Grasshopper
Retired Newbie
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
- Messages
- 40
- Reaction score
- 16
I am currently fermenting a MM Alljuice ME Amarone 23 liter kit. The instructions call for racking out of the primary when the gravity reaches 1.04 - 1.05 (in my case I racked at 1.038) into a clean and sanitized carboy to which the 90 grams of oak chips have been added. Prior to racking, per instructions, I had stirred the primary to re-suspend the yeast and added the supplied yeast nutrient. The 23 liter kit filled the 23 liter secondary up to the neck and I was quite pleased with myself as I wasn't going to need to add much to top the kit off when it comes time to rack into a carboy for bulk aging. (Anyone else see where this is going)? I installed an air lock and then took the primary away to be cleaned.
When I returned I was in the midst of a volcanic eruption through the air lock. Fortunately this was an Hawaiian type eruption with the wine foaming out of the air lock and not a phreatic Mount St. Helens type but I have little doubt that if I hadn't quickly discovered the problem it would have become one as the oak chips plugged the air lock.
I siphoned out a quart of wine into a Bell jar, drilled a hole and installed a grommet and air lock for the jar, and cleaned up the mess. When I got the air lock back on the carboy the CO2 wasn't so much bubbling as blowing through the lock. I have never before seen this much activity in a ferment.
Some comments and observations:
Although as I said I was quite pleased that I had filled the carboy I haven't before had this little head space in a secondary. I should have stopped and thought "OK, nice and good, but this is different from normal experience so what might go wrong here?"
Racking into the secondary at a gravity of 1.04 leaves a lot of sugar in the must. Adding nutrient and air makes for a vigorous ferment in the secondary. (It also doesn't give a lot of time to extract goodness from the raisins which get squeezed but removed prior to racking, but that is another topic).
Being prepared by having a clean canning jar, lids, grommets and spare air locks helped salvage the siphoned wine that might otherwise have been lost although this was more out of luck than any foresight on my part.
Having the secondary carboy in a crate lined with a garbage bag greatly facilitated the cleanup. See my previous post on this practice here - http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f3/cool-innovative-ideas-36832/#post407869
Probably most important, it is a good idea to check on progress frequently after starting a primary or secondary fermentation. If I had left this completely unattended, there is little doubt that the air lock would have plugged and wine would have been blown all over the room.
LFMF
Bob
When I returned I was in the midst of a volcanic eruption through the air lock. Fortunately this was an Hawaiian type eruption with the wine foaming out of the air lock and not a phreatic Mount St. Helens type but I have little doubt that if I hadn't quickly discovered the problem it would have become one as the oak chips plugged the air lock.
I siphoned out a quart of wine into a Bell jar, drilled a hole and installed a grommet and air lock for the jar, and cleaned up the mess. When I got the air lock back on the carboy the CO2 wasn't so much bubbling as blowing through the lock. I have never before seen this much activity in a ferment.
Some comments and observations:
Although as I said I was quite pleased that I had filled the carboy I haven't before had this little head space in a secondary. I should have stopped and thought "OK, nice and good, but this is different from normal experience so what might go wrong here?"
Racking into the secondary at a gravity of 1.04 leaves a lot of sugar in the must. Adding nutrient and air makes for a vigorous ferment in the secondary. (It also doesn't give a lot of time to extract goodness from the raisins which get squeezed but removed prior to racking, but that is another topic).
Being prepared by having a clean canning jar, lids, grommets and spare air locks helped salvage the siphoned wine that might otherwise have been lost although this was more out of luck than any foresight on my part.
Having the secondary carboy in a crate lined with a garbage bag greatly facilitated the cleanup. See my previous post on this practice here - http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f3/cool-innovative-ideas-36832/#post407869
Probably most important, it is a good idea to check on progress frequently after starting a primary or secondary fermentation. If I had left this completely unattended, there is little doubt that the air lock would have plugged and wine would have been blown all over the room.
LFMF
Bob