It begins... RJS Cellar Series Cabernet

[ceeaton]

No. Just REALLY want to see this in the bottle on a shelf. It's an unfinished project till it is.

Jim, I feel and share your pain. I've got eight carboys full of wine, some have been aging for close to four months. I have four batches bottled and want to get so many bottled that I have to work on someplace to store it all.

We are trying to attain the joy of not having to go to our PA State imposed liquor store to pick up a bottle of wine, unless we want to go. Neither of us has been making wine for a year, so please cut us some slack. I know you all have the best intentions, but sometimes a person has to learn a lesson by experiencing it (ie. the hard way), not hearing about it. We will both eventually have batches (for me it's the Merlot bucket I just did) that will hang out for 12 months+ until we get around to bottling it.

 

[Kraffty]

Ceeaton, what you say is true, no matter the advice, everyone learns from experience, BUT I can say I wish I'd followed a little more advice when I started out. I suggested this to someone a while back who was eager to bottle a nice kit and maybe it would be worth a try.

Rack down to a 5 gal carboy and 4 or 5 wine bottles. Cork the bottles and store them for 2 or 3 months. At that time check the bottles for how much sediment has fallen and decide if it's acceptable or not. Best of both worlds and a chance to pick up a little more first hand experience. Sounds like it's a pretty nice batch of wine so far.
Mike

 

[ceeaton]

I see what you mean. I was in a rush to bottle my first batch (a weak Raspberry/White grape Welches) and I now have to re-bottle off the sediment if we give any away.

I like the idea of going from a 6 gallon to a 5 gallon carboy and bottling 4 or 5 bottles. Gives me a taste while the rest bulk ages. I have let a few go 4 months so far. I've gotta clean some bottles before I bottle those anyway. And lately with the yard work starting to pile up the bottle cleaning has slipped down the priority list. Maybe I'll take a 1/2 day today and go home and catch up on the yard work so I can later "play" with my wine.

I know that the reds I'm making will be a minimum of 6 months bulk aging if not longer. The whites seem to be clearing and ready to bottle a little sooner, especially if it is a kit with clarifiers. As we keep more and more of the wine (wife and I getting a selfish streak starting) I don't really care if I have to decant the wine.

 

[jgmann67]

I see what you mean. I was in a rush to bottle my first batch (a weak Raspberry/White grape Welches) and I now have to re-bottle off the sediment if we give any away.

I like the idea of going from a 6 gallon to a 5 gallon carboy and bottling 4 or 5 bottles. Gives me a taste while the rest bulk ages. I have let a few go 4 months so far. I've gotta clean some bottles before I bottle those anyway. And lately with the yard work starting to pile up the bottle cleaning has slipped down the priority list. Maybe I'll take a 1/2 day today and go home and catch up on the yard work so I can later "play" with my wine.

I know that the reds I'm making will be a minimum of 6 months bulk aging if not longer. The whites seem to be clearing and ready to bottle a little sooner, especially if it is a kit with clarifiers. As we keep more and more of the wine (wife and I getting a selfish streak starting) I don't really care if I have to decant the wine.

The plan for the red: The instructions said to let it clear in the carboy for 4 weeks and then bottle. So, I was going to have it sit for three months, rack, dose with KMeta, and then bottle. That would take me out to the first week of July.

I have a White, too (WE Selection Australian Chard). That was supposed to sit for two weeks in clearing then bottle, according to the instructions. But, it's been in the carboy with some French oak chips for a month now.

 

[jgmann67]

Okay, I think I figured a way to hold my water until I get to 3 months in the carboy. A taste tonight... Another in a few weeks, then one just before bottling.

Green, but it's damned tasty.

 

[jgmann67]

It's been two months in the same carboy, so I figured I'd rack it into a glass 6 gal., remove it from the oak chips and degas it a bit in its last month of bulk aging.

It's not all the way to the top (short about 200 ml). Always struggle with whether I shop top it off or leave it be.

I'll rack again in July, dose w KMeta, bottle and shelf the lot for a while. Maybe I'll open one every few months to see how it's coming along.

 

[ceeaton]

Well, did you sample any? Any noticeable difference from the last sample? Your 5-20 images sure looked good!

 

[jgmann67]

Well, did you sample any? Any noticeable difference from the last sample? Your 5-20 images sure looked good!

Going to let it settle a little before tasting it. Next week.

I did a little with the wine saver last night and put it under a vacuum. Surprised at how much CO2 came to the surface after two months of sitting.

Something I learned from racking from a glass carboy to a plastic one yesterday - the glass carboy is about 6.1 gallons. I got a full plastic carboy and two glasses of wine to enjoy (though, I used it to top the bottles).

 

[jgmann67]

Mmmmm. Tasty. With age will be very good!

 

[jgmann67]

I topped off the glass carboy last night with a Sonoma cab from the state store. Then degassed it for a few minutes. I'm going to continue these visits until it's time to rack, dose and bottle.

 

[jgmann67]

Been degassing 3x a day for a week or so now. Looks and tastes pretty much done. I'm going to let this sit till July 7th or beyond and bottle.

I am very impressed with myself right now.

 

[Boatboy24]

Been degassing 3x a day for a week or so now. Looks and tastes pretty much done. I'm going to let this sit till July 7th or beyond and bottle.

I am very impressed with myself right now.

Degassing 3X a day!!?? You should be impressed with yourself. You've gone way above and beyond.

 

[jgmann67]

Degassing 3X a day!!?? You should be impressed with yourself. You've gone way above and beyond.

I am! There's only about 3" of head space in the cab carboy. When I started, 10 pumps from the wine saver was enough vacuum to get the CO2 rolling. Now, I get to about 30 and get nothing but little bitty bubbles.

I'm going to think on how to do this more efficiently (but still on the cheap) for the Merlot in August. But, for now, it's not that bad and gives me an excuse to work with the wine.

 

[jgmann67]

Interesting... Thiefed a taste out of the carboy the other day and shared it with 'She Who Must Be Obeyed.' She thought it was a little bitter, but generally good and fruity. I didn't taste the bitter as much. But, the wine is very young. Hoping the bitter fades with age.

 

[ceeaton]

Never really thought of sampling this early in the morning. Lot's of pros: cleaner palate, make my work day start off on a good note; cons: tryiing to explain to the boss man why I smell like a wino who just crawled out of the gutter.

Guess I could take a shower and brush my teeth for a change.

 

[jgmann67]

Never really thought of sampling this early in the morning.

LOL. I edited the post to clarify - though, I'm not opposed to a glass of wine in the morning.

 

[ceeaton]

Our family rule at our cabin in Tioga County is 9 am is okay if cooking bacon outside that you are willing to share with others (the bacon, not the beer or wine).

 

[jgmann67]

Our family rule at our cabin in Tioga County is 9 am is okay if cooking bacon outside that you are willing to share with others (the bacon, not the beer or wine).

Sounds reasonable.

 

[sour_grapes]

Our family rule at our cabin in Tioga County is 9 am is okay if cooking bacon outside that you are willing to share with others (the bacon, not the beer or wine).

It must be 9 am somewhere in the world!

 

[jgmann67]

A taste this weekend. The wine is somewhere between tart and sour at first, then the fruit hits you. Two weeks to bottling day.