Fitration Pump & Corker

[caper]

Hi, I'm a newcomer from Montreal.
I actually made some beer & wine kit over 10 years ago. My wife urged me to do it gain so here we are. Just finished bottling my second wine(Merlot) from a kit at Costco. Must say I am pleasantly surprised at the quaity of the kit & the results so far.
As we appear to be headed to long term commitment I am thinking its time to purchase the filtering equip & corker as apposed to renting. Can I get some recs for both. I believe we'll stay with kits for the few mos at least.
Also is there a bag-in-box option for homemade wine??
Cheers..

 

[cpfan]

Hi Caper:

1) Yes there is a bag-in-box option. Some people use the bladder from the original kit (after cleaning & sanitizing, of course). A decent wine making store should carry the taps for those bags. They should also carry new bags in the 4-7 litre range. Fermtech (http://www.fermtech.on.ca/wine dispensing/winedisp.html) makes a special pail & bags just for this purpose.

2) I recommend a floor corker. Again consult with your local store (or wait for the next Costco road show). The brand of the corker doesn't make much difference (in my opinion), but other people people will recommend the Portugese or the Italian or whatever. I would avoid hand corkers.

3) The Buon Vino Mini Jet is the normal filter for home use. Again check your local store or wait for a Costco road show.

Good luck with your wine making ventures.

Steve

 

[caper]

Steve,
thks for reply & excellennt advice, I had no idea those bags cud be reused as such - I actually cut the corner out of the bag mad rather then fiddle with the cap. Iam a little wiser now .
Jim

 

[cpfan]

Jim:

A lot of people cut the corner of the bag because they have problems removing the cap. There is a tool designed to remove the cap available at most kit supply shops, but I have also used a simple can opener. The kind with one round end & one pointed end. Then you can rinse out the bag & get all of the goodness in there!!!

Steve

 

[FentonCellars]

Now that I've had time to review posts, I'd like to make a point on behalf of my wine supplier (Vermont Homebrew Supply). They don't sell filters of any kind as this can remove good character out of your wine at the same time it clears and removes the bad. Again, this is just an opinion, so don't shoot the messenger.

 

[cpfan]

Well Fenton there are a number of people out there who feel this way. Obviously it is their personal opinion, and they are entitled to it.

Discussions about this topic on Winepress.us are usually split down the middle on filtering vs not filtering.

Personally, I filter.

Steve

 

[scubaman2151]

Hello caper! Welcome to the boards!

What Merlot kit did you make from costco?

What equipment you get basically depends on how much money you want to spend. Spend a little more and you can get the floor corkers which work very well, however I have the double handed corker and I have no problem with it. Once you get used to it I find I have no problem with it. With the filter the mini jet is right up there around the top of the line. I would actually look at getting a Vinebrite Filter, there is no suction with that one it works through gravity but it is relatively cheap and will get you used to filtering your wines. Now to the bag storage idea. This was just discussed on another wine forum so I'm happy to pass the info onto you. Many companies sell the wine in a box idea saying that they will hold their flavor, however some people have complained that the bag doesn't hold that flavor at all. A bag might be good for some short term storage but anything long term I would look at something glass like a carboy to bulk age or a bottle to just let it bottle age. See links below for equipment.

Corkers: There are two main floor corkers, Italian and Portuguese. The comparison could be said to be like Cadillac and Ford. Both will get you where your going safely. The Italian corker has a brass (I think its brass) iris (sp?), this is the part that compresses the cork into the bottle while the Portuguese has a hard plastic iris. I have also heard that the Italian corker has a attachment you can buy to cork your champagne bottles.

Italian and double handed corker can be found here: http://www.undergrounddigital.com/winemaking/corkers.htm

I have the first corker that is shown, the double lever one.

Portuguese corker here:
http://www.ebrew.com/wine_corkers/portuguese_floor_corker.htm

Filters:

Vinebrite:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=4252

Mini jet:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=4522

I did not check prices I just gave you some sites to get some info. However that vinebrite is actually a pretty good price and I might buy from there.

Scuba