Who wants to help out the new guy?

[Sebastian]

Ok, here's where I'm at - this is fun!

Racked the wine from the primary into the carbouy with an autosiphon.
Essentially I placed the autosiphon on the bottom of the primary, and
siphoned until it stopped, leaving perhaps 3/4" residual on the bottom of
the primary:

IMG]

I've put the stopper in the carbouy with an airlock, filled with
metabisulfite
soln - am assuming i should remove the red cap atop the airlock? Inside
the blue square inset, the metabisulfite solution hasn't sought an even
level - the chamber on the right contains almost all the soln - assume
that's a normal effect once stoppered?

Hows everything look to all you professionals? Anything look out of
whack?

(hm, for some reason i can't seem to put more than one photo in the
message...)

 

[MedPretzel]

No, the red cap stays on.





As tp the blue box... Keep the solutin in there. If you are seeing "action" (and you'll know what I mean when it happens) then leave it. There is a fine graduated line int here. look for it and fill it so it is level when it is off the carboy. It all has to do with pressure, and once you havve it on your carboy, you'll see it change.





You're doin' good.

 

[Sebastian]

Should the red cap by firmly in place? I'm assuming that the wine will
continue to ferment and give off gas, and that the reason for the air lock is
so that the gas can escape, but that nothing else is getting in. if the cap is
on tightly, the gas won't be able to escape, will it?

erm, i just went down to look at it, and apparently the pressure pushed the
red cap off.... and i can't find it. do i need to run out and get a new airlock/
cap, or is this gonna be ok for the next 10 days or so....Edited by: Sebastian

 

[bilbo-in-maine]

or is this gonna be ok for the next 10 days or so....

Depends upon whether you have fruit flies hanging about just waiting to
dive in and invade!

If you can find the cap, put it back on, or loosly cover the top with foil. The
escaping CO2 just needs to vent to the atmosphere.

The solution is uneven across the two chambers due to the CO2 pressure
inside the carboy. You should see bubbling through the solution as the gas
escapes. If there is no bubbling, you may have too much solution in the
airlock. Keep it filled no higher than the lines below the midpoint of the
chambers.

 

[Sebastian]

Thanks mate - foil it is. no flies this time of year here, and we've got plenty
'o bubbling going on in the airlock!

 

[Funky Fish]

My read cap, when firmly in place, still allows CO2 to come out. If you look closely at your red cap, it should have some small holes in the top. These may be plugged or may not have been properly formed when the cap was made.

 

[Sebastian]

Ok, it's been about 5 days since i've racked it into the carbouy - guess i'm
just looking for reassurance the wine (it's an island mist exotic fruits
white zin) is steadily clearing (initially it was pretty cloudy - now i can almost
see through it), and there's a good 1" of sediment on the bottom. Normal?
Any point in me taking specific gravity readings prior to the 10 days
suggested in the instructiions, or should i just let it be for the full 10 days
(i'm excited. having a hard time just letting it be )

 

[masta]

Everything is proceeding as normal and no need to take SG reading until day 10 and yes you will add the stabilizing and fining agent to the batch and stirring it all up no matter how clear it is as per the instructions.


How many times of day do you check on it? Don't worry if it is many as I still can't go a day without checking in on my babies at least once a day after 4 years of doing this!

 

[Waldo]

Looking good Sebastian

 

[Sebastian]

thanks erm, i probably check on it 4-5 x /day - when i wake up, when i
get home, after supper, before bed. I've even listened to it a time or
two ....yeah, i'm a headcase..

 

[Glenimus]

Sebastian,


It is so amazing that that just a couple of months ago, I had all the same questions as you have now. I just bottled my second batch (Reisling) and will start my third batch on Saturday. I AM HOOKED and I am certain that you will be too.


Things that I learned:


(1) This forum is an exception place to learn and ask questions. (2) George always answers the phone (I must have called him 20 times during the first batch. (3) There is nothing, absolutely nothing,like doing it and taking that first sip of your own wine (even if it is too young. Sort of like babies -- your own is more beautiful than anyone elses baby or anyone elses wine.)


In six months you willstill have questions, but you will look back andbe amazed at how much you have learned. I wish you the best, my friend.


Glenimus (Pope wanna be)

 

[Waldo]

Kinda gets in your blood doesn't it

 

[PolishWineP]

You're not a head case! You'd be a head case if you sat with it all the time with a stethoscope on it!

