WineXpert Adding too much water

[rzevskiy7777]

Hi

Is it a big concern if i added about 1.5 to 2 liters of water more to my 23l kit? I tried to go with the sg reading and not volume and i got carried away.

Is this something to be concerned about? I am making washington meritage

 

[CB750]

I have this kit in Step #3. Clearing and will start bulk aging tomarrow.

What SG did you end up with after you added the extra water?

When I saw all the Oak that was included in the kit, I added about an 1 liter extra of water to the 6 gallon mark and had a beginning SG of 1.100 and was still at the high end of the suggested 1.095 to 1.100 starting SG. If you are in this range you should be OK. As that extra volume should allow you not to have to add any water or wine when you top off during step #3 stabilising an clearing. If for some reason you need to add extra liquid to top off at 6 gallons. You should definitely use a Cabernet Sauvignon wine.

I found that that extra liter of water came in handy as when I transferred to the Secondary all of that Oak increased the amount of gunk sludge at the bottom of the carboy. In fact I had to clear my siphon cane three times as the Oak kept clogging the plastic tip of the cane. Even so I had to add almost another liter of wine to top off at step #3. Given this is a high gravity wine I found I had to spend a lot more time degassing it than with other kits. Don't skimp on that important phase. Let it sit a few minutes and degas again and you will find more CO2 coming to the surface.

Based on my early tasting of this wine you are really going to like this wine. Very fruity with a full body. It's only going to get better with some bulk aging and time in the bottle.

 

[robie]

Acid and alcohol levels will be lower. Wine will be even thinner than one would already expect from a kit wine. Not by very much, though.

If you can test for acid levels, I would wait until after fermentation is complete and adjust the acid, if needed.

Also, under no circumstances would I ever top-off this batch of wine with water.

What you did is not that bad. I can think of worse things to do. The wine will still be drinkable I am sure.

 

[rzevskiy7777]

Thank you all I will keep your suggestions in mind. Going from memory my starting sg was 1.084

 

[Runningwolf]

You can add some sugar to get your sg up to where it should be.

 

[rzevskiy7777]

You can add some sugar to get your sg up to where it should be.

When can I do that I am Past first racking and close to degassing stage

 

[rjb222]

You can still get this corrected as long as you have not added sulfite or sorbate. Is this a white meritage or a red?

 

[rzevskiy7777]

You can still get this corrected as long as you have not added sulfite or sorbate. Is this a white meritage or a red?

It is red. How do I go about adjusting acidity?

 

[rjb222]

Ok here is what i would do. I would add about 2 pints or 1 liter red grape concentrate to your wine. There should be a strong enough yeast population left to catch hold and eat the added sugars. After you have finished fermenting the added concentrate then get a titrate kit and test your acid levels. If you are out of balance then add in Tartaric acid to the correct level. But I do not think you will need to do this as the added concentrate will add to the acid level. This is a bit of a guessing game as to how much to add to come up to original SG levels but with the lower SG to start your yeast has lots of room left to finish the ferment.Do not use something from the supermarket like a frozen concentrate to make juice with get the real concentrate from your local HBS. If they do not have any concentrate then pick up a a similar low end red like a California red and use that. These kits are about the same Brix as concentrate when you take out the concentrate to add to your Meritage then mix the California red up holding back some of the water and you will have a early drinking red to sip on while you wait for your Meritage.

 

[rzevskiy7777]

That is great thanks

 

[rzevskiy7777]

Just wanted to let everyone know what a great wine this turned out to be! It os a shame that it is limited edition.