WineXpert Started my first kit today

#3112, the WE Crushendo Santa Ynez Valley Syrah. Everything was
going so well (thanks to my wife for keeping the kids off the
equipement) until...I tried to put the 3 piece air lock #4600 into the
lid of the bucket. It seems like the stem of the air lock it a
bit too big and I pushed the rubber gasket right into the fermentor.
Since I sanitzed everything, I'm assuming it's going to be ok.
I'll just have to fish it out after I do the first racking. No
pictures yet because all you would see it a bucket. The only
other thing is a small leak at the spigot of the bucket (about 1 drop
every 1/2 hour. I don't think this will be a problem since O2 is
not an issue at this stage. I was too afraid of over tightening
it. I guess all it needed was a few more turns. I checked
for leaks before with water, but I didn't leave it long enough to tell.

A lesson learned (though I was forwarned by the info packet) was that don't wear a nice white shirt while making red wine.



Oh, it says in the WE instructions that you put the collar of the
concentrate through the top of the box it came in to pour it into the
primary. If the top of the box is already torn to get to the
other ingredients, do people tape the box back up or just hold the top
in place?



thanks,

Scott

The top fits in the groove if you open the box carefully, I always tape
it closed, and you must have a cap opener, it is a must and cheap to
own...lol (the start of a LONG list of must haves)

The ole grommet into the bucket trick...done that been there! I am careful now when inserting the airlock since this has happened to me. The spigot can be tricky at times to get just right and the problem I have is most of my fermenters I drilled the hole in and didn't use the right type of bit and the hole is a bit rough.


Sometimes a 1/4 turn at this point will stop the leak but there is always a chance it could leak more so it depends how lucky you feel. Over tightening is also a cause of leaks since it will squeeze the gasket too much.


I use to fit the collar of the bag into the box and tape down the flaps but now I just hoist the bag out of the box, open it up and pour it in. Just as easy and quick since I am making up batches on the floor.


From a tip submitted by Maui Joe I started saving my empty bags to refill with water and use for as ice blocks in coolers when summer gets here.

Scott,


Don't worry too much about the grommet. You don't even really need the airlock at this stage. I prefer not to use one until going into secondary. You don't want to limit oxygen at this stage getting the yeast going. I usually lay a piece of t-shirt type cloth(new) over the primary opening keeping it tight. You can put a piece of string around it and tie if you like. I most often just set the lid on the cloth and don't seal the lid down. You should at least keep the lid on to keep unwanted things out of it. If I can't transfer to secondary when the ferment slows down a lot(for whatever reason), then I might put the airlock on until I can transfer.


If you think it's bad to push the grommet in(been there, done that), wait until you are pushing in the rubber stopper , just a little more and that sucker pops into your favorite batch of wine. At that point pray those little fruit flies that have been sitting on it yesterday weren't carrying acetobacter.


Good luck with the batch. I can almost taste it from here. mmmmm..

Scott, ditto to all the above, and I'll bet within 6-8 weeks we'll have another "first kit" posting that says, "gee, I pushed the rubber grommit in..." and "the spigot drips...!"


Masta's not the only one that's "been there, done that!" We ALL have, I think! It must be some sort of rite of passage.... Edited by: OilnH2O

My spigot leaked like a sieve when I first got it. I found that if you test with water when you first put it on and when/if you remove the spigot for cleaning you prevent having to run your arm down into a bucket full of wine . Good luck with the kit!

I forgot to mention that I used the water test after dunking my arm in 6 gallon of peach wine to stop the drip . Seems most people have this problem in the beginning .

I'm so glad everybody went through these issues. I don't feel so bad anymore. Thanks for all your suggestions.

I think it is awesome you started with a high dollar kit with added steps due to the grape skins. When you complete this one the rest of the kits you make will be easy!


The main thing to remember is relax, follow the directions carefully and ask questions if anything seems unclear.Edited by: masta

Thanks Masta,
Well, since I am a wine snob, I thought the finished product of this kit would please my palate compared to the lower end ones.

My next wine will be a Chardonnay. My wife likes the smooth and buttery Chardonnay with a little wood. I was either going to choose the Sonoma Dry Creek Valley Unwooded Chardonnay or the French Chardonnay. Has anybody had both? Which one is closer to the one I described?

thanks

I too will add the been there done that as well. The gasket will be fine. What I do now is put the air lock in the lid before I place it on the bucket with no solution in it. I then fill it with a little sulfite solution after the lid is in place. Everyone is right though, you really don't need it in there and from what I see it is actually there for secondary fermenting if you use a bucket instead of a carboy (yes, some do this).


I would really watch the drip. My second kit did that and I lost quite a bit of white zin in the carpet of the closet I had the bucket sitting. I finally sanitized my arm and stuck it in to hold the nut and tightened it down. I lost about 7 bottles at a slow drip fairly quick. I have to say, don't let a small occasional drip fool you. Remember, it drips 24 hours a day. I now keep my fermenter in plain view so I can monitor any issues like this.