I sometimes talk to my wines and beer almost as much as I talk to my cats. Now, does that make ME a head case?

(And all of you out there, don't feel the need to comment on me. We're trying to REASSURE someone here!

)

 

[Sebastian]

PWP - i don't have a problem with talking to things - where i get funny looks is when i start answsering them...


Ok, as of last night, the wine's been racked to the carbouy for exactly 7 days - the booklet says to let it sit in there for a good 10 days prior to taking the SG readings and doing the next steps. Last night i spent some time with my carbouy - we told stories, sang songs, generally got to know one another better - i noticed that the fermentation has *significantly* slowed as there's hardly any bubbling going on. Is this a normal point to be at at this time? I'm assuming a good deal of the yeast is dying and the sugars are running out? The wine is becoming very clear (it's a sweet red - i can see through the carbouy now). The bottom looks interesting - theres a ton of sedimentation - almost looks like the surface of the moon - lots of pock marks all over the place.


I'm dying to open it up and take a sample. little scared to do it before the 10 days noted in the book as i don't want to upset the force, young jedi.


I'm likely gonna go buy another carbouy this weekend and get another one going. i'm very impatient Is there any reason i wouldn't want to tie up my primary fermenter (i've read some people are transferring from their secondary back to the primary to try to get some extra sedimentation out?)

 

[Sebastian]

7 days ago i added the F pack, clearing agents, degassed and so on. The
next day the top 20% was crystal clear, with everything below it being fairly
occluded - i left for a biz trip and assumed that as time went on, more of
the wine would clear and less would be occluded. However, its pretty much
just the same today as it was 6 days ago. There's a visable striation, above
which it's very clear, below is hazy. I had planned on transferring it to a
second carbouy to minimize my odds of picking up sedimentation during
bottling, but am now wondering if something's gone awry given that it seem
sto be 'stuck' at a partial clearing...paranoid or is this normal?

 

[masta]

It is quite normal and remember a watched pot never boils!


I normally let my kit wine settle at least 3 weeks before preparing to bottle so they have plenty of time to clear. The instructions say "if wine is clear after 14 days proceed to Stage 4" this does not mean that every kit will be ready after 14 days but is a minimum time line. The wine will tell you when it is ready and resist the temptation to bottle before it is ready since you will wish you didn't. We have all gone through this process when we first started and it normal!


My standard process with all wines is that when they are settling I gently rock the carboy to knock the fines off the sides so they settle to the bottom. Justgrab the carboy by theneck and gently rock it back and forth and you will see the fines come off the sides. This process also helpscompact the lees so they are not as thick when you go rack just before bottling.

 

[Sebastian]

Thanks Masta - so much to learn when i'm ready to bottle, or nearing it,
would you recommend transferring the wine to another carbouy with the
intent of leaving behind the lees and letting it sit for another week or so to
settle further? I've had it suggested that this is a great way to prevent/
minimze excess sediment from getting into the bottles during bottling.

I took a sneak sip of it this morning - not bad look forward to having a
full glass of it after it's all said and done. It's interesting because sometimes
the sulfite soln in the air lock changes level quite markedly - sometimes it's
pushed all the way up one side as it was during fermentation, as if
something's pushing it out. others it's sucked a good way up t'other side as
if it's pulling a vacuum in the carbouy...

 

[PolishWineP]

We always rack before bottling. No reason to suck up any sediment on the bottle of the carboy into bottles. Sounds like you're having fun with your hobby!


More Carboys! More Carboy!

 

[smurfe]

I guess I missed this thread as well

Guess I am gonna have to quit using the active topic mode and go back to reading every thread like I used to. I wanted to wish a belated welcome to Sebastian. Looks like things are going good for you there. You know, you all could of pointed him toward the pictorial tutorials that a few have posted here

I hope to finish my tutorialreal quick like as well!


Smurfe

 

[Sebastian]

A BIG shout out to all of you for the help - i'm sure you've answered these
same questions a thousand times before, i apprecate that you've been
willing to do it 1001..last week i racked off the lees, and will give it another
week or so before bottling as i inadvertantly sucked some of the lees up and
re-clouded the whole shebang. Today i started an lodi old vine red zin, and
can't wait to get rolling with something else.