Test your topup FIRST

[winemaker81]

Today my son and I bottled our Sauvignon Blanc, which was in two 3 gallon carboys + a 375 ml split.

We racked the first carboy, adding K-meta and glycerin. Sniffed the second carboy, smelled good, so we added it to the first.

Sniffed the 375 ... it smelled bad. Really bad. Tasted it to confirm it -- had to rinse our mouths out with red wine. (don't laugh too hard, I'm serious). TRUST YOUR NOSE -- it's right more often than your tastebuds.

The 375 went down the drain. We're thankful it wasn't either carboy! The moral of the story is test every wine before mixing. Most of the time the wines are perfectly fine, but take that moment to verify the wine before combining.

 

[sour_grapes]

It is good that you avoided an experiential lesson in Schopenhauer's Law of Entropy!

 

[winemaker81]

Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.

I avoided Schopenhauer's Law of Entropy yesterday ... but learned the hard way. I like to learn from others' experiences ... and hope others are learning from mine ...

 

[Boatboy24]

Sage advice. I've had a number of stoppered bottles go bad and always check before doing anything with them.

 

[G259]

MY bottles don't go bad, so . . .

 

[Old Corker]

I have honestly never thought about this. And I can't tell you how many times I have just opened a bottle poured it straight into a carboy.

 

[winemaker81]

I have honestly never thought about this. And I can't tell you how many times I have just opened a bottle poured it straight into a carboy.

My topup, especially for whites, is typically in a container with an airlock or vented bung, depending on size. For the reds I should do what @Johnd does and cork a bunch of 750s.

However, even if it was a corked bottle, I'd still check first. Bad bottles happen and it takes just a moment to check that the wine is fine. The first time you ruin a batch by adding a bad wine will convince you. Typically, all that is necessary is to sniff the wine -- IME the nose knows better than the tastebuds.