How not to make a mess?!?

[Ivywoods]

We just moved to a different house in an effort to downsize. My winemaking supplies are "Somewhat" organized, but I'm still working on that. Tonight I racked my raspberry lemon and my tart cherry wine. This was the first rack for them. They sat on the lees WAY too long due to the extended moving process. I'm hoping that aging them for a good long time will eliminate some of the extra yeast taste. It wasn't too bad, but still it was there.

My new winemaking area is in the basement. It's a good temperature year round for aging, but not so good for fermenting. I suppose I will be looking into different ways to warm my wine as I make it. I bought a used desk to use as a winemaking station. It's nothing fancy. The boys at the store loaded it for us. We were in for a big surprise when we got home. When we went to unload it we had not estimated the weight high enough and it was all my husband and I could do to get it in the basement. Most of the way we ended up sliding it on it's top on a blanket.

Once in the basement my husband proceeded to load it up with boxes of his stuff that he hasn't unpacked. Tonight I was able to get his boxes all moved and prepare to rack my long overdue concoctions.

I'm glad the basement is unfinished because I can't seem to do anything in winemaking that I don't make a mess. My tubing drips. I spill this or that. Tubes flip out of the carboys when I 'm not careful enough or disorganized or simply needing another hand. I'm not a neat freak, but I really don't like making a mess. Am I the only one who can't seem to rack or bottle wine without spilling something?

 

[Ivywoods]

 

[Rice_Guy]

Nice set up, always like to see what others found to do the job!

 

[cmason1957]

When you say not great temp for fermenting,. What temp is your basement? Mine seldom gets above 66F and everything ferments just fine. Might take a day more, but who cares.

 

[Jovimaple]

I make a mess, too! My AIO pump helps a lot but I still manage to spill.

 

[Ivywoods]

When you say not great temp for fermenting,. What temp is your basement? Mine seldom gets above 66F and everything ferments just fine. Might take a day more, but who cares.

The temperature in my basement is in the 60's. Since we just moved in I don't know what it would be in the winter. I'm considering purchasing a carboy wrap heater just in case a little warmth would be needed to keep the yeast happy.

 

[winemaker81]

Am I the only one who can't seem to rack or bottle wine without spilling something?

You're not even close to being alone in this regard! I don't that it's possible to not make a mess when working with wines. I have a few towels dedicated for winemaking. When they get too stained, I soak them overnight in Oxyclean.

 

[JBP]

You're not even close to being alone in this regard! I don't that it's possible to not make a mess when working with wines. I have a few towels dedicated for winemaking. When they get too stained, I soak them overnight in Oxyclean.

I bought a cheap set of maroon towels specifically for winemaking. Easy to keep separate from household linens. And no stains. That I can see.

 

[winemaker81]

And no stains. That I can see.

No stains???? How do you know you accomplished anything without the evidence???

 

[Neb Farmer]

Making wine is kind of like being a little kid again playing in the mud. Only now it is wine!

 

[Scooter68]

IF temperature becomes an issue and your basement stays in the low 60s' you can do a couple of things to help fermentation get a good start. 1) Invest in a small electric space heater (I personally like the ones that heat up oil and look like old fashioned radiators) That's just until the wine gets started off. 2) Use some old blankets around the fermentation container. Once fermentation starts it will sort of keep itself warm if well insulated.)
Other than that, a basement is an excellent place to start and age wine, at least in my experience.

 

[Ivywoods]

I did go ahead and order a carboy heater. I shouldn't have to use it much except for getting fermentation going. This basement should work a lot better than the crowded little utility room where I had my wine before. It got really warm in there because there was a big boiler in there. I'm getting ready to start another batch of elderberry. I also have some raspberry concentrate and I may try making a batch of raspberry/elderberry mix.

 

[Venatorscribe]

I share my sizeable basement area with a washing machine along with some other laundry related devices. Anyway - the enitre basement has an excellent 'garage' carpet. Which makes it very easy to clean up any spills if they occur. But the best thing about my location is a good size stainless basin with hot and cold running water. Any chore with the potential to create a mess I undertake in the basin. i also use a collection of old towels over my bench surfaces to collect dribbles and overruns when bottling or filtering.

 

[Ivywoods]

I share my sizeable basement area with a washing machine along with some other laundry related devices. Anyway - the enitre basement has an excellent 'garage' carpet. Which makes it very easy to clean up any spills if they occur. But the best thing about my location is a good size stainless basin with hot and cold running water. Any chore with the potential to create a mess I undertake in the basin. i also use a collection of old towels over my bench surfaces to collect dribbles and overruns when bottling or filtering.

That sounds like what I would like to do. I'd like to get a good sized utility sink with a drainboard down there. It would be pretty simple to get hot and cold water hooked up there, but that is a future project. As far as the floor goes it is plain cement. It does get enough moisture that I don't know if I could put any kind of surface covering on it. I will have to research that more in the future.