My second batch!

[kwilly]

Hello,
I have looked for a good forum to discuss and get answers to questions. I hope this is it. We will see shortly. I am getting ready to bottle my second batch of wine. A Sauvignon Blanc...it looks good but time will tell. My first batch was a Cabernet Franc/Merlot blend and I think it was pretty darn good. I bottled it in August 2009. The family consumed 3 bottles of it Thanksgiving Day and it met with a sound approval. When I drank the first bottle (a few weeks after bottling) I thought it was good but it had a bit of a fiz...(Not much but just a hint) on the tongue. In fact after it sat in my glass for a while much of that feeling on the tongue left. What could have caused that? Still too young or did I not de-gas enough?

Also....what is best way to sanitize corks?

 

[xanxer82]

The wine seems a bit young as you bottled in August. But I know it's hard to wait.
What kits/grapes are you using?
You can never degas enough.
As for sanitizing corks just mix up a K-Meta solution and let them soak in it a while before corking. The solution helps the cork slide in easier too.
Good luck and hope to see some photos of your wine

 

[bob1]

I am going to say you bottled to early I have long ago put my wine whip away, its just not needed, time and a good splash racking will get all that gas out.

 

[kwilly]

thanks xanxer82 and bob1 for the comments. I am quite the novice at this whole thing but since I am now semi retired I need a nice hobby like this...I just always think I have to do everything correct the first time but I am quickly learning that with ALL the other people out there that are experienced I will soon get the answer to all...well maybe most of my questions.

bob1 what do oyu mean I bottled too early? Do you mean I drank to early...which I certainly did that.

I started to rack my Sauv Blanc today and then was going to bottle but I seemed to have "stirred" up a bit of the sediment from when I had clarifyied it aobut 2-3 weeks ago. Before I treid to pick up the carboy today I swear you could have read newsprint through one side of the carboy to the other. So after racking it...should I just wait a few more days to let the "very fine particulate" settle before trying to bottle? I took a bit out with a wine theif and it tasted great! But looking very closely at it in the glass (even though it appears initailly clear) I could see the very fine particulate in suspension. Ideas....?

 

[rawlus]

i think bob's comments about bottling too early are in reference to his technique which i gather is long-term bulk aging. most of the kit red wines will benefit from a year or more of aging... and at least 3 months to get beyond bottle shock.
if you age in a properly air-locked carboy for up to a year and monitor your sulfite levels and the airlock liquid levels, much of the dissolved CO2 in the wine will dissipate over the natural course of time. if you wish to bottle the wine at the end of the 30-40 day period mentioned in the kit instructions, mechanical degasing will be much more essential to physically drive off the dissolved CO2.
wine whips work, albeit slowly - you may have to spend 20min over the course of several days with the electric drill to achieve satisfactory results.
temp plays an important role - the CO2 comes out of suspension more readily at higher temps so if your carboy is at cellar temp, degassing is going to be very difficult. get it up to 75-80* for best results.
vacuum degassing requires more equipment and can only be performed on full glass carboys, but can achieve faster results than the drill/whip method.

when degassing, when you think you've done enough - take a small sample of the wine, put it into a bottle (a 375ml half-bottle works well for this) put your thumb over the opening and give it a vigorous shake - if there is any fizz, a pop when you remove your thumb or other signs of carbonation, then you have not yet driven off all the CO2.

for wines that are already bottled that have CO2, if it is only slight, you can either wait for it to come off in the glass as you are drinking it, decant it into a decanter or use an aerating funnel with a decanter to fully drive it off. bottles that have too much CO2 can blow corks out during temperature shifts. in those cases, it is sometimes best to uncork, degass fully, and rebottle.

 

[bob1]

LOL I like that one, But yea we all drink it a little early, it will help you get the fell of how young wine taste. I had to start making beer to keep me out mine. But when I am ready to bottle I will have no sediment for atleast 3 months. That means my wines are in carboys for about 9 months. Some a lot longer easier to store a carboy than a bunch of bottles. And yes I have carboys every where I can get them to fit. I really need a shop now. Welcome to the Hobie its a verrrrry rewarding one most of the time, but even when it it goes bad its not as bad as most. I used to do RC airplanes with the kids, way to many bad words from me when they hit the ground, $250 - 500 a pop.

 

[Tom]

Hello,
I have looked for a good forum to discuss and get answers to questions. I hope this is it. We will see shortly. I am getting ready to bottle my second batch of wine. A Sauvignon Blanc...it looks good but time will tell. My first batch was a Cabernet Franc/Merlot blend and I think it was pretty darn good. I bottled it in August 2009. The family consumed 3 bottles of it Thanksgiving Day and it met with a sound approval. When I drank the first bottle (a few weeks after bottling) I thought it was good but it had a bit of a fiz...(Not much but just a hint) on the tongue. In fact after it sat in my glass for a while much of that feeling on the tongue left. What could have caused that? Still too young or did I not de-gas enough?

Also....what is best way to sanitize corks?

Best way for corks is to make a humidor w/ K=Meta
Get a pot w/ an strainer. add some meta to the bottom. add corks to the strainer and attach lid. The fumes will sanitize anything
AS far as the "fiz". You need to degas the wine during fermentation. Since its bottled pour (splash) into a carafe