Is it me?

[dan69man]

Don't get me wrong i love making wine, but doesn't it seem like we are cleaning and sterilizing more than actual wine making?? My mom would be so proud...lol

 

[Deezil]

It's about half winemaking, half cleaning

.. But i take my time in the winemaking part, and hurry-but-do-a-good-job-still in the cleaning part..

 

[John Prince]

And writing notes!

 

[grapeman]

With proper shortcut methods you don't need that much cleaning. When you empty a carboy, rinse it out immediately. At most it might require a quick brushing with a carboy brush and rinse it. Then put about a cup of a good strong k-meta solution in it, pop the airlock on it and you are ready to use the next time. Just remember to empty it before refilling. Buy a rubbermaid storage tub large enough to hold the auto-siphon, racking canes and spoon and hoses. Store them in that and keep a few inches of k-meta in it. When you need them, take the out shake the k-meta out and they are ready to use.

Anybody else have some shortcuts for him? There are lots of them. We hate to tell new winemakers this, but a lot of the trouble you go through is not critical most of the time- just don't get sloppy and unclean.

 

[dan69man]

But, drinking the final product....if done right...makes up for all that work

 

[critteral]

every time I start to clean and mumble under my breath how much i dislike cleaning, I think of my grand father and his brother that used to make wine in the old claw foot bathtub and they never had problems
But God help me if I ever don't sanitize good enough!.

 

[dan69man]

every time I start to clean and mumble under my breath how much i dislike cleaning, I think of my grand father and his brother that used to make wine in the old claw foot bathtub and they never had problems
But God help me if I ever don't sanitize good enough!.

Yeah no kidding! I'm so paranoid I practically us a hazmat suit

 

[inaltopistola]

It's critical!! I made a batch if concord once and rushed through and just rinsed everything, didn't clean or sanitize. I left it sit after the SMB addition for 2 days and it started growing some stinky bacteria. Not good

 

[inaltopistola]

With proper shortcut methods you don't need that much cleaning. When you empty a carboy, rinse it out immediately. At most it might require a quick brushing with a carboy brush and rinse it. Then put about a cup of a good strong k-meta solution in it, pop the airlock on it and you are ready to use the next time. Just remember to empty it before refilling. Buy a rubbermaid storage tub large enough to hold the auto-siphon, racking canes and spoon and hoses. Store them in that and keep a few inches of k-meta in it. When you need them, take the out shake the k-meta out and they are ready to use.

Anybody else have some shortcuts for him? There are lots of them. We hate to tell new winemakers this, but a lot of the trouble you go through is not critical most of the time- just don't get sloppy and unclean.

I agree grape man. I found an older plastic double utility sink on Craigslist for $10. I keep the caustic solution in one side and a sodium meta bisulfite/citric acid sterilizing solution in the other. It makes it a breeze. I just make sure to rinse everything in my main sink then over to the double.

 

[JohnT]

Had an old friend that always said ... "winemaking is a custodial function". He was so right!

 

[Boatboy24]

To add to Grapeman's post - I now keep a 5 gallon bucket containing a mason jar with about a cup of KMeta in it. In that bucket are my tubes, bottling wand, at least 30 corks, and a small collection of stoppers and airlocks. Whenever I need one, they are clean and ready to go. I've also started keeping a couple carboys stoppered with meta in them. Once I get a couple more solid stoppers, I'll add to that. Since I've started doing these things, I spend a lot less time cleaning and sanitizing. As was mentioned, rinse well after use is all you need to do most of the time.

Bottles? Well, they are a little more high maintenance.

 

[NoSnob]

No, Dan, it's not you. My Home Winemaking for Dummies book (by Tim Patterson, 2011) says 80% of our time is spent cleaning and sanitizing everything that will touch or did touch our wine. The other 20% is spent actually performing the winemaking task.

He calls it the 80% Rule.

I have found it essentially true. All that cleaning/sanitizing can't possibly be necessary -- until our wine is ruined. Then it's too late. Out of 15 batches of wine the only problem I've had is a few bottles with a light protein haze. I guess that means I have been remarkably lucky or am spending far too much time cleaning/sanitizing and should look for corners to cut.

As winemakers, we all get to decide for ourselves how to spend our time.

NS

 

[grapeman]

I say it is not cutting corners when I and others do things to minimize contamination by using smarter sanitation practices. You can actually keep your winemaking products more sterile by having the S02 contact them rather than simply running k-meta over them. The gasses kill or at least prevent bacterial infection while contact with it is not as effective. Yes we need sanitation, but there are ways to make it easier and quicker.

 

[dan69man]

Wow you guys have given some great suggestions. I'll definitely be adopting these practices. Now if I could just get on of those industrial sized dish washers and throw everything in after a racking or bottling session...I'm golden

 

[NoSnob]

I say it is not cutting corners when I and others do things to minimize contamination by using smarter sanitation practices. You can actually keep your winemaking products more sterile by having the S02 contact them rather than simply running k-meta over them. The gasses kill or at least prevent bacterial infection while contact with it is not as effective. Yes we need sanitation, but there are ways to make it easier and quicker.

Grapeman, I did not express my thought well. I really did not mean to be either judgemental or negative of you or others by referring to cutting corners. I just meant finding ways to spend less time doing cleaning and sanitizing. If you have found ways you believe are efficient that's great. That's what great about this board - we get many different ideas.

NS

 

[jdmyers]

Best way to store a carboy is to not do store it keep it full of wine

 

[TahunaJR]

I am returning to winemaking after a 25+ year hiatus. I am enjoying all of the new gadgets, tips, tricks, etc. I did have one question about:

"I now keep a 5 gallon bucket containing a mason jar with about a cup of KMeta in it. "

Is that a cup of powdered KMeta or dissolved KMeta?

Another tip I caught somewhere was using a spray bottle. Simple but never thought of it! Always had that 2-liter soda bottle with sanitizer in it and poured it on everything. Kind of a waste but didn't want anything to get away untouched by the sanitizer.

 

[Boatboy24]

Tahuna,

It's dissolved, no lid on the jar. Obviously, you need to be careful about moving the bucket.

 

[jswordy]

The best suggestion for quickie sanitizing I got from here: a spray bottle of k meta. If your item is clean to sight, you just spray it and you are good to go.

I also totally agree with the concept of cleaning stuff right after use. But my observation is that most people don't do that. I understand the temptation not to, after you are tired out from a day of bottling or whatever. Yet it is the absolutely easiest time to get the items clean and have them ready for the next use.

 

[Deezil]

I also totally agree with the concept of cleaning stuff right after use. But my observation is that most people don't do that. I understand the temptation not to, after you are tired out from a day of bottling or whatever. Yet it is the absolutely easiest time to get the items clean and have them ready for the next use.

It's just like the dishes in that respect, easiest to clean right after you're done using it.. Might not be the most fun, but saves on the elbow grease later

Although, even with cleaning my hosing right after use, im still going to be replacing it all here shortly as its easier to replace it once every few years than it is to worry about physical build up deep within the hose thats hard to get out - k-meta wont clean it out, cant get a brush that far, hot water wont do it and i dont wanna use any harsh chemicals on my hosing; the only thing that might save it is oxyclean which i havent got my hands on yet, and is about the harshest cleaning agent i'll let into my wine area