label your wine

[distancerunner]

You might try the sheets Joni (@Jovimaple) uses, and put them on the carboy with painter's tape. I'm thinking about trying that with my labels.

That's a good idea. Especially the part about laminating the tag so that it can be reused.

 

[Jovimaple]

That's a good idea. Especially the part about laminating the tag so that it can be reused.

Warning: if you buy a laminator and go crazy with the laminating like I did, be aware that you shouldn't laminate your U.S. social security card. I believe you can no longer use the card for ID purposes if it's laminated. (I found that out BEFORE I laminated ours, luckily.)

I ended up laminating a bunch of recipe cards, which is awesome because I spill when I am cooking. I did our car insurance cards once but remembered we get new ones every 6 months and decided that's a waste. Anyway, laminating stuff is fun!

 

[vinny]

The longer we're at this, the more information we want on bulk aging.

This is why I only have a name or number on the vessel. I think ONE wine has some racking info on it, but I write everything in my book. Every wine is entered chronologically. Recipe, or kit. Any tweaks, fermentation temp, SG, yeast, any k-meta additions, and all rackings. I always have a good idea of the rackings. I don't rack often and I can remember it pretty easily, so having that on a card doesn't help me.

If I write it on the carboy or a tag it will get tossed or written over and the reason I want the notes is so 2 years from now when I notice a variance between batches, especially a positive one, I want to be able to compare notes and see what could have contributed. AND what I can do to make it happen again!

 

[winemaker81]

If I write it on the carboy or a tag it will get tossed or written over and the reason I want the notes is so 2 years from now when I notice a variance between batches, especially a positive one, I want to be able to compare notes and see what could have contributed. AND what I can do to make it happen again!

This describes me, especially if we add "damage the card" to the list. It's a reason I switched to a notebook -- I typically write on a small tear off note pad -- last fall I had to go through the garbage can in the winery, praying I hadn't emptied it since I accidentally tossed some sheets out. Sheets may be tossed, a notebook will not.

YMMV. Folks that don't have my idiosyncrasies will not have to worry about it ...

 

[distancerunner]

Warning: if you buy a laminator and go crazy with the laminating like I did, be aware that you shouldn't laminate your U.S. social security card. I believe you can no longer use the card for ID purposes if it's laminated. (I found that out BEFORE I laminated ours, luckily.)

I ended up laminating a bunch of recipe cards, which is awesome because I spill when I am cooking. I did our car insurance cards once but remembered we get new ones every 6 months and decided that's a waste. Anyway, laminating stuff is fun!

Old (mine) social security cards had an admonishment printed on them that they were specifically not to be used for identification purpose.

Doesn't matter. For over forty years, it along with the wallet in which it was kept are at the bottom of a rather large lake. One should refrain from sailing in bad weather and drinking while doing so.

Ah, youth. How did we survive?

 

[distancerunner]

This is why I only have a name or number on the vessel. I think ONE wine has some racking info on it, but I write everything in my book. Every wine is entered chronologically. Recipe, or kit. Any tweaks, fermentation temp, SG, yeast, any k-meta additions, and all rackings. I always have a good idea of the rackings. I don't rack often and I can remember it pretty easily, so having that on a card doesn't help me.

If I write it on the carboy or a tag it will get tossed or written over and the reason I want the notes is so 2 years from now when I notice a variance between batches, especially a positive one, I want to be able to compare notes and see what could have contributed. AND what I can do to make it happen again!

That was how I did it when I worked alone. We have a few partners, both major and minor, in on the 2022 crush. At least one we haven't seen since last September. When they do visit, details on the tape reinforces the idea that there are other things going on whhie they're home watching the Pens or the Steelers. And maybe, just maybe, they'll ask some questions when they see that data.

This describes me, especially if we add "damage the card" to the list. It's a reason I switched to a notebook -- I typically write on a small tear off note pad -- last fall I had to go through the garbage can in the winery, praying I hadn't emptied it since I accidentally tossed some sheets out. Sheets may be tossed, a notebook will not.

Keeping notes is a really good idea. Mine are in various ring bound or otherwise top bound note pads. And yeah, they end up scattered all over the house. That's why my main winemaking partner is working on a computer solution. Of course, it won't work if I don't input the data. Maybe I can get him to do it?

 

[Ohio Bob]

The final word is what’s in the notebook, each carboy gets a paper log taped to it with basic info. That paper then goes into the ziplock bag with labels and lets me know when that varietal was bottled without having to haul out the notebook. Lastly a magnet notepad on the outside of my wine cellar, courtesy of my LHBS, lets me see at a glance what needs to be done next so I allocate time.

 

[ChuckD]

The final word is what’s in the notebook, each carboy gets a paper log taped to it with basic info. That paper then goes into the ziplock bag with labels and lets me know when that varietal was bottled without having to haul out the notebook. Lastly a magnet notepad on the outside of my wine cellar, courtesy of my LHBS, lets me see at a glance what needs to be done next so I allocate time.

