Winemaking just not meant to be for me

[almargita]

Hopefully I have learned from anothers misfortune, I got rid of my short plastic rack & placed a moving quilt in the same area. No chance of anything falling or droping now. Wish I did have an area to build a table or what ever but have to share with the furnace, washer & dryer & canned goods cabinet along with the laundry tub. Guess you do what works best for you.... Worst sceniro will be to wash it out should anything spill, but at least nothing will drop from a height to have anything break.......

Al

 

[Duster]

Oh My, what a loss

 

[Tom]

I will hold a memorial service Sunday during my wine club meeting.

 

[Runningwolf]

I found these funiture dollies are the greatest thing in my basement. I place either boards or heavy plywood on them. They can each hold three carboys and it makes it real easy to move them around or get them out of the way. I also use them when I am bottling. I just fill empty boxes on them, then a few days later wheel them to the wine cellar racks. They cost less then $20.00 on saye at Harbor Freight.

 

[docanddeb]

Oh Sarah!!

I'm so sorry! I can only imagine how heartbroken I would have been if that happened to me!

Keep the faith. Your knowledge is still intact... better wine to come!

Debbie

 

[davewaz]

I do all my wine making in the basement, using Better Bottle Carboys and I leave them on the cement floor, no risk. Sorry to here about your loss, those pics are insane. It looks like a flood victims basement, except it's wine. I think you can get the Better Bottles cheaper than the glass and you won't have the fear of having a repeat disaster. Anyways ,,,damn I really feel bad for ya.

 

[SarahRides]

What my wine area looked like (taken a few weeks ago)..............and what it looks like now after all the mopping.

Davewaz: The better bottles won't really hold up to the vacuum pump, and they are a little tougher to carry if needed, which is why I tend to avoid them. I had a Sauv Blanc there in a better bottle which didn't spill, I found the bung & airlock, cleaned them and put the back. I'm just hoping the exposure for who knows how long didn't infect it. Might be salvageable.

 

[Tom]

Did you lose the CC Wine?
I bottled and boy is it good!

 

[Runningwolf]

Sarah, nice job cleaning up. Did you have to apply bleach to the water to prevent any bacteria from building up and possible fruit flies? I am assuming your FIL might of had a dehumidifier you could use also.

 

[oldwhiskers]

Looks like you got everything cleaned up now. Sorry to see your loss, I'm still shuddering at the first pictures.

 

[SarahRides]

Tom: believe it or not, the CC was still in the primary (was going to put it in the carboy today) and sitting on the floor, still closed and other than being on top of all the glass, still intact (it didn't even tip over). I have a 3 gallon carboy that wasn't on the table that I am going to transfer it to once everything is cleaned up. (The only carboy I have left) We bought 4 sawhorses that we are going to put the tabletop onto. Each pair holds 1500 pounds so we figure with four of them holding up an 8 foot long tabletop, it should be well supported. The vacuum pump I bought from Wade also managed to survive!

Dan: We picked up a dehumidifier today as well (were thinking about getting one anyways). I didn't add bleach to the mop, but I did mop and wet vac the floor several times today, to the point where I wasn't picking up anymore dirt, so I think I got most of it up. Do you think I should still do the bleach as well? Once the floor is dry, I'm going to move everything over to the other side of the basement and mop the other side too (I'm sure there are wine-footprints all over the place).

 

[Stefani]

31 Gallons lost. After all your work its all lost.

That table just couldn't hold the approximate 300 lbs of weight.

That is so disappointing.

When is the wake?

 

[Runningwolf]

Sarah glad to hear you're using the dehumidifier. If you used a good Strong floor cleaner when you mopped I think you'll be fine. Just for sh*ts and giggles I would hang a few fly strips now just in case you get any fruit flies. Hopefully you would be able to catch them before they would breed. It's tough enough controlling them already in the summer when you really start fermenting. Thanks for the updates.

 

[millwright01]

So sorry to see stuff like this happen. Sure glad no one was hurt. Could have been bad for anyone standing there. Hope you get back up and fermenting again soon.

 

[tonyt]

please pm me your address I want to send you a humble and sorroful offering.

 

[ffemt128]

SR, My heart goes out to you. I an only imagine your feelings. I do encourage you to keep things in perspective and keep you chin up, looking forward to the future wines that you intend to make. I can already see that sturdy table that can withstand a tornado down there and carboys full of new wine.

If you send me your address, I'd like to send a small contribution to aid you on your way to your future endevors.

Hang in there friend and it was big of you to share your experience so others can avoid the potential danger.

Paul

please pm me your address I want to send you a humble and sorroful offering.

Ditto the offers from above. We should take up a fund for lost carboys.....

 

[Julie]

Sarah,

I am just reading your post, and I am very sorry for what happened to you but very glad that you are still willing to keep going. I applaud you for not being discouraged.

 

[Wade E]

I could be wrong but I counted 37 gallons in all.

 

[ibglowin]

Stay away from using bleach. Use a strong solution of Oxyclean instead.

Do you think I should still do the bleach as well? Once the floor is dry, I'm going to move everything over to the other side of the basement and mop the other side too (I'm sure there are wine-footprints all over the place).

 

[Runningwolf]

Good call Mike. Wade I counted 37 gallons also.