RJ Spagnols My first racking experinence gone bad...

[onin24eagle]

I am attempting my first kit called Cru Grand Malbec. I hope I didn't screw things up too bad.


First, I racked at .999 not .998 like the kit said. I guess after getting everything out and and sanitized, I couldn't wait any longer.


Secondly, while siphoning I was so busy looking at the bottom of the primary fermenter that I didn't realize wine was overflowing the carboy out onto my kitchen floor.

I picked up the carboy and put it into the sink, and siphoned some wine out to make room for stirring.


Thirdly, at the adding chitosan to the wine step it topped off the carboy again.

So, I tried to stir, but he stirrer made it overflow again.

I again siphoned some more wine to make roon for degassing. I have no idea how much of the chitosan is in there?


Should I be concerned? Or, should I just bungand airlock it and see what happens?

 

[JWMINNESOTA]

You will probably be OK, it may just take extra time to clear, but now you are at the point you have all the time you need. Keep it topped up, airlock on , and no harm should come to your wine now. You will see in a couple of days if the clarifying agents are there or not, if not, time will clear it.

 

[onin24eagle]

You will see in a couple of days if the clarifying agents are there or not, if not, time will clear it.

How can I tell? What should I look for? Thanks for the help.

 

[Waldo]

The clearing will be obvious. It will begin at the top of the carboy as the sediment settles to the bottom. I am curious as to why the carboy overflowed. Was it a 5 gallon or 6 gallon? If it was a six gallon I would guess that you had more than 6 gallon in your primary to begin with. At any rate, your wine should be ok as JW said. Worse case I would think you might have to add another clearing agent if it does not beging to clear up pretty quick or again as JW said, in time, it will clear on its own. You just have to have the patience for it to do so. Edited by: Waldo

 

[onin24eagle]

The clearing will be obvious. It will begin at the top of the carboy as the sediment settles to the bottom. I am curious as to why the carboy overflowed. Was it a 5 gallon or 6 gallon? If it was a six gallon I would guess that you had more than 6 gallon in your primary to begin with. At any rate, your wine should be ok as JW said. Worse case I would think you might have to add another clearing agent if it does not beging to clear up pretty quick or again as JW said, in time, it will clear on its own. You just have to have the patience for it to do so.

It's a six gallon carboy, but I obviously put more than six gallons in the primary oringinally I guess. I helped my Dad rack his kit the yesterday, and we had to add about 24 ounces of water to get the level correct. Also, I noticed with his Riesling we didn't get any foam when degassing, but mine foamed up quite a bit. I'll keep an eye on it over the next few days and report back.

 

[Wade E]

Reds typically will foam up more during fermentation and degassing. Was the starting SG on the high or low range when this kit was started? I like to keep it on the high range as this will typically taste better and fit into the carboy better and if need be top up later.

 

[onin24eagle]

Reds typically will foam up more during fermentation and degassing. Was the starting SG on the high or low range when this kit was started? I like to keep it on the high range as this will typically taste better and fit into the carboy better and if need be top up later.

SG started at 1.08.

 

[Wade E]

Do you remember what the range was for initial SG. What In getting at is that you might have added a little more water as carboys and primary buckets seem to not be all that accurate and I always shoot for the higher SG at beginning so as not to add any un needed water.

 

[onin24eagle]

Do you remember what the range was for initial SG. What In getting at is that you might have added a little more water as carboys and primary buckets seem to not be all that accurate and I always shoot for the higher SG at beginning so as not to add any un needed water.

Sorry, I don't remember.

 

[grapeman]

Sorry, I don't remember.[/QUOTE]


Don't count on your memory in winemaking. Even with a kit, keep a printed record of some kind- even making notes of temps and SG at all points in the directions. Everybody has their own way of doing it, just do it whatever way you choose. I use index cards kept in a recipe file. Others use notebooks, some necktags. No need to remeber then, just look at your record sheet for the batch.

 

[onin24eagle]

Sorry, I don't remember.

Don't count on your memory in winemaking. Even with a kit, keep a printed record of some kind- even making notes of temps and SG at all points in the directions. Everybody has their own way of doing it, just do it whatever way you choose. I use index cards kept in a recipe file. Others use notebooks, some necktags. No need to remeber then, just look at your record sheet for the batch.[/QUOTE]


I like the recipe card idea. I had no idea I was supposed to keep more records than the directions asked me to keep. All the directions ask for is starting SG, SG at first racking, and SG on bottling day 28. Believe me I have no memory, so I so far have noted what the directions asked for. What other things would be good to write down?