I also had a pile of loose sheets floating around the “winery”. I recently switched to a binder and also enter data on an Excel spreadsheet I made.

 

[Jovimaple]

I also had a pile of loose sheets floating around the “winery”. I recently switched to a binder and also enter data on an Excel spreadsheet I made.

I log everything on an Excel spreadsheet, too.

When I first started, I bought a 12 pack of cheap notebooks and used one for each batch, but I quickly realized that I wanted to be able to reference my notes easier. Thus my spreadsheet was born. It has grown a bit with pages tracking my carboy inventory and empty bottle inventory, although it's not always up to date.

When I started making wine a couple years ago, my dad gave me a box of what was left of his winemaking stuff, including his logbooks. One was full but the other still had lots of pages so I have enjoyed writing the basic info about my wines in that logbook, too. (The log sheets don't have enough room for all the detail I like to track, so the Excel spreadsheet is for more of that.)

 

[Raptor99]

It is interesting to read about everyone's labeling/note taking procedure. Here's what I do:

I label my carboys with just the batch name. I take some notes on paper, but then transfer them to a Word doc. When starting a batch, I print out a page with the recipe and tables for iniitial measurements/adjustments and SNA. Then once it is started, I enter my notes into the computer. When I am working on things I bring my laptop into the wine room so that I can look all the notes on my current batches and any previous batches (e.g."What was the OG of my previous batch of peach wine?"). My notes are in Google docs, so I can access them from my main computer or my laptop. The information that I want to have available is far too much to have on any label, so I don't try to write it there.

For anyone interested, my batch note sections are:
* Overview with dates for key steps such as yeast pitch, racking, and bottling
* Recipe
* Initial SG/pH readings and any adjustments (table)
* Nutrient/SNA schedule calculated for this batch (table)
* Finishing notes for whatever I measure/add at bottling (Kmeta, stabilizing/backsweeting, gycerin, etc.)
* Detailed notes with dates for every step and measurement, including tasting notes both before and after bottling.
* Next steps for anything I want to be sure to remember later on (e.g. "check pH before bottling"). These are temporary notes that I delete when no longer needed.
* Notes for next time: anything I want to consider doing differently the next time I make a similar wine/mead/cider.

After a few years, this becomes a treasure trove of information. For example, if I detect H2S at the first racking, I want to know: Did I have this issue with previous batches using the same fruit and/or yeast? If so, what was the nutrient schedule of the two batches? Etc.

I have also found it helpful once in a while to print a 1-2 page document with a list of batches currently in bulk aging with a few notes about next steps. (e.g "Rack around 6/1/23," or "check pH at next racking," or "Consider adding glycerin at bottleing.") I can reference that quickly to see what each batch needs next.

I started playing around with writing a WordPress plugin to track my batch notes, but life is busy so I haven't had time to work on that. Maybe someday I will get a chance to finish it!

Use whatever system helps you to keep good notes about what you do. Good notes are important to help us improve our craft.

 

[David Violante]

I’m terrible at note taking. I use painters tape with a sharpie, and an excel spreadsheet. It’s the keeping up with it that I need to work on. Perhaps ease of access is the ticket. I like the idea of a tag on the carboy. Perhaps a dedicated three ring binder in the winery would be helpful to take notes and then transfer them to the spreadsheet. Or just slow down and do it at the computer before I get into something else.…

 

[winemaker81]

I’m terrible at note taking. I use painters tape with a sharpie, and an excel spreadsheet. It’s the keeping up with it that I need to work on. Perhaps ease of access is the ticket. I like the idea of a tag on the carboy. Perhaps a dedicated three ring binder in the winery would be helpful to take notes and then transfer them to the spreadsheet. Or just slow down and do it at the computer before I get into something else.…

Regardless of the final destination (mine is my web site), keeping a manual record helps greatly. I learned to not trust my memory, especially when I have multiple batches in progress (which is normal), and when there's a delay between doing and recording.

I've had co-workers, who type meeting and work session notes as we go, laugh as I still use a notepad. Post-meeting I transcribe the notes into my log, as the act of transcribing forces me to think about everything, and fixes it in my mind. A mentor taught me this memory trip early in my career.

 

[Jovimaple]

Post-meeting I transcribe the notes into my log, as the act of transcribing forces me to think about everything, and fixes it in my mind. A mentor taught me this memory trip early in my career.

My 6th grade Earth science teacher taught us this. And I still remember because he made us write it down!

 

[Darkroom]

Here’s the newest version from MoreWineMaking.com

https://morewinemaking.com/products/breathable-bung-glass-carboys-cellarscience.html[/URL

I have some of the original flap b...ke it needs to shortened to above wine level?

 

[Raptor99]

My 6th grade Earth science teacher taught us this. And I still remember because he made us write it down!

I need to write that down!