First bottling

Pic of my first labelling/bottling experience. I am no longer a .....never mind. Anyhoo - Here is myown list of things that went right and wrong from the beginning of this burgundy kit to the end: 1)Very light fizz, but it's there. If I decant it for an hour or so it goes away. It tastes burgundy. Not bad really. I think Ibottledtoo soon. I followed theinstructions to the letter.Next time around I ambulk aging longer. 2) Light sediment. I probably could have racked a few times more. Soon I will have my minijet. It all starts with a vision. 3)Label software failure. I thought it creates labels, but it only creates on the labels they provide. A little help from Kinkos andI managed to get them done. Pic of my kidson glossy card stock andGluestick worked like a charm. 4) Shrink caps went well, but boiling water is for the birds. The heatgun works best on low setting.

3)Label software failure. I thought it creates labels, but it only creates on the labels they provide. A little help from Kinkos andI managed to get them done. Pic of my kidson glossy card stock andGluestick worked like a charm.

Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing that! I've been reading about using glue-sticks with labels, and might just try it out. I've gotten my label-paper from the internet, (got it as a present) and I'm not happy with them for quite a few reasons (value is just not there). I'm thinking of going with paper and gluestick for a while now.

4) Shrink caps went well, but boiling water is for the birds. The heatgun works best on low setting.

Click to expand...

Well, you have to get the water to a rolling boil. That is the trick. The best way I have found is to get one of those electric boilers (9.95 at some fancy-shmancy store), and let it really get to a boil. Not just those tiny-bubble - just-barely-boil, but really intense. A few seconds in there, and those shrinky-caps just shrinky-dink themselves to the bottle. But for those with a heat-gun, wonderful!





Thanks for sharing your experience!

Good job, jojo!


The Mini-Jet will not work for you unless the wine has no sediment and pretty much looks like it is clear. It will degas the wine completely, however.

Good job and looks great!


The first one is always the toughest since most new winemakers tend to rush into bottling and it is a new experience with lots of unknowns(been there done that) . It is normal as we all want to see the finished product and get our wine into the bottle.


The key is too learn from it and make adjustments for the next batch

Thanks all.

MedPretzel said:

Well, you have to get the water to a rolling boil. That is the trick. The best way I have found is to get one of those electric boilers (9.95 at some fancy-shmancy store), and let it really get to a boil. Not just those tiny-bubble - just-barely-boil, but really intense. A few seconds in there, and those shrinky-caps just shrinky-dink themselves to the bottle. But for those with a heat-gun, wonderful!

Click to expand...

That's probably it. I kept getting wrinkles that wouldn't iron out. I sense itmight be possible to overheat it with the gun.

Hippie said:

The Mini-Jet will not work for you unless the wine has no sediment and pretty much looks like it is clear. It will degas the wine completely, however.

Click to expand...

The mini-jet will clog? Aren't the coarse pads sufficient to remove sediment? My next batch due for bottling is a banana wine which I used Sparkelloid. It's very nice and clear, but the bottom has a hazy web like thing suspended about half an inch high. I keep waiting for it to go down to rack off.

masta said:

The first one is always the toughest since most new winemakers tend to rush into bottling and it is a new experience with lots of unknowns(been there done that) . It is normal as we all want to see the finished product and get our wine into the bottle.


The key is too learn from it and make adjustments for the next batch

Click to expand...

I enjoyed doing it immensely. I'm beginning to see the value of patience. My neighors are in disbelief. They've already started bringing me empties.

No jojo. Sediment will clog even the coarse pads. You can rack off the finings, then filter through the #1 coarse pads.

Hi jojo, congrats on you first bottling . Bet your glad thats over. (lol) On your labels, Avery has some nice labels and some come with design pro software. This is a snap to use. I have 100.00 software thats not as easy to use. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.


Bill

Congratulations JoJo. For a first bottling you did well. It will get easier as you go and your wine quality will improve also.