wine in carbouy cap came off

[mesquite]

I check my wine that is ageing. (3month old) and saw the the stopper was not on.I do not know how long it was off. I tasted the wine seems ok. What are yall opion about this.

 

[Wade E]

Did you add the extra sulfite to this batch? Hopefully no buggies got in.

 

[mesquite]

Yes I did. but the top could have been off for a week. Edited by: mesquite

 

[masta]

This happened to me once and I was pretty bummed about it but it worked out fine. I had a solid stopper in a bulk aging carboy and no idea how long it was out and since then haven't done that again and always use a normal airlock.


Taste again when you bottle and make sure it is ok. The one plus is the small surface area exposed to the air.Edited by: masta

 

[mesquite]

From now on Iam going to put the stopper on and tape it.

 

[Wade E]

Was it a solid stopper like Masta's was?

 

[mesquite]

Yes it was.

 

[Wade E]

I only use Airlocked cap as barometric pressure fluctuations change and
wiil eventually push a solid bung out where as the airlock will let
this pressure in but no air but I guess tape it down will work but
after awhile the tape will break down and be a mess to clean off
afterwards.

 

[mesquite]

when they age wine in barrels, they use solid stoppers. do they run in to problems with stoppers coming out?

 

[PeterZ]

mesquite, no, they hammer them in pretty hard (not advisable with glass). The wood barrels also breath a little.

I use a solid stopper when bulk aging. I tape it down with black plastic electrical tape - two pieces at 90 degrees apart across the top and then wrap more tape over the ends around the neck. If any gas needs to escape the tape stretches a little, but then the stopper settles back down and prevents any air from entering.

Edited by: PeterZ

 

[Wade E]

Like Peter says, the barrels breath and that is what makes barrels so
desireable. Taking in just that ever so slight bit of oxygen
(micro-oxygenation) Is what really helps make a wine better and that
long term oaking adds an excellent touch also.

 

[mesquite]

So when bulk aging in glass carbouy you can still have pressure in the carbouy? Edited by: mesquite

 

[PeterZ]

Once you put the wine in a carboy, there are two things that can create pressure in the carboy.

1. Insufficient degassing. Gas (CO2) is still coming out of solution. If you have an airlock on the carboy this is a "Good Thing" (tm). The CO2 will just bubble out.

2. Continued fermentation or malolactic fermentation. Not so good. Put a lock on it and wait.

3. (OK, this isn't a cause, but a result.) Changes in barometric pressure. Say you cork a fully degassed still wine during high barometric pressure. Then a low comes through. Now the pressure is higher (slightly) in the carboy than in the surrounding air.

All of these can push a stopper out of a carboy. Use an airlock if you can, or check the stopper as often as possible.

 

[smurfe]

I always use a stopper/airlock combo. Was wondering though, can you use those orange carboy caps with the 2 capped spouts on them to bulk age? I have a few of them but only have used them to cap empty carboys to keep dust and critters out.


Smurfe

 

[Wade E]

I would imagine pressure would blow off one of those white plugs just as easy as a bung if not easier.

 

[smurfe]

I would imagine pressure would blow off one of those white plugs just as easy as a bung if not easier.

I dunno. They are actually tough to pull off the spout. The rubber to rubber contact has some grip.I used one of the orange caps to do the vaccu-vin degas thing and it was tough to get the center cap off to stick my vaccu-vin stopper on.


Smurfe

 

[Wade E]

My little caps come off easy but getting something out of inside 1 of those holes is entirely a different story.

 

[KSKOH]

I just racked for the second time and the bung and air lock keep slipping up in the neck of the carboy. I seat it fairly solid and within 5 minutes it comes about half way out. The bung has an airlock in it half filled with water.


Any suggestions for how to keep the bung and air lock in place??

 

[Wade E]

Dry off the bung and the inside of the neck of the carboy with a clean paper towel.

 

[smurfe]

I am thinking the bungs/stoppers start to harden with use. I normally use the same bungs over and over although I have quite a few of them. I use the multi fit bungs. I have never had an issue with a solid rubber drilled stopper.I notice they are starting to slide in easy and move up with pressure in the vessel. As Wade suggested, drying the bung off and the inside neck of the carboy will help.


I had one start to move the other day and put a new bung in its place. It was firm going in and did not slide out easy. I recommend replacing the bungs on a regular basis just like you should all siphon hoses. They are cheap and good to have on hand. Same with airlocks.I am wondering if soaking in sanitizer (I use NaMeta) dries the stoppers out and makes them start to become brittle? Or maybe the soften and the sides walls of the stopper don't make the contact they did. It still looks to me like they have "hardened" and "glazed" over leaving a smooth surface instead of a rubbery grip surface.


Smurfe