First ever and didn't sanitize carboys

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Bdor

Junior
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I'm at the stage of transferring wine from wine carboy to the other to remove the sediment on the bottom but I haven't sanitized any of the carboys. How do I know if the wine is ruined? It tastes a little too brusco but I'm blaming myself for letting it ferment too long. I found some videos where they add some sugar to bring it to taste but I don't know if I have already ruined it. Please help as it's my first time and I don't want to just rely on "begginers luck". Thank you.
 
Your cool. I've seen my family make wine for years without ever sanitizing anything.
Don't do anything crazy like adding sugar. Age it for a while. If your really concerned about the carboy not being sanitized (which isn't the end of the world at all. Especially if the wine is sulphited properly and topped up) just clean and sanitize the other carboy and rack back into it. Problem solved. Bacteria usually takes time to develop into the wine.

Here's a tip. Whenever your done with a carboy and it's not in use, clean it and then add about a cup or so of k-meta sanitizer to it with a solid bung or sealed somehow. Then when it's needed just swirl that solution around all over, dump the k-meta, and it's ready to go- sanitized and all.
 
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I agree with AJ. Your wine is unlikely to be ruined, but you can take some precautionary steps now, as AJ suggested. And, yes, time is your friend. Let this settle out for some time before judging it.
 
Kind of like when your second or third kid drops their pacifier on the floor. The first kid you boil it for ten minutes, the third kid you give it a few shakes and put it back in their mouth. A good practice, no, but it probably won’t cause a problem either.
 
Kind of like when your second or third kid drops their pacifier on the floor. The first kid you boil it for ten minutes, the third kid you give it a few shakes and put it back in their mouth. A good practice, no, but it probably won’t cause a problem either.

I read that in line at Wawa and actually laughed out loud.
And as my sister-in-law says- by the fifth kid you're wondering how much dirt was actually on it, and if you still have to make them lunch now.
 
Thank you so much guys. When you say age it, how long is that? I keep it in carboys 5-6 months? More?
 

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