Bottling Lambrusco

[New Kid]

Does Lambrusco REQUIRE a champagne bottle and cork? Saw some bottled that way in the wine store. I have just finished a batch and bottled it in wine bottle with plain cork and wax. Am I OK or do I need to do something different?

 

[Tom]

Does Lambrusco REQUIRE a champagne bottle and cork? Saw some bottled that way in the wine store. I have just finished a batch and bottled it in wine bottle with plain cork and wax. Am I OK or do I need to do something different?

No, not unless you make it sparkling wine. A regular cork will do fine.
How did it come out?

 

[New Kid]

It came out great. It was one of those that is ready to drink in 6 months. Crystal clear and already tastes pretty good. Back sweetened with 30ml of 2:1 syrup per 750 ml. Sg rose from 0.994 to 1.06. Think it might end up being a winner.

 

[ASAI]

How did you come out with wax seal? Any lessons learned the hard way, you want to share?

 

[New Kid]

Well, didn't have that much trouble actually. I had read several blogs and that helped a lot. I went out and got a simmering pot and used that. I took a spoon and poured a little in the top of bottle, where the cork is recessed to fill that space between top of corkand top of bottle. Then when that was dry, I tipped the bottle and gently lowered into was just past the top bottle lip. Went well, looks great! Bear in mind, though I read what you guys were doing first!!

 

[nursejohn]

I am getting ready to order a MM Lambrusco kit to try. I too had a question about what type of cork to use. I assume that you bottle it just like the other wine kits. Tepe stated that regular corks would be OK as long as you didn't make it sparkling wine. I need some education here; how would you make it sparkling wine?

 

[Tom]

1st making a 6 gallon batch is rather hard and time consumming. For that reason most dont make it.

However, You can force carbonate. It is not the same though as what you can find retail. I have only force carbonated 1 bottle at a time as needed. You will need a CO2 tank and a carbonater found at a Home Brew Store.

 

[grapeman]

I am getting ready to order a MM Lambrusco kit to try. I too had a question about what type of cork to use. I assume that you bottle it just like the other wine kits. Tepe stated that regular corks would be OK as long as you didn't make it sparkling wine. I need some education here; how would you make it sparkling wine?

Follow NW's procedure she uses for making sparkling apple wine.
http://www.finevinewines.com//Wiz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1222







Posted By:


Northern Winos
Senior Member

Joined: 07 November 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 309


We use the method from this Web Site
http://honeycreek.us/makingsparklingwine.htm
Here is a few photos of the process.
Take 5 or 6 gallons of any dry wine, we have used only white wine [dry apple] but use any wine that you enjoy, a blush or rosé would work too.Commercial Champagne/Sparkling Wine is made form Chardonnay, or sometimes even an off quality wine.
DO NOT STABILIZE this wine.Rack to bottling bucket,
ADD:
1/3/4 cups dissolved white table sugar in boiled water [cooled]
1 package Champagne Yeast...rehydrated in small amount of water.

We try to make sure there is no Sulfite residue on any equipment, that will impair the fermentation process that will take place inside the bottles, so rinse bucket, and filling equipment, tubing, etc. with water.
Stir frequently while bottling to keep sugar and yeast in suspension. Fill rinsed Champagne bottles. Cap bottles with plastic champagne stoppers and wire securely...or they say you can use crown caps [beer bottle caps] at this point.

Store bottles upright in sturdy containers. Line bottoms of containers with many layers of newspapers. Champagne yeast will work at temperatures as low as 50*F, so a basement floor is okay. These bottles will be stored upright for 2 months while the yeast works.

Shake the bottles weekly to disperse the yeast and sugar throughout the wine. Shake more often towards the end of the 2 month period, every few days is good, this will get any sediment off the bottoms and dispersed it through the wine. If any wires were loose you will notice that they have tightened...this is from pressure building in the bottles. [kind of creepy, but you know that the yeast is working]
*We try to use at least one clear bottle for each batch as a 'view' into the fermentation process.

After 2 months, invert the bottles in the storage boxes.

Now comes the Riddling Process. Everyday [if possible] lift the bottle, twist briskly and drop the bottle into the box from a hight of about 2-4 inches. ***[This is why you padded the bottoms of the boxes, to absorb the shock of the bottles dropping into the box.]

This process will drop any sediment that has formed on the sides of the bottle neck and send it settling into the bottle cork.

After 2 weeks or so of Riddling it is time to dégorge the wine. This is a process of removing the lees that have settled into the cork.
Keeping the bottle inverted [neck down] place in a freezer till there is ice forming in the neck of the bottle. In our old chest type freezer it takes and 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Now that you have some ice formed in the neck of the bottle you can return the bottle to a semi-up-right position to dégorge the ice 'plug'.

Now comes the dégorging. This is best done outdoors, wear glasses or safety glasses, keep loved ones and pets away from popping corks. *The safety glasses are to protect your eyes from the spurting wine.

Carefully remove the wire.

POP!!! As quickly as you can place your CLEAN thumb over the bottle opening. This is kind of tricky, but you'll figure it out fast. Dégorge several bottles at a time. [or just one to try it]

Using a small funnel refill bottles from one, try to pour the wine down the sides of the bottles to prevent foaming. *Dispose of any leftover wine....Leftover wine...Hello!!!

Place clean plastic stoppers and wires on the bottles and store right side up for about 2 more months in your wine cellar. This will give the wine some time to rejuvenate the bubbles that were lost during the dégorging process.

*Probably not a bad idea to wait to label till the end of the process, things get a little messy during the dégorging process.

Hope this tutorial is helpful...enjoy your bubbly, it is worth the process.

 

[nursejohn]

Gosh, that all seems a bit much for a novice like me, but I loved the pictures though. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not going to attempt the sparkling wine, so I'll just bottle the wine like I regularly do, correct? The reason that I ask such a question is that the Lambrusco that I puchase commercially seems to have a fizz to it. Thanks again.

 

[Tom]

Lanbrusco is like any other wine you make. A regular cork is all you need.

Good luck..

 

[grapeman]

Gosh, that all seems a bit much for a novice like me, but I loved the pictures though. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not going to attempt the sparkling wine, so I'll just bottle the wine like I regularly do, correct? The reason that I ask such a question is that the Lambrusco that I puchase commercially seems to have a fizz to it. Thanks again.

I posted that for you to see how much work it would be to make it as a sparkling wine. If you don't want fizz, bottle normally. If you want a fizz, be prepared for a lot of work in the proper bottles or do as I did last night. I had gotten a bottle from a friend, put it on my rack to age a bit and this morning was in for a surprise. The Frontenac had obviously been sweetened with no sorbate added. I wondered what the purple streak was across the carpet and began investigating. The bottle had blown it's cork and degorged a half bottle of spray all over everything including my wine rack almost full of bottles. I guess I need to treat all gifts as suspect bombs from now on