Bottling for the first time

[JDesCotes]

I plan on bottling my european select Barolo and cheeky monkey Riesling this weekend and have a couple questions.

Both wines have been racked 2-3 times since clarification started and are very clear with the exception of a thin layer of lees on the bottom. Should I rack once more and try to remove the lees? If I do, how long should the wine sit before bottling?

My local wine store rents a filter for $5 a day... Is it worth it or needed?

Also, I am making a batch of skeeter pee at the same time and it seems to be taking forever to clear. It is certainly progressing everyday though. Should I rack it while I'm racking my others to get rid of the bulk of the lees? How long should sparkolloid take to clear a Skeeterpee? It's been about a week and only the top 50% is super clear...

Also, I bought some new and used bottles from a local wine shop owner who recently went out of business... To clean the bottles, will soaking them in starsan for a minute or so be enough, or should I also use sodium metabisulphite? The used ones do look very clean.

Finally, I bought three types of bottles; green Bordeaux, clear Bordeaux, Amber hock. I was going to bottle the Barolo into the green Bordeaux bottles and the skeeter pee into the clear Bordeaux... "Traditionally" is a Riesling bottled in a clear Bordeaux or a hock style bottle, for some reason I was thinking it would be nice in a hock style... But then you can't see the color.




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[Arne]

One of the neat things about making your own wine is you can put it in whatever bottle you want to. Next thing is I don't have a clue what bottle any wine uses except sparkling should be put in the heavier bottles intended for sparkling wines. I know I tend to put my red wines in a colored bottle to help preserve the color. I know, not much help, but have funwith it. Arne.

 

[sour_grapes]

Finally, I bought three types of bottles; green Bordeaux, clear Bordeaux, Amber hock. I was going to bottle the Barolo into the green Bordeaux bottles and the skeeter pee into the clear Bordeaux... "Traditionally" is a Riesling bottled in a clear Bordeaux or a hock style bottle, for some reason I was thinking it would be nice in a hock style... But then you can't see the color.

Yes, in Germany and the rest of the Rhine region, Riesling traditionally went into Hock bottles. (Wikipedia tells me that "Hock" is short for Hochheim am Main.

 

[Boatboy24]

I would rack before bottling. If you're using the tip on your racking cane, it should prevent you from bringing over much sediment, if any. You can then take what's left in the bottom of the carboy and enjoy it as your reward for bottling.

When I bottled for the first time, I put a gallon or two of water in a large pot and did a practice run. It really helped make the process run smoothly. I recommend giving that a shot.

 

[derunner]

If you have any sediment, it is best to rack to a carboy being careful to not pick up any of the lees. Then bottle from that clear carboy. It is very hard to bottle from a carboy with lees with out remixing them some.

You should clean your bottles first. It was not clear if you do. Sanitizing is for clean bottles. For the new bottles, it seems conventional wisdom is they do not need a thorough cleaning, but I pretty much do them all the same.

When I get new used bottles (I cleaned about 700 of them last year) I remove the labels, then I use unsented oxiclean type cleaner (1 TBSP per gal hot water) to clean the bottles with a drill mounted bottle brush. I do a triple rinse, then sanitize with starsan. Drip dry and put away until I need them.

When I bottle, I reclean them again, but not as much as the first time. I use a bottle brush on a drill and give them about 5-8 seconds per bottle in hot oxiclean. Then again triple rinse. Then I like to use K-meta sanitizing solution before bottling with a vintinator (sp). I leave them upright for about 10 mins as the K-meta vapors are heavier than air and they are what does the sanitizing. I then drain out any more k-meta I can. The few drops of k-meta that might not drip out provide a small boost of k-meta in the wine as a preservative, but get all you can out.

I think you can use starsan as your sanitizer, but I figure why not use something that is good for your wine.

 

[JDesCotes]

Ok, k meta is potassium metabisulphite right? The "sanitizer" my wine shop sold me when I first started is sodium metabisulphite. From doing a bit of research, it looks like I SHOULDNT use sodium metabisulphite to sanitize as it could leave behind sodium which could cloud the wine or start crystals growing...


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[derunner]

Ok, k meta is potassium metabisulphite right? The "sanitizer" my wine shop sold me when I first started is sodium metabisulphite. From doing a bit of research, it looks like I SHOULDNT use sodium metabisulphite to sanitize as it could leave behind sodium which could cloud the wine or start crystals growing...


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K is the periodic symbol for potassium so k-meta is sort of an abbreviation.

So yes use potassium metabisulphite to sanitize. I use 3 tablespoons per gallon when making up the solution for sanitizing. I have seen other amounts mentioned that are a little more or less than this ratio. This is much stronger than the small 1/4 and 1/8 teaspoons you might add to 6 gallons of wine for preserving. But you are making a sanitizing solution so it is stronger.

