WE Selection Chile Pinot Noir 16l

[ohiowino]

Hi all,
I just moved to secondary last night since gravity was 1.005ish. I had to split into 5gal and 1gal carboys. I scooped up some of the soaked oak chips and put into the 1gal even though instructions said to leave.

When racking comes...i dont have another 5gal carboy...should transfer to the 6gal bucket, clean the carboy and rack right back into it? Would you mix the 1gal and 5gal back together in the 6gal bucket to blend or keep seperated? Any other advice to get a good final product?

Also, for sanitizing...are there any easy ways instead of mixing new one step solutions every time? Can anything be left in a clean carboy to be reused to save time?

Thanks!
Jake

 

[Rocky]

Jake, I suggest that you try to find a 3 liter wine jug (or two 1500 ml bottles) and move the wine you have in the gallon into it. That looks like a lot of airspace at present. As long as you work fairly fast, you can put the wine back into the fermenter (I would put the top on tightly) while you clean out your carboys and other containers. For sanitizing, I use K-meta (3 Tablespoons in a gallon of water) and I keep it in a 1 gallon jug. It lasts quite a while, at least 3 months.

 

[ohiowino]

Thanks rocky...i do have a 3l...am i good to leave as is for now and rack into the 3l in 10 days?

 

[ohiowino]

I got home tonight and it was not bubbling so i transferred to a 3l jug.

 

[ohiowino]

Just finished racking and 3l was really low on juice so I added half a bottle of store bought pinot noir I had left over. Hopefully this is full enough. I wish I had the leftover juice I dumped to fit into the 3l now...didnt think about the loss at time of racking. It says bottle in 14 to 21 days but if not bottling at that time to replace airlocks with solid bungs? Is this necessary?

 

[StBlGT]

The small container has too much headspace. I would get a 6 gallon glass carboy and be done. I also would NOT bottle that soon. It will for sure drop sediment. Make sure that wine is degassed!!! Major killer in taste if co2 remains.

To answer your question on the solid bung....i would not use it. Just use an airlock with kmeta solution or vodka and that will allow any co2 leftover to escape. The solid bung will not.

 

[ohiowino]

I dont think i can find a 6gal quickly. There seems to be pressure on the water in the airlock and i think had a few bubbles. Do you think i could just bottle the small next week and let the 5gal age much longer? I have a rubber vacuum bottle sealer...would it be better to vaccume seal the small jug?

 

[StBlGT]

The 5 gal is perfect how it sits. Leave the airlock (not a solid bung) on it so it can degas if it still burps some.....or you can try to degas with whatever method you use. But let it bulk age; do not bottle.

For that smaller one, i would try to find something smaller or just buy the absolute cheapest 750ml/1.5l bottle of pinot noir and top it up. Then, when you get ahold of a 6 gal carboy, just rack the small and large together. Also, is the rubber stopper vacuum pump a vacuvin? If so, i wouldn't trust it to hold vacuum for as long as you need it to. But hey, that is my opinion and i can be wrong. I own one, but would never use it for that use.

 

[ohiowino]

Thanks! Topped off and in the basement to bulk age. I added some vodka in the airlock. The vacuum pump pic is attached...it seems to work well but not sure how long as I've only used for opened store bought wine

 

[StBlGT]

ohiowino, that looks really good! Now just wait it out until bottling time. You really shouldn't bottle according to kit instructions. My kits throw sediment months after the instructions say to bottle. I am not sure which pinot noir kit you made, but if it had skins i would bulk age at least 6-8 months (don't forget kmeta!).

As for the vacuvin, it works quite well on a wine bottle that you just opened and won't finish for a few days. Also, it is okay at degassing.....but you have to work hard. There are much easier ways.

 

[ohiowino]

Thanks! I had added 1/4 tsp of potassium metabisulphite. The kit was wine expert selection...no skins.

 

[jgmann67]

Thanks! I had added 1/4 tsp of potassium metabisulphite. The kit was wine expert selection...no skins.

You might still wait 6 months to bottle just to be sure you're completely degassed. The vacu-vin is okay and will do a decent job. But, it can't compete with a brake bleeder ($20 from Harbor Freight) or, better yet, a vacuum pump like the All-in-One.

 

[ohiowino]

Hi all...i put 3 camden in mid December? How often do i need to add more if any? If i decide to bottle should i add any beforehand?

 

[cmason1957]

Hi all...i put 3 camden in mid December? How often do i need to add more if any? If i decide to bottle should i add any beforehand?

If 3 gallons 3 Camden is fine every 3-4 months, when you rack it. If 6, you need 3 more. You may want to think about buying potassium metabisulphite, it is the active ingredient in Camden tablets, much cheaper and you add 1/4 tsp every 3 months. Plus no crushing up.

 

[ohiowino]

Crushed 6 camden today and added to 5gal...racked the 5gal and 1gal into primary and filled 29.5 bottles. Since I had added 3 camden late last year I think the sulfite ppm is around 50? The corks seemed to not go in all the way on one side...is that normal/ok or should I try to get them down further somehow?

 

[traveler94]

Never saw corks like that before, at least they are all the same! I would be more concerned about all those bubbles in the bottles. What type of corker did you use?

 

[ohiowino]

The corner is red abd has 2 arms that you pull down. The plunger part that pushes tge corks is just a bit larger than the head of an eraser and seems to be off center. The bubbles were only in a few towards the end of filling when i was catching some air. I think they are all gone.

 

[Tnuscan]

The corner is red abd has 2 arms that you pull down. The plunger part that pushes tge corks is just a bit larger than the head of an eraser and seems to be off center. The bubbles were only in a few towards the end of filling when i was catching some air. I think they are all gone.

I used one that would do that , just not as bad. What I learned to do was to tilt the cork after sliding it into the opening, so it was off center. Then make sure the little area that grips the bottle does not slip.

I took a utility knife, that has the thick razor blade and VERY CAREFULLY cut them just under the lip of the bottle. Sitting them so the bottles are around waist high gives you better leverage.

After hundreds of bottles, I could cork bottles like Forrest Gump could run, guess you could call me a "corkin fool".

 

[traveler94]

I wouldn't worry about the corks. We all make mistakes when we start and we make mistakes as we go along. As long as you can drink your mistakes, everything is beautiful. Start your next kit!

 

[Johnd]

If my corks did that, I'd get a wooden dowel that fits over the cork, but into the bottle opening, and use it to lightly tap them down just below the top of the bottle opening, 1/16" - 1/8" below. If it doesn't even them out, at least they won't be sticking up.