Wine Thief Question (2026 Update)

If you were 5 bottles short with each carboy, some possibilities might be;

1. The 5 gal carboys were not full
2. You overfilled your bottles
3. There is always some loss due to sediment in a carboy
4. You sampled more than a little
5. All of the above - likely

Walter Venables wrote:

Walter,

I have a solution: Invite a few friends over to help you bottle. You might end up with even less wine in the end, but at least you won't be drinking alone. :)

Cheers, Ken

This also happens when I buy bottles of wine in the store. I bring it home, open it, start drinking it, and pretty soon the bottle is empty. It just ain't right! If you pay good money for a bottle of wine it should last a while.

QAT is a skill that needs perfecting and continuing maintenance.

There is an advantage to being a recluse - the time to sit back and enjoy the batch.

If you started this young woman on 15 year old Mead, she could become a very expensive date!

Dick

My five year old

I remember reading skeptically that meads are much better with age but I am certainly not one now. My first was made in 97, we only made 4 bottles the last of which we just had. It was good then, better now. Mead is very interesting.

Joe