Exploding wine bottles
- Thread starter Haleyeah
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CoteRotie
Member
You could try chilling the bottles to just above freezing then opening and letting them warm up.
franc1969
Senior Member
Are the bottles actually cracking, or is this a matter of the wine being carbonated? You didn't come back to the other threads you started- don't know if you really had complete degassing and stability before bottling. If it's carbonation, chill the bottles as CoteRotie said. If they are actually breaking, suit up, cover them with a box, and get them outside NOW. Not safe.
jackl
Junior
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When I first started making wine I back sweetened it without first adding stabilizer. I opened a bottle, the cork popped off and it shot all over the kitchen and the ceiling. Our yellow lab ran into another room. When she returned she was a purple spotted lab! After that, I’m opened the remaining bottles very slowly outside. Probably doesn’t help you, but it was a funny story! Now I only make dry wine!
So the bottles didn't actually crack, it was when opening, but I'm sure they would have cracked if I didn't get to them sooner. I was pretty sure the fermentation process was complete, I'm thinking not now. When I sweetened I used wine conditioner, which from what I understand acts as a sweetener and stabilizer? Update: I unopened all bottles into a bucket and put them back in a carboy. Can I still drink this wine? Or could it be spoiled from possibly fermenting in the bottles?
franc1969
Senior Member
It's fine as wine, just a bit more alcohol than you may have expected initially. If this had happened in the correct bottles, you'd have a sparkling wine. Wait a while in the carboy until the wine has settled down and cleared. If you want anything sweeter than what you have, add NEWLY PURCHASED sorbate separately. Obviously don't trust the wine conditioner you have. Wait a week or two after sweetening to be sure it has not restarted, then bottle.
Also for reference, from what I've read this could happen with malolactic fermentation, carbonating in the bottle. I don't think that this is what you have, just conditioner/sorbate too old to stop fermentation.
time and patience are your best ingredients
Dawg
Dawg
winemanden
Senior Member
I had the same problem with my very first gallon. I poured it all into a DJ and let it finish fermenting. I' glad I did , it turned out to be a great wine. Pa in law saved the bottle I gave him, it tasted even better.
@Haleyeah, find out what is in the wine conditioner you're using. In my experience, they contain glycerin and oak distillate. Not sure about sorbate. Unless you know for sure what is in the conditioner, you may want to skip it.
You can buy glycerin -- the dose for what I purchased is 1 oz per gallon of wine. I purchased a gallon of glycerin as I make liqueurs (limoncello, etc.) and those call for 1 oz per quart/liter, so I use it more than most. A few months back when bottling the 2019 wines, I tested glycerin and REALLY liked the effect on the wine. The small bottle available in my local shop is way over priced, but that appears typical.
Oak distillate? If you want oak but don't want to (or can't) use cubes, staves, etc -- buy a bottle of oak distillate. You can follow the recommended dosage or go light and add/taste/add/taste/etc until you're satisfied.
Sorbate has a limited shelf life, and I don't know how to tell when it's lost it's effect. I don't sweeten a many wines (mostly fruit) so I purchase the smallest packet I can and date it. A year (maybe 1.5 years) later I toss it and buy another one when I need it.
That said, I've purchased kits with an F-pack that were 2+ years old and the sorbate was fine. However, I had an experience where I unbottled 2 cases of wine as the corks were popping, so I could let the wine ferment out and then re-bottled. It was not so much fun that I want to do it again, so with sorbate I err on the side of caution.
Thinking about it, it's a good idea to date the package of ALL additives we buy. Some don't matter, but some do.
You can buy glycerin -- the dose for what I purchased is 1 oz per gallon of wine. I purchased a gallon of glycerin as I make liqueurs (limoncello, etc.) and those call for 1 oz per quart/liter, so I use it more than most. A few months back when bottling the 2019 wines, I tested glycerin and REALLY liked the effect on the wine. The small bottle available in my local shop is way over priced, but that appears typical.
Oak distillate? If you want oak but don't want to (or can't) use cubes, staves, etc -- buy a bottle of oak distillate. You can follow the recommended dosage or go light and add/taste/add/taste/etc until you're satisfied.
Sorbate has a limited shelf life, and I don't know how to tell when it's lost it's effect. I don't sweeten a many wines (mostly fruit) so I purchase the smallest packet I can and date it. A year (maybe 1.5 years) later I toss it and buy another one when I need it.
That said, I've purchased kits with an F-pack that were 2+ years old and the sorbate was fine. However, I had an experience where I unbottled 2 cases of wine as the corks were popping, so I could let the wine ferment out and then re-bottled. It was not so much fun that I want to do it again, so with sorbate I err on the side of caution.
Thinking about it, it's a good idea to date the package of ALL additives we buy. Some don't matter, but some do.
wine is a preservative system, this means there are several factors that work in synergy to make an extremely stable food,,,, at 10% alcohol it may develop a funky taste but it won’t cause food poisoning
the wine conditioner I get at the wine toys store is sugar syrup and an unidentified level of sorbate, I would like to know how much I use so mostly just use the chemical jars, we need less sorbate for the preservative system to operate at higher alcohol percentage
is that 10%,,, are you talking ABV which would be 20 proof, or are you talking 5% ABV 10 proof, just wondering, i know except for port most all my wines are 17% ABV, but of course i use sweeter to bring out the fruit/berry, and i go way heavy on my fruit/berry, so i hide all alcohol taste, when i drink i want one glass to be more than enough, but as stated before to taste like candy, and yes i know i ain't right, thanks man,, when i say glass full that is if you fill your wine glass, i mainly go with from 1/3 to 1/2 a glass,,,
Dawg
At 18% ABV or above we don’t worry about adding sorbate for micro but we do worry about air causing oxidation
At 10% ABV the yeast can be active yet so if we back sweeten we add sorbate or we could drop the pH to 2 or sterile filter and again we worry about air
cider at 5% ABV is less stable so most will be dry but some sweet cider makers will rack or keeve to remove nitrogen and mineral nutrients (which starves the yeast) and carbonate since CO2 acts as a preservative/ and drops the pH
Dawg, . . . . The rules change/ balance differently with each class of beverage
At 10% ABV the yeast can be active yet so if we back sweeten we add sorbate or we could drop the pH to 2 or sterile filter and again we worry about air
cider at 5% ABV is less stable so most will be dry but some sweet cider makers will rack or keeve to remove nitrogen and mineral nutrients (which starves the yeast) and carbonate since CO2 acts as a preservative/ and drops the pH
Dawg, . . . . The rules change/ balance differently with each class of beverage
i go to right at that and up, but still add sorbate & k-meta, even when bulking for a year minimum, of course i only keep 2 yeast, K1V-1116 & EC-1116, alcohol taste,, I no longer care for, in the shiny old days i was a runner, fast car sharp curves, but i got older and mellower, so i like high ABV and no hint of harsh tastes, ,but my question was ,,,did you mean 10% ABV or 10 proof, was the only query,, in to that aspect,,,,, any of my wines stay good even if left open, but never cook with mine, or you might reach into a cast iron pan of grease and flip the bacon by hand, was glad my nephew ask if that hurt,,,, sadly not till a cupule hours later, and that show moon shiny is bull, the pot master never runs the delivery,, they used the young and dumb, cough i was young, recon i musta been both, them boys outta south east Mo. were the best,
Dawg
montanarick
Senior Member
Last year raised my Frontenac to 18% ABV and back sweetened without adding sorbate. No secondary fermentation and the wine was delicious
