Too much Water?

Hi, Could you give us some more information, like type of wine, or a wine kit, how old is the wine, and original batch size...? I'm sure you did the best you could at racking. Its hard to say without knowing a bit more. Wine kits (have directions which should be followed) are treated differently than making homemade wine at home. Most of us who make wine at home, try to add a bit more water in the beginning so we have a bit of top-up for later on. There are some ways to get more top-up; such as putting what's left in your carboy (after racking) in a container in the fridge (cover) and letting it sit. The good wine will come to the top in a few days. The typical ways of making sure your carboy stays topped-up after racking are to add water, add a similar type of wine, or add marbles to increase the volume. Others will tell you to start collecting different sizes of containers to accommodate batches without adding water. Is your batch okay...probably. I added water to top-up in the beginning, and my batches came out fine. Now I've learned to make enough to top up. Some wines have more sediment than others - cranberry wine has a ton of sediment, but this is something you'll pick up over time. Darlene Wisconsin

"Jgibbs" wrote in message news:Xns96C2D5333C6AAJLGibbs30hotmailcom@216.196.97.142...

I was a little unsure of where you are in your process. I think you are saying that both primary and secondary are finished and you are going into bulk aging and have added fining agents. If that is the case, yes it was a good idea to rack off the sediment. And yes, you needed to top the carboy up with something. You could use a similar wine or water. That much water will probably not hurt anything but if you rack several times and top with water each time you may significantly water your wine.

I would rather rack into smaller carboys where I can limit my topping up. If I rack from a 6 I go to a 5. From a 5 I will go to a 3 and some 1's or a bunch of ones. It is very handy to have some 1/2's to put the last in. With this method you can just top up the last small carboy and that will be with only a few cups or less. Always mix all the carboys back together the next time you rack and you will not have the problem of a lot of water being added.

Ray

Sorry that I wasn't more detailed and took so long to respond. I'm making Volpicella from a wine kit. The primary is done and the secondary too. I racked the secondary after hitting 1.000 SG and after about two days could see significant sediment. I didn't want to disturb anything when siphoning out (by tipping the 23L carboy) so a lot was left in the bottom.

Anyway, hopefully the 4 cups won't water things down too much. I'm planning on bottling this weekend since there is not much sediment after the last racking.

Your idea seems interesting but wouldn't you wind up with a lot of carboys that need topping up (albeit smaller amounts)?

Thanks again

"Ray Calvert" wrote in news:NRjRe.1859$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr30.news.prodigy.com:

Hi and thanks.

I'm making a kit wine of Volpicella (If the spellings wrong it's because I'm finishing of a Yellow Tail merlot by myself :( ). The batch is 23L (5 gallons, I think). Everything's going well so far. I'm surprised how much sediment there was after the primary and secondary but things are going according to the directions for the kit.

I like your idea about refrigerating the left-over. Just need to figure a way to get it back out of that container and into the carboy. Should be possible if I use a plastic Coke bottle. Marbles sound like an interesting idea. I'd just be nervous about them rolling around when it comes time to empty the carboy.

Thanks again.

Hello, Some wines naturally have more sediment than others. Some really like using the marbles, but I do worry about the weight you'd have with a 5 gallon carboy filled with wine and marbles. Anyway, I usually just pour the leftovers at the bottom of the carboy into a old but clean beer pitcher (if I have a lot) or a canning jar (it all depends on how much I have left), cover with plastic and put it in the fridge. When it doesn't look like anymore wine is coming to the top, I've tried everything from a small quick siphon, to very gently scooping it up with a measuring cup to a deep spoon, and putting it into another container. When you're doing this though, be very careful to do it slowly so you don't disturb the sediment. There is another way to separate - it involves a closed container and a washing machine set on spin, but I've never tried that... maybe someone else will chime in. Goodluck. Darlene

Hi....instead of topping up,does anyone ever blanket with CO2?....I make Co2 by putting say 1/2 cup baking soda in a large water jug.Then I add 3/4 cup or so of White vinegar...the result is CO2 gas....now after the fizzing dies down ,carefully "pour"the gas into your carboy.It is heavier than air so it "falls" into the carboy....If you use a backing light you can "see" the gas pouring.....now I'll sit back and wait for the replies warning about vinegar.It should be remembered that vinegar is the result of a specific bacteria.I believe that Commercial vinegar is free of it.......andy j.

It'a acetobacter and it doesn't take much effort to get wine to turn into vinegar. Most commercial vinegar is pastuerized to kill it, 140 F for 1/2 hour will do it. Just be careful, if it works for you great. Most use nitrogen or argon for blankets but CO2 is fine, you just have to get it out of the wine before you bottle.

Joe

I always settle the lees, just dump them into whatever wine bottle size is appropriate to the amount through a funnel buut leave the sticky stuff behind. I alway fill the bottle and throw an airlock or stopper on and chill it to settle it faster, then rack that to a smaller bottle. The taller the bottle the better, ice wine bottles are very nice for small amounts. A number 2 or 3 stopper both fit a standard wine bottle, a number 6 fits the 3 liter and gallon jugs.

Joe

Each carboy would be filled with wine except the last so they do not need topping.. The last one would ideally be a 1/2 gal. carboy and would require only minimum topping. If it is 3/4 full, I top it up. If it is less, I drink it as young wine.

One of your problems is that you are racking too soon which leads to too many rakings which leads to too much topping up. You racked after secondary and then a few days later, because there was sediment, you racked again. That sediment would not have hurt anything. After the secondary racking you should not have racked again for 4 to 8 weeks or even longer. This would have given all the larger particulate matter a chance to settle out. If the wine is still cloudy I may wait for 3 or 4 months. ( If you wait that long, however, you should stir it every month or two. This protects it from some bad things and can actually help it clear.) As it is, in 4 to 8 weeks there will be more sediment and you will need to rack again. Don't worry about it, you are learning. You have not ruined the wine. I have been making wine for 30+ years and it seems like I learn more each year now than I did each year when I started. It seems that you can make decent wine knowing so little yet there is so much you can know if you really work at it! ;o)

Ray

Thanks for the encouragement Ray. I'm curious though about the amount of time sitting on the "lees". First off, this is a 30 day kit wine so I was really just following the directions (hopefully making decent wine with little knowledge as you put it). I'd be happy to let the wine sit for three or four months in the carboy if you think there's little downside.

In any case, I bottled the wine five days after the last racking. There was zero sediment on the bottom this time which I found surprising after how much dropped the first time. I guess time will tell how much the body has been affected. In the future I'll keep a bottle of good wine aside for topping up or store some of the leftover in the fridge to recover some back.

Thanks everyone for the help. Off to decide batch number two.....

In general, if you are new to wine making and making a kit wine, follow the kit instructions over anyone else's advise. However, as you make more wine, you will learn how to safely vary the instructions to improve the wine. The kits are geared for new wine makers who want (and need) to have results quickly. Their suggested times for doing things are usually the minimum to rush the project. After you have made a kit or 2 and have some wine of your own to drink, you can slow down and let it sit longer. Also, some kits are designed to add water at racking. If you do not they may not be balanced, too much acid or too much alcohol or something.

Also, I have made some darn good kit wines that I enjoyed more when they were very young (3 months or less) so there are no stead fast rules, even with kits. the one rule I like to follow is, like cooking, the first time you make something, follow the recipe. The second time you can try variations.

Ray