WineXpert Cracked carboy at Clearing step, tastes sour? dump it or wait?

[jak]

I started a Winexpert Classic Australian Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre and everything seem to be going fine. Step two on Day 14 was stabilizing and Degassing after racking to the carboy. Next day on Step 15 was Clearing. I discovered that the car boy had a crack in the bottom and was slowly leaking. So I racked it back into a bucket until I could get another car boy. Which was four days later.

Of course I snuck a taste and the wine tastes sour and harsh/hot.

Should I dump it and start again or give it more time? If I should give it more time, about how much time is enough? (Weeks, months?)

Thanks,
JAK

 

[Bossbaby]

A new wine only two weeks old will not taste great, they few days it sat in a bucket didnt do it any justice if it was exposed to air but it shouldnt be a total loss, rack it to a carboy and finish it out per instructions.

 

[Jim Welch]

You've already spent that money! Finish it, age it out at least and see how it tastes then. You'll probably end up with at least a decent wine.

 

[winemaker81]

@jak, you have absolutely nothing to lose by trying to finish the wine. The worst that can happen is you'll waste some effort and toss it later.

 

[jak]

Thanks all. Waiting is what I thought the answer would be. The only advantage to dumping it now would be that it would free up the carboy. (no, I don't have room for another carboy.) : )

 

[winemaker81]

@jak, what is the floor? Unless defective, carboys crack from improper handling. If the floor is concrete (or they've been on concrete), don't. The shock of even gentle handling on concrete, over time, is bad. My floor is vinyl tile over concrete (which makes no difference) -- I have workout puzzle mats under all equipment.

 

[bwirrm]

Get an old milk crate to both store and work with carboys . Once clean and sanitized I drain upside down in the crate. It's also much easier to transfport using handles of the crate whether full or empty.

 

[Jim Welch]

Get an old milk crate to both store and work with carboys . Once clean and sanitized I drain upside down in the crate. It's also much easier to transfport using handles of the crate whether full or empty.

+1 for milk crates. I have all twenty some of my filled glass carboys in milk crates. My “winery” is on the second floor, my aging cellar is two flights down in my cellar and my bottling station is on the first floor so these crates make it much safer and a bit easier to lug up and down steps.
One word of caution with old milk crates though, they do get brittle with age so inspect the bottoms closely for hairline cracks. I use many old ones but my go to crates are Super Crates made by FarmPlast in New Jersey, a bit bigger than standard milk crates and rated at 250 Lbs capacity. They also sell standard milk crates.

 

[winemaker81]

My “winery” is on the second floor, my aging cellar is two flights down in my cellar and my bottling station is on the first floor

An elevator sounds likes a wise investment!

 

[Jim Welch]

An elevator sounds likes a wise investment!

I already have two, my left leg and my right leg!

 

[hounddawg]

I already have two, my left leg and my right leg!

pack it up in gallons
Dawg

 

[Gilmango]

I started a Winexpert Classic Australian Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre and everything seem to be going fine. Step two on Day 14 was stabilizing and Degassing after racking to the carboy. Next day on Step 15 was Clearing. I discovered that the car boy had a crack in the bottom and was slowly leaking. So I racked it back into a bucket until I could get another car boy. Which was four days later.

Of course I snuck a taste and the wine tastes sour and harsh/hot.

Should I dump it and start again or give it more time? If I should give it more time, about how much time is enough? (Weeks, months?)

Thanks,
JAK

I agree with everything already stated in the replies - age the wine some more (don't dump it), milk crates are great to hold carboys.

But I am replying just to relay something which I've seen discussed more in home beer making forums lately. There has been a rash of carboy failures lately, poorly made glass carboys have been sold for the past couple years. I believe most of these are coming from China and/or Mexico. Regardless of source the issue generally leads to cracks or failures at the very bottom of the carboy. From what I have read these failing carboys are not property annealed - slowly cooled to relieve internal stresses. Basically an annealing oven let's the carboy very gradually come back to room temperature, rather than going from molten glass to room temperature. No idea if that was the cause of your original carboys slow leak, as mostly I'm reading about complete failures where the bottom shears off and everything is lost in an instant. But I guess in terms of replacement be careful, ideally get a new carboy from Italy, or buy an older recycled one as this issue seems to be a new one.

More info with photos from a home made polariscope (not by me):

 

[Brian55]

Home Brew Ohio was shipping Italian made carboys, at least the last half dozen or so I purchased were Italian made. Might want to check with them prior to placing an order to be certain. Free shipping on $50+ Glass Carboy - 6 Gallon

MoreWine also sells Italian made carboys in 3,5,&6 gallon sizes. But no free shipping on carboys:

https://morewinemaking.com/products/italian-glass-carboy-3-gallon.htmlhttps://morewinemaking.com/products/italian-glass-carboy-5-gallon.htmlhttps://morewinemaking.com/products/italian-glass-carboy-6-gallon.html