WineXpert day 6 only 22L (or less) left

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

RandyC

Junior
Joined
Jan 14, 2019
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Hi guys I just started my first kit,an eclipse shiraz. On the box it says 18L and I have no idea it is 16+2(didn't say anything on the box) until I found this discussion board. I only add total on 5L of water in. Today is Day 6 and the skin is floating on the top, which makes the must level even lower than 23L now. Is there any way I can correct the problem ASAP without hurting the quality of wine?

PS I only have 6 gal carboys (no 5 gal) and I really don't want to buy 3 bottles of shiraz to top it off later.

thanks in advance
 
I was thinking maybe to get a 5 gal carboy is the easiest way to go, without add more uncertainty further.
 
I think your best course of action is to contact Wineexpert, explain what you did and see what they think might be the best course of action. I am sure they will ask what was your starting sg and go from there. I believe you were 2L sort in the amount of water you added. But I don't know the best way to go from here.
 
That is a good idea. I just called winexpert and left a message about 2 liter short on day 7. Hopefully they will get back to me ASAP.
Just out of curiosity, is this an uncommon mistake? I mean there must be lots of people making wines for 10+years. Do they just ignore the volume problem and go ahead with a 5 gal carboy? If I go for a 5 gal solution, my wine will end up stronger and higher alcohol level right?
 

Attachments

  • 20190328_202530.jpg
    20190328_202530.jpg
    1.7 MB · Views: 13
What would be the harm in adding 2 liter water at this point, I would have done that without a seconds hesitation. I would be more concerned with having the chemistry off by the lacking water. But, that's me...
 
That is a good idea. I just called winexpert and left a message about 2 liter short on day 7. Hopefully they will get back to me ASAP.
Just out of curiosity, is this an uncommon mistake? I mean there must be lots of people making wines for 10+years. Do they just ignore the volume problem and go ahead with a 5 gal carboy? If I go for a 5 gal solution, my wine will end up stronger and higher alcohol level right?


I haven't ever done this (or should I say haven't yet), my process to make sure I am at the correct volume is to mix all the liquids, make certain I am at the 23 L mark and then add anything extra, like oak chips, skins, etc.


What would be the harm in adding 2 liter water at this point, I would have done that without a seconds hesitation. I would be more concerned with having the chemistry off by the lacking water. But, that's me...

I might have done the same thing, but it never hurts to ask the manufacturer what is the correct thing to do.
 
Hi guys, got a call back from Winexpert. She(Jill)said just add 2 litter of that missing volume. Give it a goodg stir. The wine making process is still in the early stage, so shouldnt be a problem.
What I will do when I got home tonight is to calibrate the water temperature to my bucket temperature and pour in water. I hope the baby yeasts won't get scared of.
 
Just out of curiosity, is this an uncommon mistake? I mean there must be lots of people making wines for 10+years. Do they just ignore the volume problem and go ahead with a 5 gal carboy? If I go for a 5 gal solution, my wine will end up stronger and higher alcohol level right?

I can't say whether this is a common mistake or not. Though it may be a bit misleading to call it a 18L kit even though it is 16L of juice plus the grapeskins, that should not matter if following the directions included. Under step one-day 1, 1.3 and 1.4 clearly state to add the juice and then top up to the 22.75L mark. This would get you to the correct level even if making a white eclipse kit that is 18L of juice. Adding water to a measured mark on your primary, negates the need to keep track of how much water is added. All your kits will be started at the same volume regardless of the kit type or manufacturer.

cheers
 

Latest posts

Back
Top