Does grape must expand after pitching the yeast?

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kuziwk

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Does anyone ever notice that the wine expands after adding the water or pitching the yeast? Why does this occur? Either that or I added too much water but I'm pretty sure I added 23L, than dropped in the grape pack. When I pulled out the grape pack to double check a few days later, somehow it looks like there is an extra half litre in the bucket.
 
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Well, I am sure that some of the volume in your grape pack got "transferred" to your wine. I doubt you pulled out as much with the grape pack as you put in! (Think sugars.)
 
Well, I am sure that some of the volume in your grape pack got "transferred" to your wine. I doubt you pulled out as much with the grape pack as you put in! (Think sugars.)
So you're saying the grape pack adds sugar to the overall volume bringing it up over 23L? Does the yeast multiplying and CO2 add anything to the volume?
 
You also started with 23L at a cool temp and after that the temps has risen into their 80's so you have expansion of liquid due to increased temperature of the liquid.
 
You also started with 23L at a cool temp and after that the temps has risen into their 80's so you have expansion of liquid due to increased temperature of the liquid.
Yeah that makes sense, actually when I started the must was pretty chilly...maybe 60F since I pulled it out of truck from sitting all day. The only reason why I'm concerned is because for some reason the bucket is basically filled to 26L with the grape pack...and I'm 100% sure I put around 23 L...or as close as I could get it. Granted this is also an Amarone kit which included a huge grape skin pack compared to other kits I've seen. Also the SG was around 1.070, once adding the grape pack it was only around 1.092 and it's supposed to be over or around 1.10 SG for 14%. It's pretty tough to accuratelyaccurate SG from the grape skin packs though as they keep releasing sugar over the whole fermentation, and I imagine the higher the alcohol content as it ferments the more sugar is dissolved from the skin pack.

Sorry about the title, apparently I can't edit it.

One other thing I discovered is that while this is an 18l kit I believe they calculate the skin pack as part of the 18L...when I poured the must into the bucket it was only at 17L and I already had a good litre in there already from the bentonite and water...has anyone else noticed this?
 
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Different manufacturers seem to calculate the Kit size in different ways. Some with the grape pack, some without the grape pack. You always make it up to 23L without the grape pack so it is quite common to end up well over 23L with the grape pack added in. I wouldn't worry about anything and it sounds like you were within the noise for a starting SG. I edited your title to be a little more understandable just now.
 
Different manufacturers seem to calculate the Kit size in different ways. Some with the grape pack, some without the grape pack. You always make it up to 23L without the grape pack so it is quite common to end up well over 23L with the grape pack added in. I wouldn't worry about anything and it sounds like you were within the noise for a starting SG. I edited your title to be a little more understandable just now.
I just started the walla Washington kit with a new bucket that I bought. Looks like the cellar Craft kits are all 16l of juice and roughly 2L of skins. As it turn out I think the Amarone was less juice and more skins, I pulled out the skins of the Amarone to check volume and Im closer to 24L than 23L so I suspect I must have added too much water. Maybe 0.5l more water, I feel like the rest of volume came from the sugar in the skin pack if that's possible. In either case hopefully the wine doesn't lack flavor or body. It's been difficult for me to be exact when added the water as my wine prep room is in the furnace room and the floor is not level (tilts towards the drain). Mostly concerned because the SG on the Amarone is sort of low for something that is supposed to be 14%, pretty difficult to measure though with grape skin packs. The wine kit store basically said to add up to 1l more anyways as these kits drop alot of sediment, I still don't like watering down the wine though. I would sooner add 3 bottles of cheap wine than more upon pre-fermentation.
 
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I just started the walla Washington kit with a new bucket that I bought. Looks like the cellar Craft kits are all 16l of juice and roughly 2L of skins. As it turn out I think the Amarone was less juice and more skins, I pulled out the skins of the Amarone to check volume and Im closer to 24L than 23L so I suspect I must have added too much water. Maybe 0.5l more water, I feel like the rest of volume came from the sugar in the skin pack if that's possible. In either case hopefully the wine doesn't lack flavor or body. It's been difficult for me to be exact when added the water as my wine prep room is in the furnace room and the floor is not level (tilts towards the drain). Mostly concerned because the SG on the Amarone is sort of low for something that is supposed to be 14%, pretty difficult to measure though with grape skin packs. The wine kit store basically said to add up to 1l more anyways as these kits drop alot of sediment, I still don't like watering down the wine though. I would sooner add 3 bottles of cheap wine than more upon pre-fermentation.
This is one of the many reasons these so called "premium" kits should include 23L of juice.
 
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