Recent content by mrs.erinss

I have foil shrinks for my bottles that I plan on doing with the boiling method. My question is, when should I do them? Can I do them the day I bottle, or should I wait a few days for the cork to "settle"?

Hi, I am working on a Selection German Mosel Valley Gewurztraminer. I did my degassing and clarifying step a few days ago. It says after 8 days to do a racking in order to leave behind all the sediment. I was wondering if it will "hurt" the wine if I wait longer than 8 days to rack it off the...

Yes, that is what it came with, as a matter of fact. And that's exactly what mine was doing - just that light fizzing with no gunk on top. I still think I might have a little leak around the grommet too. It's all out of shape and weird.

I checked my wine and it is definitely fermenting. You can actually hear it fermenting, with all the fizz coming off the top. I checked the SG too while I had the lid open for the heck of it, and it already went from 1.080 to 1.040 in 3 days, so I guess I'm on the right track. It smells...

Thanks! This might be a stupid question, but if I open it, what am I looking for exactly? I mean, will I be able to tell just by looking at it if it is fermenting?

On Sunday I started my 2nd batch, a Selection Estate German Mosel Valley Gewurztraminer. So it has been in my primary fermenter for 3 days. I have it with a closed lid and airlock. Unlike my first kit (which had bubbles coming out of the airlock like crazy in the primary) I haven't seen a...

You are probably talking about the Chitosan, right? I, myself, am also VERY (deathly) allergic to shellfish. I have had wine that was cleared with Chitosan (as well as other things - it's in alot of stuff, like binders for pills and things) and have not had a reaction. The Chitosan is...

So is there anything I can do to actually get the SG down anymore? Or is it done when it's done? Any guesses (just out of curiosity) as to why it didn't get to where it should have been?

Okay, I took a sample and shook it up for a while to de-gas it, and it did make a difference. My reading was 0.998 now. I also did test my hydrometer in distilled water at 68 degrees, and it was practically right on 1.000, maybe about .001 off, if that. So at best my SG reading is 0.997...

My hydrometer did come with a little chart for the temperature difference, in fact. I just took a look at it. It looks like it is calibrated to read 1.000 in water at 68 degrees. It says for 77 degrees add 0.001. It is about 72 degrees in here, so I don't think my temp. is making much...

The entire time my wine has been going it's been a constant 71-72 degrees. I will try shaking up a sample and I will test the hydrometer too. Thanks!

Hi, I am progressing on my first kit, a Selection International Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, and think maybe I hit a snag? So, I racked the wine from my primary to my secondary 10 days ago. It said to rack when the SG was 1.010 or below. Mine was exactly 1.000 so I moved it from my primary...

haha, yeah... here i am worried about whether or not my wine is normal, but fail to realize that maybe the only abnormal thing was the fact that I just sit and stare at my wine all day, lol! :h

The bubbling action was great in the primary and it seemed to ferment well (got from 1.080 to 1.000 in 5 days). So now it has been 4 days since I racked it to the carboy for secondary fermentation, and I still have not gotten one single bubble out of the airlock and the surface of the wine...

I figured I was probably just being paranoid - it is my first wine baby after all... :) I will let it just do its thing I guess. And yes, I did leave the lees behind. Thanks for the responses!