 

[Wade E]

I write down everything. When I started and the SG at that point. First racking and SG at that point and what if anything I added at any point. Every racking and anything I added at any point and the date.

 

[Jack on Rainy]

Onin,

I second everything Wade and Appleman said. I am a newbie at this and
thought I would record EVERYTHING so I could keep track of the process
and plan my next steps on muliple kits. I do it in a spiral notebook
with the kit instructions clipped to the pages allocated to each kit. I
also note tape each carboy with the wine, start date, current process,
and expected date of the next process. If it is oaking while bulk aging
(I'm not sure that should be called bulk aging maybe some kind of
tweaking) , I note that on the tape too.



I include in the notebook, what the temps are as the kit is in progress, what the kit looked like
as it went into or through each step. I also record what I have in the
airlock for each step. (started out using Ez Clean, went to K meta on
this forum's advice, and am using vodka for the carboys being bulk
aged).



I put all that down and sometimes still have stuff I wished I had added.



BTW we started 3/4/07 and have 12 kits in some state of progress. I'm having a blast!!




Edited by: Jack on Rainy

 

[onin24eagle]

Onin,
I second everything Wade and Appleman said. I am a newbie at this and thought I would record EVERYTHING so I could keep track of the process and plan my next steps on muliple kits. I do it in a spiral notebook with the kit instructions clipped to the pages allocated to each kit. I also note tape each carboy with the wine, start date, current process, and expected date of the next process. If it is oaking while bulk aging (I'm not sure that should be called bulk aging maybe some kind of tweaking) , I note that on the tape too.

I include in the notebook, what the temps are as the kit is in progress, what the kit looked like as it went into or through each step. I also record what I have in the airlock for each step. (started out using Ez Clean, went to K meta on this forum's advice, and am using vodka for the carboys being bulk aged).

I put all that down and sometimes still have stuff I wished I had added.

BTW we started 3/4/07 and have 12 kits in some state of progress. I'm having a blast!!

Thanks Jack! Man, you are going to have to open a wine store.

 

[OldWino1]

yes yes yes. But these kits seem to be pretty forgiving.

 

[onin24eagle]

Update:


It's has been 5 days since my first racking nightmare. I've never made wine so I have no idea what a dark red wine looks like after clearing. My wine looks the same as it did 5 days ago except there appears to be a layer of sediment at the bottom. This wine is very, very dark.


I had planned on racking it back into the primary fermenter this weekend where it would sit another week prior to bottling. Would this be a good idea?

 

[Jack on Rainy]

Update:


It's has been 5 days since my first racking nightmare. I've
never made wine so I have no idea what a dark red wine looks like after
clearing. My wine looks the same as it did 5 days ago except
there appears to be a layer of sediment at the bottom. This wine
is very, very dark.


I had planned on racking it back into the primary fermenter this
weekend where it would sit another week prior to bottling. Would
this be a good idea?

Sounds to me like you are getting exactly what you should at the
clearing stage. Just follow the instructions to the letter.



As to racking back into the primary, I think you will hear from others
on this forum that you need to keep the head space, the area above the
must, small so that oxygen contact with the liquid is minimized. So,
you would probably be better off racking into the primary, cleaning and
sanitizing your carboy and immediately racking back into the
carboy. Then top up as directed.

 

[onin24eagle]

Jack,


I took your advice today. I racked my Malbec into the primary, cleaned and sanitized the carboy, and immediately racked back into the carboy. I did try the wine, not because I wanted to, but because of my poor siphoning techiniques. The wine was not that great, so I hope it gets better in its final week prior to bottling.

 

[Jack on Rainy]

Onin,

I don't think ANY of them taste good at this stage. Give it a chance.

 

[onin24eagle]

Onin,
I don't think ANY of them taste good at this stage. Give it a chance.

Man, I hope you're right, and I figured as such.


Since I'm making a Malbec and have never even tried one, I've been looking for a bottle at my local supermarket. Well, today I found a bottle of Argentinian Malbec. I must say I'm no expert taster, but it seems kinda boring. It really isn't bad, but it's not that good either. Anyone else have any opinion on Malbec's?