... Once you make a few save 6-12 bottles for a year and see the diference.



Welcome to the Forum.

 

[Rocky_Top]

If you follow the directions on a red wine you will get sediment in the bottle. You need to bulk age about six months to get most, not all but most of the sediment out.


You can drink at 3 months. 6 monthsto a year is better. The first kits that you make are lucky to make it to the 6 month mark. Save a few bottles of each batch you make and sample them at 6 months and a year.

 

[Rocky_Top]

Tepe,

You type too fast. try using just one finger!!

 

[Runningwolf]

I Agree about the first kits. Like I said, I have made about ten so far, most of them were Island Mist. The first one I made was the Blackberry. EEE GAAADS, I had to put the breaks on and only have two bottles left. After reading a lot of posts I started adding five pounds of sugar to each Island mist. I like a little higher alcohol content and I understand it will last longer that way (yeah like thats an issue). I just started last September and already built a wine cellar with a capacity for 400 bottles so far. I have also have some higher end kits that are botlled and aging now. Last week I kicked it up a notch. I drove up to Walkers fruit and Juice farm http://www.walkersfruitbasket.comby Dunkirk N.Y. and picked up six gallons of Blackberry juice and Five gallons of Raspberry Blush juice. Living in Northwest Pa. there is a bunch of wineries around here and figured I should learn how to make wine from juice before nexts years harvest. Several of the wineries will sell you the juice.

 

[grapeman]

Welcome runningwolf. It's handy to be in that region and have a variety of juice sources and vineyards.


The most valuable thing you can learn is to never rush the process, no matter if the directions say something. Follow the directions when you can, but they are a guideline, not an absolute. If in doubt about something, leave it a bit longer. Merlots can keep laying down the sediment for a while, so never rush them.


Good luck and have fun.

 

[Rocky_Top]

It sound like you are hooked.

New wine cellar,......Kits and real fruit

It sounds like you are having fun.We would like to see some pictures of that wine cellar. Keep em' fermenting!!

 

[Wade E]

I agree and say that wine must sit in carboy much longer then stated in instructions to be sediment free in bottle.

 

[Runningwolf]

Folks, Thanks for all of your responses. I tried to upload pictures of my wine cellar, but was unable to. Any ideas here. I compressed the pictures and they are jpegs.

 

[Rocky_Top]

It can be a pain sometimes. The picture can only be so big. (150k) Here is a thred to help out. http://www.finevinewines.com//Wiz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2514

 

[Runningwolf]

ok ok ok you guys have been telling me on every post "Be Patient"! Guess what? Pictures are like Red Wine, be patient and they'll come up. With all the warnings you would of thought I would have learned. I did every thing right except patiently wait for upload. Heres the pictures inside and out of my wine room. It measures inside 6' x 8'.

 

[Wade E]

looks like you made quite a production for such a small room, great job!

 

[grapeman]

Where's the LazyBoy? Other than that it looks like a great place to hang out.

 

[Tom]

Great looking room.

Only one problem I can see.. The wine racks are almost empty!

You really need to do something about that.

 

[Runningwolf]

Thanks Wade. My wine table I made is 30" x 6' with a slate tile top. It is made out 2x4 construction to hold any weight I put on it. Three of the wine rack i made will each hold 130 bottles and the smaller upright one with the x's will hold 48 bottles. I have a small desk in there that i can sit at and write notes or remove it if I ever need to make more racks. Not likely to happen though the way we go through the wine when friends come over or when we go to dinner parties. oh yeah guesswhat our friends and family expect for gifts?

 

[WhineMaker]

Thatis one awesome looking room!! I am very envoius of it.. I want to something similar in our basement but in the winter I would have to use some sort of space heater as our basement is around 55F.. Summer not a problem, at most we see 75F down there. Going tomake 8 X 8 room in a corner and build similar racks to yours. Already havesome of the wood I need and an old 6' long workbench to put alonga wall. Thankyou for postingyour pictures, you have given me inspiration and ideas!!


Darryl

 

[Jack on Rainy]

Very nice wine room runningwolf. You have vertical rack expansion available there too!
Welcome to the forum.