Marbles

[thunderhill]

I haven't lost them, I'm looking for them. Up until yesterday Sunday 7-10,
I made only Winexpert kits. I went to a different retailer, one closer to home and would you believe it, they offered tastings.
The wife and I tasted a RJ Spagnols Temoraro??, It was great, I was shocked when they told us it was only 3 months old.
Their secret; they did not top off with water, instead they used sanitized marbles to raise the level and reduce exposure to air.

So I went to a craft store looking for marbles; no luck.
I went on line; too pricey.

Any suggestions on where to find them at a reasonable price?

Thanks

Ron

 

[Julie]

I haven't lost them, I'm looking for them. Up until yesterday Sunday 7-10,
I made only Winexpert kits. I went to a different retailer, one closer to home and would you believe it, they offered tastings.
The wife and I tasted a RJ Spagnols Temoraro??, It was great, I was shocked when they told us it was only 3 months old.
Their secret; they did not top off with water, instead they used sanitized marbles to raise the level and reduce exposure to air.

So I went to a craft store looking for marbles; no luck.
I went on line; too pricey.

Any suggestions on where to find them at a reasonable price?

Thanks

Ron

a toy store?

 

[Jenks829]

I've gotten mine at a pet supply store. They were in the area with aquarium supplies.

 

[winemaker_3352]

I would just rack to a smaller vessel - does the same thing - reduces your open headspace.

 

[ibglowin]

You can usually find the cheap ones at Hobby Lobby or Michael's. Beware that they come from China and you really are not sure what they are made from or out of.

 

[EdwardLongshanks]

Did you ask if they changed their method of siphoning to bottle from the Carboy? I noticed that most of the Vineco wines suggest against topping up with water, but in a regular 6Gal carboy there is about 1-2 litres of headspace. Also I don't see how aging in a smaller vessel solves the problem, or do the 3gal carboys usually have less headspace?
Did the people at the shop tell you what RJS brand it was. For example I am making Grand Cru now, but the GCInternational, and Cru select aren't much more money and are 12 and 16 liters compared to 10 of juice.

 

[ibglowin]

Racking to a 5 gallon carboy is preferred as the kits make 6 gallons so once you have racked off the gross lees your left with just enough left over to top off (once more) with after you add in the fining agents and let them settle out.

 

[jtstar]

You can also look at a Dollar General store for you marbles

 

[robie]

Most any store that seals floral supplies will have marbles. Never use painted marbles, only use glass marbles.

There is no relationship between not topping off with water and the wine being good at three months. Not topping with water only eliminates diluting the wine.

Marbles work well, but it takes a lot of them to replace a 750 ml bottle's volume in a carboy. Be sure to sanitize them well.

I really don't know why most kits say you can top off with water. Kits are already thin, compared to red wine from a hundred pounds of fresh/frozen grapes or whites from freshly pressed grapes. Topping with water just dilutes an already thin wine even more.

Never use water to top off. If your wine is a red and you don't have any extra of the same varietal, use Merlot; it is a pretty neutral red. For whites, use something like a chardonnay, if no chardonnay is handy, use most any other "dry" white.

If you are topping off a small 6 gallon barrel, which takes a lot (lot!) more topping off, always try to use the same varietal as your wine. Otherwise, over time the taste of your wine will be affected.

Practice saving your sediment and letting it settle in a sealed bottle, so you can save some of the wine you would normally throw away at each racking. I can sometimes recover an extra 750 ml bottle of wine from the sediment from a single racking.

 

[jet]

I got my marbles in the floral section of Hobby Lobby. I almost never use them anymore since they interfere with the wine clearing (the sediment collects on top the marbles and gets siphoned with the wine).

 

[Runningwolf]

I got my marbles in the floral section of Hobby Lobby. I almost never use them anymore since they interfere with the wine clearing (the sediment collects on top the marbles and gets siphoned with the wine).

Jet good point, it makes me think back when I had aquariums and you tried to clean the bottom with gravel. Ultimately it is best to rack down to a smaller carboy and some bottles or 1/2 gallon jugs for the extra.

 

[joea132]

I found them at Toys R Us at a reasonable price. Be advised I calculated the amount and it takes something like 1800 to make up a gallon...

 

[joea132]

CORRECTION: Assuming the marbles are 3/4 inch in diameter, that gives us just over 1600 marbles to equal the volume of a gallon of water.

 

[SpoiledRotten]

And with the added glass marbles, just think about how heavy that carboy is going to be if it has to be moved for anything.

 

[thunderhill]

Thanks for all of the responses. Your insight has been very helpful. I will probably go the 5 gal. carboy route. After reading about some of the experiences with marbles, plus the China factor, the smaller quantity seems to be the best solution.

In response to EdwardLongShanks question: I tasted the RJS Tamperinello Cabernet from Spain. I know I misspelled that word. It had a much fuller taste than my other wines (Winexpert) some of them have aged 26 months.

The retailer claimed that the wine tasted stronger because he did not top off with water, and yes it had aged only 3 months.

I am going to start my kit in a few days, I will let you know how is tastes after a few months of aging.

Thanks

Ron
Thunderhill