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dbrewr

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Hi,
Just ordered WE australian shiraz (crushendo). This will be my first attempt making wine from a kit. Been brewing beer for years so I know the fundamentals. Just from reading a few of your post Ive picked up some pointers. After primary fermentation not sure about the stirring to degass wine, but it sounds critical for good wine. I will follow directions to the tee. Looking forward to reading more of your post and learning the art of winemaking.
 
Welcome.

There are a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum and very willing to help out us new winemakers, so ask away.

You might also want to go to the "Introductions" and post a little something about yourself, makes ya feel like part of the family when people know something about you. And hey! post a pic in the "This is me" thread.

And try the search function, look for "Similar Threads" links at the bottom of search results for hours of fun.

Again, Welcome and have fun.
 
Welcome to the forum.

Bama's right. Follow his suggestions.

I only call him "Bama" because I once worked with a guy from Alabama and that was what we called him.

Steve
 
Welcome dbrewr..... A lot of the things you learned about beer making will translate to wine making.... namely sanitation.....but the equipment also works well for wine making.

The one thing beer has is the almost instant gratification that you can have by drinking the finished product a few weeks after you started.

Wine requires a patience that is difficult at first but well worth the wait.

Welcome aboard.
 
You're right to ask about the degassing business, because this is the main thing (other than aging) that most kit companies give short shrift to in their instructions.

Let's just say you'll need to give your kit more degassing than the instructions say and you'll want to keep it warmer. If you ferment and degas at 75 degrees or close to it, you'll get the gas out a lot faster and better. I think most others will agree that aging the wine longer than the kit makers call for will make a world of difference too.

If you've been making beer, all you really need is an 8-gallon bucket and 6-gallon carboy (if you don't already have them) and the corking stuff. A Portuguese floor corker is several million times better than any hand corker for only little more than twice the price. I started out thinking I could get by with a hand corker, then invented some all new carpenter words while trying to cork my first batch of wine.

Jim
 
Welcome dbrewer. We have lots of experienced wine makers here so relax, read up, ask, and enjoy!
 
Guys,
Thanks for the welcomming.
One tool I was thinking of useing to degass is a plastic coat hanger with a drill. I cut one end off and leave a little of the hook on the other end just enough to feed into the opening of the carboy. It looks like a J hook. I have used that to oxegenate wort. i would think it would work to release the CO2.
 
Guys,
Thanks for the welcomming.
One tool I was thinking of useing to degass is a plastic coat hanger with a drill. I cut one end off and leave a little of the hook on the other end just enough to feed into the opening of the carboy. It looks like a J hook. I have used that to oxegenate wort. i would think it would work to release the CO2.

Welcome,
Remember you want to "stir" the wine not whip it all over. That will add O2 and thats not good. Chec the above banners and search for degassing tool
BTW you are in good company as we have members in your back yard
 
Welcome to the forum.

Bama's right. Follow his suggestions.

I only call him "Bama" because I once worked with a guy from Alabama and that was what we called him.

Steve

s'ok, least ways i'm not from Mississippi, i would hate to be called Missi. LOL. J/K, my wife is from Mississippi.
 
One tool I was thinking of useing to degass is a plastic coat hanger with a drill.

Buy the metal rod with the plastic fins on the end that you use with your cordless drill. The rod is long enough to reach the bottom of the carboy, and the plastic fins spread out once inside the carboy and really do a good job.
 
The Austrailian Shraz has been fermenting for 7 days now. I took a gravity reading last night before I mixed the grape skins and oak chips and it was at 1.000. According to directions can transfer to secondary at 1.010 or below. So I think I will transfer tonight. Still a good amount of airlock activity. I hope the siphoning goes well as there is a lot of loose stuff in there.

PS: The wife is glad that the fart smell has left the house:)
 
Sounds perfect.

Don't worry about racking some sediment at this stage, it won't hurt anything. The racking now is just to get the wine into an air-sealed chamber with no exposure to O2. There will be a LOT of sediment in another couple of weeks!
 
One other question I have. I have a 6 and a 6 1/2 gal. carboy. I want to use the 6 1/2 to seconday and than do the next transfer into the 6 gal. I know the will be headspace, but I was thinking the wine will ferment a bit more releasing CO2 to cover. Am I correct doing it this way?
 
You are thinking right, while it is still fermenting you don't have to worry about headspace. But your wine will be in this carboy for quite a while so having a lot of headspace might not be a good idea. The WE kits tell you to start your clarification in this first carboy (i.e. don't rack off the sediment yet). So after your ferment is done, you will be sitting in this carboy for a good week before you rack to the final carboy.

I would probably top up at least to the neck in the 6.5 gal carboy. Leave a couple of cups room for the stabilizer and clarifier additions that you will add when the ferment is done. Later when you rack the second carboy you will lose enough (due to all the sediment that you will leave behind) that it will probably pretty much fit into the 6.0 gallon and you won't need to top up again.
 
One other question I have. I have a 6 and a 6 1/2 gal. carboy. I want to use the 6 1/2 to seconday and than do the next transfer into the 6 gal. I know the will be headspace, but I was thinking the wine will ferment a bit more releasing CO2 to cover. Am I correct doing it this way?

I would rack to the 6. Remember, your next step is to stabilize and add finings. With WE kits, this is done with the sediment in the same vessel you finished fermentation in.

In other words, in 10 days to two weeks, you're going to stir, add stuff, and stir some more then top up in the same carboy you're racking to now. You don't want to have to top up in a 6 1/2.

Jim
 
Problem with that plan is that he will then rack to the 6.5 gal for the final clarifying, so he will have to top up a bunch at that point. I would do it the other way around, or buy another carboy.
 
I just looked at my directions and this is the way I am interpeting them.
*After 7 days in primary rack to secondary.
*Secondary for 10 days.
*Rack again (Stabillisng and Clearing) add clarifirers and stablizers, stir to release gasses leave set for at least 8 days.
* Final rack (polishing) for at least 28 days.
* Bottle
That is why I planned to do the secondary in the 6 1/2 gal carboy for 10 days. Then rack to the 6 gal add chems. stir and then top off.
I know this would not be so complacated if I had another 6 gal. carboy.
 
You DO NOT rack when you add the stabilizer and clearing agent. You wait about 10 days after you stablize, then rack off the heavy sediment and leave it sit for at least a month. So it's going to be in the first carboy for longer than you are thinking which is why I wouldn't take a chance I would go ahead and top it up. You are going to have to top up at some point anyway. When you rack from the 6.5 to the 6, you won't need to top up which you would normally need to do because you lose at lot at that second racking.
 

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