The fumes can take your breath away so be careful not to spill or breathe the powder. In can burn the nose so if you want to smell it pull a bit of the fumes over to your nose and breathe in slowly. I.e. Do not put your nose in the gallon and inhale. you should smell it, but it affects some people more than others.

It is also corrosive to metal, so very carefully wash anything that may be metal that come in contact with it like a vintinator with its metal springs.

 

[JohnT]

Next thing is I don't have a clue what bottle any wine uses except sparkling should be put in the heavier bottles intended for sparkling wines. I know I tend to put my red wines in a colored bottle to help preserve the color. I know, not much help, but have funwith it. Arne.

My preference is to use 750 Bordeaux shaped bottles. I use dark green for red and clear for white.

I use this style of bottle for one very good reason.. They are stackable. I have 5 case "diamond-cube" style wine racks and the uniform cylindrical shape stacks perfectly level.

 

[cintipam]

Derunner, he has NA meta that was sold to him. I read from WMT on several posts that using NA meta (abbreviation for Sodium Meta) to preserve wines can cause a bit of an off taste. Personally I only use Kmeta (Potassium meta) to preserve wine, but feel comfortable using Na meta to sanitize. I wash all my metal implements immediately post use anyway. I try to only buy Kmeta, but occasionally have to settle for the other stuff.

Pam in cinti

 

[Noontime]

My preference is to use 750 Bordeaux shaped bottles. I use dark green for red and clear for white.

I use this style of bottle for one very good reason.. They are stackable. I have 5 case "diamond-cube" style wine racks and the uniform cylindrical shape stacks perfectly level.

Ha Ha! That's one I wish I learned earlier. I spent weeks building a diamond cube rack, only to find wonky bottle layers. I think the advice is better to NOT have diamond cube racks since most home winemakers recycle commercial bottles as well, but goodness gracious thats a great point!

 

[cintipam]

Derunner, he has NA meta that was sold to him. I read from WMT on several posts that using NA meta (abbreviation for Sodium Meta) to preserve wines can cause a bit of an off taste. Personally I only use Kmeta (Potassium meta) to preserve wine, but feel comfortable using Na meta to sanitize. I wash all my metal implements immediately post use anyway. I try to only buy Kmeta, but occasionally have to settle for the other stuff.

Pam in cinti

 

[cintipam]

Sorry for the duplicate post. I was trying to fix the spelling of Derunners name and it posted twice. tried to delete second but can't quite figure it out.

Pam in cinti

 

[JDesCotes]

Thanks everybody!


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[bstnh1]

If you have any sediment, it is best to rack to a carboy being careful to not pick up any of the lees. Then bottle from that clear carboy. It is very hard to bottle from a carboy with lees with out remixing them some.

You should clean your bottles first. It was not clear if you do. Sanitizing is for clean bottles. For the new bottles, it seems conventional wisdom is they do not need a thorough cleaning, but I pretty much do them all the same.

When I get new used bottles (I cleaned about 700 of them last year) I remove the labels, then I use unsented oxiclean type cleaner (1 TBSP per gal hot water) to clean the bottles with a drill mounted bottle brush. I do a triple rinse, then sanitize with starsan. Drip dry and put away until I need them.

When I bottle, I reclean them again, but not as much as the first time. I use a bottle brush on a drill and give them about 5-8 seconds per bottle in hot oxiclean. Then again triple rinse. Then I like to use K-meta sanitizing solution before bottling with a vintinator (sp). I leave them upright for about 10 mins as the K-meta vapors are heavier than air and they are what does the sanitizing. I then drain out any more k-meta I can. The few drops of k-meta that might not drip out provide a small boost of k-meta in the wine as a preservative, but get all you can out.

I think you can use starsan as your sanitizer, but I figure why not use something that is good for your wine.

I find it very difficult to rinse Oxyclean from bottles. I soak used bottles in it overnight and rinse. But before bottling, I wash them again in One Step and sanitize with K-meta.

 

[derunner]

I find it very difficult to rinse Oxyclean from bottles. I soak used bottles in it overnight and rinse. But before bottling, I wash them again in One Step and sanitize with K-meta.

I believe Oxyclean has the same active ingredient as One Step and Easy Clean. I only soak mine for 1-2 hours in very hot oxy solution before power brushing and the quad rinse. For the rinse, I fill bottle 1/3 full of hot water and give a very vigorous shake, drain, and repeat. I would think the quad rinse gets you down to parts per billion or less of any type of water soluble cleaner. I then sanitize with starsan, but this is just for storage. I also use k-meta for the sanitizing before bottling.