Goo #2

Absolutely top it off. Yes - you can ruin an otherwise good wine by not keeping your wine topped off. I top off to less than 1" of the bottom of the bung.

As for the 'goo' - use a good wine, something similar in style to what you're making. Once you're making a lot of wine, it gets easier; you have some of last years' handy, and topping off becomes an exuces to 'test' some last years' vintage. :-)

Personally, I think that especially when using carboys topping off with water is a crime; punishable by a life sentence of drinking white zinfandel.

Bob,

Inadequate topping exposes your wine to oxygen, which can oxidize your wine and also provide food for oxygen loving bacteria. Top off per the directions.

Cheers, Ken

What if topping off means that you're going to have ~7 gal. of wine (6.5 Gal. carboy) when the recipe is for a 6 gal batch. Won't you have a dilute wine? I've used 6 gal kits. When everything is added in to make up 6 gal. there is still a lot of head space in a 6.5 gal carboy, and a

That is why you need to get a 6 gallon carboy.

You undergo primary in the 6.5 and then transfer to a 6 gallon carboy and top up.

RomeoMike wrote:

You can certainly do that but unless you are sure you got all the air out you can't guarantee it will work. The goal is to exclude oxygen. If you do this, bubble it into the wine.

As others have said, topping with dry wine is the way to go. It's foolproof, it can't fail unless you use something sweetened with sorbate which could make a targeted dry wine a little sweet if a lot is used. (Commercial wines rarely if ever use sorbate.)

I use the little ring at the top of the carboy shoulder/neck interface as a guide. I keep the level at least to that ring, never below. I rarely let a wine drop more than an inch below the bung, especially in a barrel.

If you don't have any wine even a cheap box wine is better than water. It will make you appreciate your efforts all the more. I have yet to make a wine that did not compare favorably to most box wines. (The Australians put some very good wines in boxes. I am not comparing to that, I mean more the Almaden and Peter Vella styles. They have their place too, many like them and that is all that matters. My personal preference is not to that style.)

Joe

RomeoMike,

As with everything else in life, a little common sense needs to be applied. I agree completely that topping up a 6 gallon batch with a gallon or more of water is a solution that does not make sense.

If you don't have the proper carboys, go get them. Or rack into your existing 5 gallon carboy, and rack the remainder into one or more gallon cider jugs or 2-3 gallon carboys. Or top off with a finished wine, or with young wine from another batch you have in production. Or don't dilute the wine initially, but only upon racking. Or dilute partially before pitching, and partially afterwards, in a proportion that works for your carboys. Or do any of a number of other things which make sense. The wine will wait.

Cheers, Ken

I have used marbles before. They are okay. Several issues:

1. Getting enough marbles to displace a gallon or two can get kind of expensive, depends on if you can find big bags. Most I found were intended for the game marbles and only came with 10-20 in the pack. Try a craft store for big bags.

1. They work great once they are in, just make sure you let the carboy sit somewhere where you can siphon from. The minute you try to pick up a carboy full of 100 marbles, any kind of sediment you have is going to be instantly mixed back in to your wine. I used to just let it settle on a high table so I could rack with no movement.

I never had any problems adding them to a glass carboy. The marbles were pretty small and light compared to the heavy glass of the carboy. They may not work all the time, but have saved me in a pinch when I am making a wine that I don't have anything to top up with.

Bryan

That's a great suggestion --- wish I had thought if it before; definitely gonna get a bag of marbles into the winery asap.