Two "topping up" questions

[TemperanceOwl]

I have two kits going right now at the same step: the WE LE14 Riesling, and the RJS Toasted Caramel Port. Tonight I followed the directions and removed 1.5 L from the Riesling before stabilizing and clearing, and removed 750 mL from the port before stabilizing and clearing.
After adding the various agents and stirring, I was supposed to use the reserved wine to top up both to within 2 inches of the bung, and then wait for a week or so to rack.

The port, after putting the entire 750 mL back into the 3 gallon carboy, is still 5 or 6 inches from the bung.

The Riesling on the other hand, is right at the bottom of the bung and I have a whole 750 mL of it left.

My questions are, (1) should I go ahead and top up the port with the brandy that I have bought for that purpose? I have read somewhere that the addition of the brandy should be done after final racking (in one week) and bulk aging, right before bottling. (2) what should I do with the bottle of Riesling that I have left over? Should I put it in the refrigerator and use it for topping up after my next racking in about a week? This bottle doesn't have any of the stabilizing or clarifying chemicals I added to the carboy tonight, so I'm not sure how it will do if I add it later to the "good" stuff.

Thanks for any suggestions! I would hate to waste that whole bottle of Riesling, and I would hate for my port to oxidize with too much headspace!

 

[TemperanceOwl]

One clarification… I just re-looked at my directions, and the bottle of Riesling was removed from the carboy AFTER the addition of metabisulfite and sorbate. It just doesn't contain the isinglass clarifier or any of the F-pack. Maybe I just set it aside and it will age and clarify itself if I don't use it later for topping up?

 

[Rocky]

TO, how does the Riesling look? Is it dropping a lot of sediment? If so, I would keep the small bottle under airlock as you may need it to top up after your next racking.

As far as the Port is concerned, where is the current SG and what is the final SG that the directions call for in your kit? I don't think there would be any harm in adding the Brandy at this point but I am not sure. Perhaps a seasoned Port maker can chime in on this. Since you stabilized the Port the addition of the alcohol in the Port would be additional protection against spoilage. I believe that is the reason that Port was traditionally fortified, i.e. to keep it from spoiling.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

TO, how does the Riesling look? Is it dropping a lot of sediment? If so, I would keep the small bottle under airlock as you may need it to top up after your next racking.

As far as the Port is concerned, where is the current SG and what is the final SG that the directions call for in your kit? I don't think there would be any harm in adding the Brandy at this point but I am not sure. Perhaps a seasoned Port maker can chime in on this. Since you stabilized the Port the addition of the alcohol in the Port would be additional protection against spoilage. I believe that is the reason that Port was traditionally fortified, i.e. to keep it from spoiling.

yes you are correct rocky about the port.
it was intended to add water to it (concentrated wine ), so it would be wine again , but they enjoyed it even more the way it was.
just make sure to take readings before adding the brandy if you want to be within the 18-22 ABV for making port - just keep notes of how much you added

 

[barbiek]

Don't worry about the Riesling it will clear on its own in the fridge by the time you rack the bulk and need to top up with it carefully using only the cleared portion of it. And I'm pretty sure if you stabilized the port you can add the brandy now unless somebody else states otherwise. Sorry no experience with a port wine as of yet. Good luck

 

[TemperanceOwl]

Thanks, y'all!
Rocky, the starting SG was 1.114, and last night before adding the F-pack it was 0.996. I think that's about 15.5 abv. I don't plan to fortify all the way up to 18%, I'm just adding 1.5 cups of brandy to bump it a little bit.

 

[JohnT]

VPM,

I will also add that England was constantly at war with France, so they needed to use an alternate source for their wine like Portugal. The problem was that Portugal's climate was much hotter than France and the wine would simply broil in the hulls of ships on the way to England. Fortifying the wine was a very effective way of protecting the wine and, as it turns out, was most favorable to the English pallet.

I would add the brandy provided all fermentation is complete. You should be fine.

 

[heatherd]

I have made four batches of port. What I normally do is top off with a tawny or similar mid-range cost port at this phase. I bulk age with a lot of heavy toast oak, and add 1-2 TBL of oak powder. This gets you a full carboy of just port before any additions.

Then I rack to a primary at bottling, add 3/4 of the fpack, and add the brandy there. That way you get more like 33-36 bottles out of the batch.

Heather

 

[joeswine]

Topping up

you are short on the port kit and that is correct if this kit was done correctly you should have been slightly less then 3 gallons at the start and going into the secondary short accordingly, that's do to the fact once you add the fpac that is you topping off liquid.kit completed then.