RJ Spagnols Starting my first kit...

[kasharp]

It's a Vino del Vida Pinot Noir. Has anyone used this kit before and has pointers?


I ran into an issue, when pushing the airlock into the primary fermenter the rubber gromet pushed through into the wine. I'm thinking instead of fishing it out and disturbing the yeast, I should leave it and just get another gromet tomorrow. Thoughts?


Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[masta]

Woo Hoo kasharp you've gone anddone the same thing at least 50% of newbies do with the ol' grommet pushed into the primary trick!

When I did this I washed and sanitized my arm well and reached in to fish it out. Don't worry about the yeast it knows what to do and welcome aboard.

 

[Wade E]

You can sanitize your hand and reach right in. I redrilled all my lids
with a 1" drill bit and use rubber bungs as some of these grommets
leak. If you find that there is no action in your airlock pour a little
water around that grommet to see if its leaking. When I first started I
bought 2 new primaries and started 2 kits and after 3 days had no
action in the airlock and thought I screwed up until I took the lids
off and they were both sizzling like carbonated soda.

Welcome to the best forum out there and if you need something for
winemaking this is the best place to get it. Please share your
experiences here with us and we like photos.

 

[grapeman]

I would leave it there myself and cover the lid with a towel until tomorrow and get another one, or finish the primary with it covered with the towel, cloth, etc.When you rack the wine to the secondary, retrieve the grommet and reuse.


Like Masta says MANY beginners do it- probably more than 50 %!

 

[kasharp]

Thank you all for the responses and the welcome. I can tell already this forum is going to help tremendously!

 

[Wade E]

Feel free to ask any questios as thats why we are here. How did you stumble (HeHeHe) on to this forum?

 

[kasharp]

A couple of friends of mine are fine vine wine patrons and pointed me here. I'm also looking forward to visiting.


I do have another question, and I'm sure the answer is somewhere. I'm not too lazy to research, and will. But if I wanted to raise the alc. content, can I add sugar, when and how much? SG at the start was 1.085 which I think will produce a 12% alc wine. I'd like it to beit 13%. Is it too late?

 

[chevyguy65]

Welcome aboard kasharp!

With the grommet thing ,just wet the end of the airlock with kmeta and twist as you push it into the grommet just as you would screw in a light bulb. I would leave it in the bucket and just cover the hole with a clean towel or dish cloth and the get it when you rack in a few days.
Keep us update on your progress

Edited by: chevyguy65

 

[kasharp]

I fished it out this morning, and put the airlock into the lid before reapplying. The directions for this kit have me racking at day 14. I'll probably be going to Georges' place between now and then for a degassing device, and anything else I can think of. Maybe an extra carboy or two and another kit.

 

[JWMINNESOTA]

I never pushed the grommet into the primary....OK, yes I did.

 

[Wade E]

kasharp, you will need 1 1/2 lbs of sugar to get it to 13%. There is a calculator for stuff like this at geocities.com


Edited by: wade

 

[kasharp]

Found it. I can't find the procedure to add. I have made a syrup with the sugar and boiling water and have it covered and cooling. It's about a liquid cup and a halfof syrup.


Is that the proper way to add sugar?
When can/should I add it? This is near the 48 hour mark.

 

[Wade E]

At anytime during the fermentation process, just make sure you stir it
in good and that it is around the same temp of your must or a little
warmer but not much as you want to keep your must temp between 70* and
75*, closer to 75* is best.

 

[kasharp]

Thanks Wade! You guys have been a great help.