WineXpert WE Selection Australian Chardonnay

[jgmann67]

They have a bunch.

 

[shoebiedoo]

Is there an issue with Better Bottles (that I missed)?

 

[cmason1957]

Is there an issue with Better Bottles (that I missed)?

I read somewhere (maybe here, maybe somewhere else) that they had a manufacturing issue of some sort and better bottles will be in short supply for a bit. That being said, there are other manufacturers of similar carboys.

 

[shoebiedoo]

I read somewhere (maybe here, maybe somewhere else) that they had a manufacturing issue of some sort and better bottles will be in short supply for a bit. That being said, there are other manufacturers of similar carboys.

Whew! I thought maybe they found a defect or something. Just getting ready to Rack 7 carboys into better bottles. You had me a little worried for a second

 

[jgmann67]

Checking in. This wine looks great - like bright gold. Been in the carboy for a month now w 2 oz. of oak. Like my Cab, I'm fighting the urge to bottle it in 2 weeks instead of it sitting the 2 months I planned.

Question: the instructions explicitly said, DO NOT TOP OFF. It's a little short of the neck of the carboy. This has been bugging me for weeks now. And, I want to pour some of our daily drinker Chard (KJ VR Chard) in to top it and limit exposure to O2. Should I?

 

[jgmann67]

Some pics to help. Thiefed a taste while was at it - perfectly clear. Not bad, but not terribly pleasant either... acidic, I think.

 

[SouthernChemist]

There's no real harm in topping it off...particularly at that volume level. Keep in mind that the kit instructions are written with the idea that most people will want to bottle their wine in the 4-6-8 week time frame or so.

It is too early to make any judgments on taste. There's still a lot of chemistry left to happen.

 

[jgmann67]

There's no real harm in topping it off...

I guess that's my question. If I leave this in the carboy another month, is there any harm in NOT topping off?

 

[jgmann67]

I sacrificed the half glass of wine left in the KJ bottle... Just a little more.

 

[jgmann67]

I'm bored tonight and might go down an rack the chard... Get it off the oak and degas it a bit (not sure if it needs it, but, better safe than fizzy). It's been on the oak for just about 6 weeks. Thoughts?

 

[jgmann67]

Waited a day and decided to go ahead and rack this wine into a glass carboy and vacuum out some CO2. Surprised at how much is coming out.

It looks like a champagne. Glad I didn't bottle it yet.

 

[GaDawg]

I don't look at it as sacrificed wine. Even it I use it to top off I'm still going to drink it ;-)

 

[jgmann67]

Started a degas last night and returned to do more this morning. I need to top off after the racking. But, look at the bubbles I'm getting:

 

[ceeaton]

I think your problem is that darn wine genie showing up again. I think he needs a bigger camera. He's got a nice watch though.

 

[jgmann67]

Think that's the invicta. Really like that one.

How long do I keep pumping?

 

[ceeaton]

I get the invicta reference, not sure about the pumping one...but then again I think I'm on about my eighth beer, about to migrate to wine, might be clouding my mind.

 

[jgmann67]

I get the invicta reference, not sure about the pumping one...but then again I think I'm on about my eighth beer, about to migrate to wine, might be clouding my mind.

Using a wine saver to pump CO2 out of the glass carboy. I realize this may take a while and I'd be better off with a brake bleeder or AIO. but it's something and something is better than nothing.

 

[jgmann67]

So after 10 days degassing (going from 15-20 pumps to get the CO2 rolling; to 50 pumps to get a bit o little bubbles with the wine saver), and considering what my schedule looks like for the next few weeks, I decided to go ahead with bottling.

30 bottles corked and sitting upright for a few days. Need to buy the larger capsules and print the labels for when I have a few moments to spare.

 

[jgmann67]

These will sit for at least three months on a shelf before I tap in to one. I feel pretty pleased with myself. The outside (bottle) is exactly how I hoped it would turn out. Only time will tell if the inside does the outside any justice.

Lessons learned:

Patience. If I keep everything sanitized and not do anything really stupid, I can take all the time in the world to taste and tweak.

Degas. A lot. And then, degas some more. The drill attachment is nice, but it didn't do everything I wanted. Keep degassing until all the big bubbles are gone... And then degas some more. I'm going to explore options like a food saver, brake bleeder or AIO for down the road.

 

[jgmann67]

Looks like I may have needed to degas even more than anticipated. We tried a bottle tonight and I did the poof test after having a glass. Surprised - Still too much CO2 for my taste. In a word - DAMMIT.

I'm going to see what this tastes like an hour after giving it a vigorous shake. If it's markedly better, I'm thinking of dumping the whole batch back in to a Carboy and shaking the #u€% out of it.