topping off a carboy with beads...

another source would be kids marbles, Maybe Cheaper than that.

I found glass marbles to be the best, but then I got concerned over metals- and I dont know if they used lead in them or not.

So I'm still uncertain what to use... PET is out.... I think I'm on steel ballbearings now. But steel is very expensive....

I ended up buy> I have read that some people like to use beads (or other foreign

Suggest you also get some 1/2 gallon jars. Anything less than that - drink up. Some of the best wine I have made has been from odd lots of

1/2 and one gallon jugs mixed and then bottled. As others have stated in the past, marbles make it difficult to rack your wine from the lees that is between the marbles. Once you have a good supply of glassware, you won't even think twice about marbles.

I couldn't agree with that more. I do exactly what Paul does except my

1/2 gallon jars are actually 1.5 liter bottles. I drink everything smaller than that; winemakers prerogative...

Joe

Thanks all.

Joe Sallustio wrote:

If you use marbles, use glass and be sure they contain not lead or other metels that might cause a problem.

But -- I do not recommend marbles. They are expensive and they have drawbacks. Marbles complicate racking greatly. If there is even the least bit of sediment it will gather on all the marbles and that means that you can only rack down to an inch or so from the top of the marbles. You cannot get the wine out of the space between the marbles without disturbing the sedement. So you have to waste more wine or youhave to pour the remeaining wine into another smaller carboy and wait for it to settle again.

My suggestion is to use all that money you would spend on marbles and buy some extra carboys of different sizes so you can put your wine into an appropriately sized carboy. I have the standard 5 and 6 gallon carboys. I also have a couple of 3's, 2.5's, a bunch of 1's and some 1/2's.

Ray

Another alternative is to use top up wine. Convenience, maximum. Cost,_nothing_ !!

top up wine is free? wow... i'll stop making wine and just get top up NYUk, NYUK

Gene

frederick ploegman wrote:

I guess it's all in how you look at it. Top up wine doesn't get wasted or "lost". It becomes part of the new batch and increases the volume of that new batch. So - Add a bottle of top up wine to a new batch, and get an extra bottle of wine when the new batch gets bottled !! Nothing lost !! No cost !!

In fact - Make some top up wine using Sun Country (type) concentrate. Cost: ~$1(US) per bottle. Use it to top up a high end kit and what you get back is a bottle worth about $4(US). That way we can have all the convenience and make a profit too !! ;o) HTH

Frederick

I just must ask... since I don't know. :*)

So here I buy a $130+ kit to make some really good Cab Sauv (WinExpert Lodi 11, it's sitting in my garage now not opened yet) - and you are saying it's ok to use 2 buck Chuck or any old low end wine made from Sun Country (as long as it's red) to top it up. Somehow my logic screams - no, don't do it! :*) Doesn't this take a $4 bottle and make it a $3.50 one? (I am only seeking knowledge, please don't take offense by my quest)

Does it really not matter to top up with a couple of bottles (750ml) of low end, any old red wine to this $130+ kit?

If this is true, I'm gonna save money. Cause now I top up with something good ($8 to $10 a bottle) when I top up, and of the same exact grape or type (never do I use Pinot Noir to top up a Shiraz, etc.). I typically end up with 2 or 3 bottles needing to be added to a kit.

I hear, ya, Frederick, but do others agree with him? Just amazed but realize I know so little about wine making still.

DAve p.s. And... Gene, you are a funny man! haha. nice wise crack. loved it. Nyuk Nyuk

frederick ploegman wrote:

I generally top up with a wine as good as or better than what I am topping up. However, in my opinion, Two Buck Chuck is not bad wine. Have you tried it? If not, you may be surprised. Cost and quality often are not directly related when it comes to wine. When I buy wine in a store (which is seldom), the first thing I look at is the price. I then look at the date. (I often buy the youngest) Unless the liquor store or where ever you buy from has ideal storage conditions, you are wasting your money buying expensive wine.

I've spent more time dealing with this problem than it was worth. My paranoia with ballbearings is one of them cracking cracking the carboy when it hits the bottom. Don't tell me it won't happen because I know it shouldn't happen I'm just afraid it will.

Have you ever seen what a PITA it is to get marbles out of a carboy?

I make honeywine (Mead) and use 7.5 gallon fermenters and make 6.5 gallon batches. The overflow goes into a 4 liter wine jug and is used to top off the carboys. One occasion a pint of Mead gets replaced with a pint of water.

Dick

Dave, I wouldn't worry about that either, but if I were buying topping wine I would consider an Australian box wine for topping, like Hardy's. It's pretty cheap in a box and it's very good wine. Plus it keeps for a long time in that box. The only problem you would have there is pilferage...

Seriously, the quality of any drinkable commercial wine is probably fine. Just don't use anything so bad where they added a % or more of sugar to make palatable. Even 0.5% sugar can make some awful wines drinkable, it's amazing how it softens a wine. It's done more than most people would think, it's a legitimate practice.

Joe

Just to add to what's been said - if you're worried about adding commercial wine to kits, it really only applies to the first time you're making a kit. Once you have some kit wine, you can keep some bottles for topping up the next year's kits.

Pp

One thing that sets two buck chuck apart from most other inexpensive wines is their excellent santitation and filtration practices. While the grapes may not be spectacular, their processing is very good. IMHO I know someone who worked there, and am impressed with their attention to detail.

Gene