A proud day indeed..

[chachi44089]

I just bottled my first batch of "Welches concord wine" from frozen concentrate. Actually, my first wine ever. I had a bit of trouble with my Italian two handled corker. It left the corks about 1/4 inch sticking out. The jaws seened to slip off the raised end of the bottle. I started to panic, then grabbed my rubber mallet and gave them a whack. They are flush. I had about a half a bottle left and shared it with my wife. Not bad at all for being green. Just really want to thank all the folks on here for the help and guidance. I could not have done it without all of you. I sure learned a lot, and have a lot to learn. But this gave me the confidence "and the go-ahead from the wife" to try a kit, or another recipe. Thanks again..Now..where was I...Oh yea.

 

[Wade E]

If you like that then your going to want a floor corker to make your job easier as believe me your going to be making a lot more!

 

[davewaz]

Congratulations, I hope your wine turns out excellent. Nice Avatar aswell, Quaid is nutty as a fruit cake

 

[jtstar]

You might consider collecting some wild fruit from your area for a wine in the future congratulation on your first wine

 

[ibglowin]

Congrats on the first batch under your belt!

 

[robie]

Good goin'!!!

 

[chachi44089]

Thanks guys.. I will be getting a floor corker for sure. I have had back surgury between my shoulder blades, so bending down to use this two lever corker was a pain "pun intended". I also will be getting a few 5 gallon glass secondaries next week. Too much work recking five 1 gallon secondaries just for 1 batch. Its ok for experimental batches, but not the real deal..lol..After having a spinal cord stimulator implant, I cant lift any more than about 2 gallons, so I will be hitting up Wade soon for one of his sweet vacuum pumps

 

[Runningwolf]

Congratulations. I remember bottling my first wine and it was as exciting as sharing the first bottle with friends. No stopping now as these are fast drinkers. You may even want to consider a kit if you have the 6 gal carboy to do it.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

I was going to give you some helpful advice in using the 2 handled corker until I read that you had surgery. Now I'd recommend a floor corker, it's cheaper than another surgery. I used a 2 handle for about 3 years before upgrading to the floor corker. If you use it right, it can work, but you do need to be able to bend and there is lots of back and shoulder blade activity required.

So you should either get a floor corker or a strappin' lad to help with the corking.

 

[roadwarriorsvt]

Congratulations on your first batch! You got any pics? Sorry to hear about your back. I've had a L-4/L-5 diskectemy so I feel your pain brother (pun intended)!

 

[GrandpasFootsteps]

Diskectomies unite!

I had lumbar microdiskectomy 8 months ago, L5-S1. Doing great now, but I don't tempt fate by trying to pick up heavy things. My wife helps me lift carboys, but I've still got enough gusto to pick up my 35 pound 3 year old, at least while she's still small.

I'm tempted to get the vacuum pump so I can rack from the bottom shelf to the top shelf, but I dunno how I'll sell that to my wife. I mentioned it to her and said, "I'm not ready to buy it." Her response, "Yet."

 

[chachi44089]

Hey Lon..Looks like I might have to use my old corker one more time..Still have some tips??

 

[Love_in_Texas]

Yes pics!!!!

 

[chachi44089]

I will post some tomorrow in the sun..If its sunny..lol

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Hey Lon..Looks like I might have to use my old corker one more time..Still have some tips??

Sure can. Here is the method that made it work for me.

1. Put the bottle on the floor and hold it between your feet. Or you can make a bottle holder that I have shown here.

2. Load the corker with a cork and position it over the top of the bottle.

3. With one fell swoop, drive the cork into the bottle. You do this by throwing the weight of your upper torso onto the arms of the corker. The cork needs to go all the way in very quickly.

The throat of the corker is narrow and it compresses the cork into a smaller diameter as it passes through. You want the cork to seat fully in the bottle before it has a chance to expand again.

Because you are using some force and speed to insert, you want to keep the corker very straight up and down over the bottle. If the corker leans forward or back, the bottle will try to tip. This is where the bottle holding jig can come in handy.

The whole key is to drive the cork very quickly. Those little "bottle lip grips" don't really do anything except to position the corker. They aren't meant to provide leverage to drive the cork. The drive comes from your thrust down onto the bottle.

 

[J_D]

I just bottled my first batch yesterday. Took a few bottles to figure out the double lever corker.

 

[chachi44089]

Well..Here are a few pics..Kinda hard to see the wine from the dark bottles. There seems to be a tiny bit of sediment, I really wasnt sure if it was clear enough. I put a bit in a crystal wine glass and it seemed clear. But after looking at a store bought wine in the same glass, mine was a bit dusty. Oh well, lesson learned.
This is my winery "hall" Top and bottom..My wife will soon lose the last shelves to the right..Mine, all mine...lol
Julies "white grape/peach" in the secondaries clearing, Lons "Skeeter pee" fizzing away in the primary!

This is two of the ten bottles..Too dark out to see through..

 

[djrockinsteve]

Hey Chachi, in the top of your first picture I see you have some German Drinking Mugs. My parents had a bunch of them and the long narrow beer glasses. We had some that held 7 beers and a few smaller.

Hadn't seen them in awhile.

On another note it is exciting to start to fill up your shelves with wine.

 

[chachi44089]

Hey Chachi, in the top of your first picture I see you have some German Drinking Mugs. My parents had a bunch of them and the long narrow beer glasses. We had some that held 7 beers and a few smaller.

Hadn't seen them in awhile.

On another note it is exciting to start to fill up your shelves with wine.

I have a bunch of those old steins..I break them out now and then with friends for a few brews
And yes..It is very cool to see a few full bottles on the shelves. Cant wait to add more