I have a box of Redvolution Bota Box wine, and I was thinking about topping off with it for my Australian Shiraz when I transfer in a few days. Revolution is just a red blend that I enjoy... Not a great wine, but nice to have around.
The issue of topping off is a frequent topic with may opinions. If you go to the Wine experts web site and click out Tim's Blog for January 2012. You will see the topic discussed.
http://www.timswineblog.com/2012/01/water-into-wine-kits
According to Tim:
'Top up the carboy to within 2 inches of the bottom of the bung. Use cool water. Topping up helps prevent spoilage.'
And that's what throws some folks. The concern is that the wine is going fine--won't adding water at this point dilute it? Wouldn't it be better to use wine to top it up, to prevent a loss of flavour and aroma? We continue to get calls on this, year in and year out at Winexpert.
The answer is yes, the water will dilute the wine--to exactly the level we want it to be diluted! You see, all Winexpert kits are made to 4% over strength, with extra Brix levels and Total Dissolved Solid material calculated to produce a kit that will work out perfectly at 23 litres + 4%, which is 0.92 litres, or about a US quart.
Many of the wine makers on this forum are into the Big Red full-bodied wines. Nothing wrong with that. But adding water is not going to help a wine be full-bodied.Interesting... I had been under the impression that topping up with water made the wine taste watered down. This seems to be the general consensus on this forum at least.
Enter your email address to join: