Leftover must from primary fermentation

[Ess-Sea vineyard]

I’ve started a batch of wine, and judging by the marks on the side of my pail, I will probably have more that I can rack into the carboy, when it gets to that stage. Do I save this for “topping off”, at an even later stage. And what or how should I store this in? Any advice is appreciated.

 

[cmason1957]

yes, you will want to save this for topping off. I save mine in gallon jug (Carlo Rossi wine makes these and they come with wine), 1/2 gallon jug (also called growlers by beer makers) and then sometimes in a wine bottle. same sanitation protocol applies to these as to all wine making vessels.

 

[Rice_Guy]

As. Craig says, save it. Once you have ethyl alcohol in the system oxygen is your enemy , , , , a half full bottle will be about as bad as an open top container so look for a variety of sizes. Another potion is a bag in box metalized wine container in which I would aim for zero air stored in a refrigerator and then in thirty days at first racking add it back for topping off.

In the last couple years have wound up running the primary low with some extra in the freezer and then filling the first racking with raw juice till an inch headspace.

Worst case learn the flavor, see if you like it back sweetened, try a pinch of tannin, freeze some and see how you like it with bitartrate precipitated. , , , , Good wine has lots of uses.

 

[ChuckD]

Yep… every winemaker needs a variety of different sized bottle and jugs to safely store “overages”

 

[winemaker81]

I have bottles from 125 ml and up. There's no such thing as too many bottles. #2 drilled stoppers fit most wine bottles, and having a bunch is a good idea.

This post may help you in reducing wine loss at rackings.

 

[Ess-Sea vineyard]

I have growlers, but no airlocks that would fit. Would a ballon work for this?

 

[winemaker81]

I have growlers, but no airlocks that would fit. Would a ballon work for this?

Balloons are far from ideal, but something is better than nothing. Several layers of plastic wrap secured with a rubber band will also work in the short term.

Something else to consider is headspace. You want only a few inches of space between the wine and the stopper, depending on container shape. The ratio of headspace to wine volume is important, which is why keeping wine in the primary is a bad idea. There's just too much surface area, which produces too much head space.

On the plus side, oxidation is not a fast process, so you have some time. On the negative side, once you discover you have oxidation, it's too late.

How much extra wine do you have? ANY container that minimizes space is better.