Newbie questions???

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Good day.

Ok few more questions for knowledgeable people...

1-Is there a benefit in keeping wine longer in primary? I made a RJS EN PRIMEUR CARMENERE. It came with crushed grape skins and wood chips. Instruction says to xfer to secondary once reached below 1.020, in 6-8 days. Would I get more from the grape skins/wood chip if I kept it for longer, say 10-12 days?

2-Anyone has tried no using the net bag when using crushed grape skins? Would it all settle nicely to the bottom or cause a mess?

Thanks a lot!!
 
Good day, thanks a lot for the replies, all of you, much appreciated. Im frigging lost right now haha.

My 2 first kits were

Fontana premium - Gamay (bottled a week ago - taste very young, not very good at bottling...)

Fontana premium - sauvignon blanc (still in primary) -

Picking up today

RJS EN PRIMEUR- Carmenere (I worked lots in Chile and was hooked on that grape variety)

RJS EN PRIMEUR - trio white

RJS cru international Meritage

Currently on tap in house, A nice Bitter 3.7%, a Munich Helles 5.2% and a Kolsch 5%!!! ;)

Is there a difference between white and red wine, such as length of fermentation, aging, time from bottle to enjoying, etc?

What are your favorite brands for kits???

Thanks again!!
I really like Finer Wine Kits from Label Peelers: Finer Wine Kits | Label Peelers, Inc.
 
I tried to use my Food Saver with a carboy airlock cap to ge-gas my wine. I did the wine whip then the vacuum for about 4 hours until the bubbles stoped. So far it looks good but time will tell.
Has anyone else tried this?Cap.jpg
 
Corks!!!
I came from the beer homebrews and always put my bottle caps in Star San solution for sanitation. The last two years I started to make wine. I carried over many of my practices rom brewing over to making wine.
What is with the K-meta sterilizing solution and holding over the solution? I've been putting my corks in a Star San solution, pulling the wet corks out and pressing them in the bottle with my floor stand.
If this is wrong I need to drink all that wine as soon as I can so it doesn't go bad. (like I need another reason!)
 
I tried to use my Food Saver with a carboy airlock cap to ge-gas my wine. I did the wine whip then the vacuum for about 4 hours until the bubbles stoped. So far it looks good but time will tell.
Has anyone else tried this?View attachment 86734
OMG, that's hilarious! I was going to do the same thing but haven't gotten around to it.

From my research Foodsaver pulls around 18 in merc. Seems it should be enough to do something! I gotta try.
 
Corks!!!
I came from the beer homebrews and always put my bottle caps in Star San solution for sanitation. The last two years I started to make wine. I carried over many of my practices rom brewing over to making wine.
What is with the K-meta sterilizing solution and holding over the solution? I've been putting my corks in a Star San solution, pulling the wet corks out and pressing them in the bottle with my floor stand.
If this is wrong I need to drink all that wine as soon as I can so it doesn't go bad. (like I need another reason!)
I think most of us go the Star San route at bottling. You're fine.

Don't let that stop you from drinking the wine, though! :h You're going to need the bottles and storage space!!
 
A lot will depend on the type of cork you are using, natural, agglomerated, synthetic or a hybrid. Some solutions react with the binders in the agglomerated and hybrid corks and could cause them to fail. The benefit of a K-meta solution (3 T or K-meta to 1 G of water) is that it does not require contact with the cork and the cork is sanitized by the gas. That is why many people use a "cork-a-rator" which is a means of suspending the corks over the liquid and letting the gas do the work. Personally, I have an old 3-piece salad spinner and I put the solution in the bowl, the corks in the basket and cover it with the top. I try to have the corks over the gas for about a half hour.
 
OMG, that's hilarious! I was going to do the same thing but haven't gotten around to it.

From my research Foodsaver pulls around 18 in merc. Seems it should be enough to do something! I gotta try.

If you do the food saver route, try this:
Get the carboy cap with four post and cut the top from the post with the small hole.
(Amazon?) Fermentology Carboy Caps – 4 Pk Silicone Caps for Fermenting in 3/5/6 Gallon Glass Jugs
The Food Saver accessory will be a tight fit but works great.
After a whip (de-gas) the wine I place a sanatized cap on the carboy and pump down.
Let the vacuum set for a few hours and pump down again with out removing the cap.

I let it set under the vacuum until the bubbles stop. ~4 hours.

My local homebrew store suggested a brake vacuum pump but I'm a bit on the cheep side and try to use what I have on hand. This time it worked.
 
If you do the food saver route, try this:
Get the carboy cap with four post and cut the top from the post with the small hole.
(Amazon?) Fermentology Carboy Caps – 4 Pk Silicone Caps for Fermenting in 3/5/6 Gallon Glass Jugs
The Food Saver accessory will be a tight fit but works great.
After a whip (de-gas) the wine I place a sanatized cap on the carboy and pump down.
Let the vacuum set for a few hours and pump down again with out removing the cap.

I let it set under the vacuum until the bubbles stop. ~4 hours.

My local homebrew store suggested a brake vacuum pump but I'm a bit on the cheep side and try to use what I have on hand. This time it worked.
Thanks for the tip. I have a bunch in bulk right now so it will be a little while for my test.

Cheap? I'm with you, pal! I would easily be a finalist in any cheap competition.
 
a small plastic vacuum pump is not intended for running for weeks straight. ,, I basically have done what you did since I have 12V DC pumps. Our volume is small, so it will work.

chances are good you degassed more than I do. My definition of ”good enough is it can hold a 5 inch Hg vacuum for 30 minutes. ,, I vacuum cork so if I let too much gas in it could foam and pull into the corking pump. ,,, lots of wine has some residual CO2
I tried to use my Food Saver with a carboy airlock cap to ge-gas my wine. I did the wine whip then the vacuum for about 4 hours until the bubbles stoped. So far it looks good but time will tell. Has anyone else tried this?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top