Smurfe

I have my fermentor in the dinning room for now. I'm sure I will be asked to move it. It has a bowl under it to catch any drips and so I can have grape juice in the morning . I hope I'm not asked to move it because I'm not sure where else to put it. I'll figure out something like putting a lamp shade over it.

I managed to push a bung into a carboy! Now THAT was funny! Poor Bert and Poor Brian where right behind me when I did it. They held their breath and waited to see if I was going to blow a gasket or laugh. I thought it was pretty darned funny! There's nothing like making wine to keep us humble! Edited by: PolishWineP

I stuck with the directions and sanitized my big stirring wand and gently pushed the grape skins down and put the cover back on (actually sealed it). This morning I checked it and the water in the 3 piece air lock was red and was bubbling like there's no tomorrow...I should have gone with a bigger bucket to give the bubbling juice more room. I followed the kit's instructions and added a total of 2 gallons and 1 cup of water and there's a tad more liquid over the 6 gallon mark.

I checked the leak and there were only 3 drops in the bowl , not enough for a breakfast drink.

Winesnob- I don't use an airlock on my primary either, only when I move over to my carboy. Oh, and do you have water or k-meta in your airlock?? I think it may be adviseable to use k-meta, as there is a less chance of it growning things in it(at least that's what I do). Also, if your water is red in your airlock, I would pour it out, give it a good rinse, and fill w/ k-meta (if you decide to put back in).


In regards to the spigot, mine leaked too the first time. Talk about a panic. I thought I was going to cry . However, I found afterwards, if I turn it to the side, it doesn't leak any longer.


My Rosso Fortissimo is over the 6 gal as well. Checked it this morning and punched down the cap. It's rockin' like a volcano and I love it!! I just hope it doesn't bubble over, but I don't think it will. I'd hate to resort to drinking off the floor!

Dj, I did rinse out the airlock and put in K-Meta and positioned the airlock a bit more towards the bottom of the stem and have had no problems since.

When I got home last night (ah, the sweet smell of fermentating grapes), I noticed the bubbling had slowed down quite a bit(day 3 of fermentation). I sanitized my spoon and pushed the skins down, like the instructions says to do every day. This morning, the bubbling is back at a nice steady rate. I took an sg reading and it was 1.025, so it wasn't ready yet as I expected. I probably just wanted a little taste. YUM!! The other good thing is that the spigot stopped dripping.

Yes ! what's a Bucket without a leaky spigot anyways?


As a Matter of Fact what's a Wine Forum without a Leaky Spigot!!!

Winesnob:





Here is a cut and paste job from a older post on Crushendos bu Masta. According to this, you may be about ready to rack. I have always racked Crushendo's below 1.01, but I may try it at a higher SPG next time......


Use of a straining bag is not recommended by Winexpert due to the consistency of the grape pack. It is more like jam than like large chunks of skins as you would think and the reason for this is to allow the total extraction in 6-7 days. Here are a few links and tips to help with your Crushendo:


http://www.finevinewines.com/Crushendo.htm


This quote from Tim confirmsJackie's info: "
<DIV ="postcolor">If you leave it seven days, the level of CO2 saturation will drop, allowing the grapeskin material to settle towards the bottom, stratifying lighter wine on top.

This will make racking much more difficult, and may render the mesh siphon tip useless.

After the sg drops below about 1.030, the must will have extracted 95% of the tannins, anthocyanins and other desirable compounds from the Crushendo pack. Leaving it longer at the expense of being able to rack it could show a small return on investment!"
<DIV ="postcolor">
<DIV ="postcolor">Two more tips:
<DIV ="postcolor">

1. 
   <LI>
   <DIV ="postcolor">Don't try to reuse the skins in another kit since all of the goodnesss is used up in the first kit and will get nothing but harsh tannins.
   <LI>
   <DIV ="postcolor">No need to add extra sulfite since these kits include more than other kits since are designed to be aged for at least a year.</LI>

Thanks for the info Maize. I had thought about racking it because the grape skins are alread at the bottom. I don't think I'll have to "push them down" because they are already down. I just didn't want to rack until she SG was down a bit more. I keep hearing "FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS". This is why I was going to way for the 7 day period and the bubbling to slow. If I had a 3 gallon carboy, I would rack half off and do a test to see which one comes out better.

Remember also, if you hit your target SG early to wait another day and test again. Some say to test again the next 2 days to see if it is still dropping or at least stable. If you get 2 consecutive SG readings that meet your need, go ahead and rack even if it is earlier than the directions say. Your fermenting temperature may be different than the "Lab" so that is taken into account.


Our dining room is normally around 68 degrees so I normally have a longer primary fermentation. It is not uncommon for it to take 8-10 days for me to reach the target SG.


Smurfe