What would you use to top up this (see pic!) carboy?

[cdevrard]

Hey All,

I'm not going to use water! I could order a BUNCH of marbles from marbleking, and I plan to buy some at some point, but I was thinking to top this off with another wine. I don't have any of my own I'd like to use. Besides I think this is going to be more than just one bottle. Oh, this is a 5 gal carboy.

I was thinking of getting a "decent" box wine like Bota Box or Black Box. But what type? This is a batch of plum wine and I'm not gonna find that in a Bota Box I want a semi-sweet wine by the time I am done. I was thinking about a Pino Grigio or a Riesling. Good/Bad? I've never tried the Muscato, and I am not too fond of the buttery taste of the Chardonnay.

I think one box would fill this carboy the rest of the way and then I'd have some extra wine for the weekend One day I'll order some 3 gallon carboys, but until then..........

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I would definitely fill with a similar wine -

 

[cdevrard]

Steve, any suggestions? I've never seen a plum wine in our local stores, 'course I wasn't looking for one either

Thanks!

CE

 

[vacuumpumpman]

That is a tough one- I would use some sort of fruit concentrate that was not too much over- bearing -

I know that is not alot of help - or you could downsize in carboy size - which I am sure will be a pain in the a**

 

[cintipam]

Hi

I make a lot of fruit wine. For my reds and blushes I usually go with Carlo Rossi White Zin. You get a 4 liter carboy out of it also. I know it's not terribly similar but it is very generic and doesn't step on the toes of the plum wine. And like you said, it's going to take a lot.

Pam in cinti

 

[697713132]

how many stainless steel forks, spoons and butter knives you got,,,lol,,,

 

[cdevrard]

Stainless steel, hmmm hadn't thought of that! Lol.

Carlo Rossi White Zin, now there is a idea. I've never tried that one before.

I understand the idea is to use a similar wine, but I've never had to top anything off before so I have no practical experience. And given the volume involved here I just thought a white would work better. Have mercy on me I'm a noob, and this is only my 10th batch ever!

CE

 

[codeman]

Fill it with glass marbles

 

[WineQuest]

Its a plastic bottle, right? How about wrap the middle of the bottle with a ratchet strap and tighten it until the wine gets up into the neck?

 

[seth8530]

I would fill with clear glass marbles.

 

[LoneStarLori]

I have used marbles before and 6 lbs of them barely makes up for quart of volume. Marbles are actually quite expense when you need a lot. I purchased mine from a lady on ebay that buys marbles at garbage sales etc and picks out the good ones for the collectors. She was happy to make a deal on the 6 lbs uf un-desirable ones . I think I paid $25 with shipping.
However after using them a few times,I stopped using them to top up large amounts. They are big pain to clean. Now I go for a similar wine. It's much less hassle and you get more wine in the end.

 

[Tom_S]

Its a plastic bottle, right? How about wrap the middle of the bottle with a ratchet strap and tighten it until the wine gets up into the neck?

Being extremely careful, of course, to not crack the side of the jug.

 

[cdevrard]

Waaaay too chicken to try a strap around the middle of the carboy!

And yes I am going to get some lead free marbles at some point, but that would be a bit cost prohibitive and weight intensive this time. I could buy a 3 gallon carboy (maybe 2 of them!) for all the marbles I'd need. And then the carboy would weight 150 pounds

My wife is picking up a jug of the carlo rossi stuff this afternoon. We'll sample it of course and if it seems like a good fix, in it goes.

Thanks again everybody,

CE

 

[codeman]

What about those glass round blob things people use in aquariums?

 

[UBB]

If you're not dead set on a sweet wine topping with Merlot might be an option.

 

[WineQuest]

A long time ago I read on another forum about marbles so I bought a bunch. What a flipping nightmare. First, as you drop them in each marble takes a bit of air with it into the wine so there goes o2 control. Second, lees didn't settle to the bottom but instead over the top of the marbles making efficient racking impossible with lots of lost wine. And lastly, I hated cleaning them afterwords. Now they look beautiful in jars with candles on them. Never again.

 

[Buehler91]

I'd go with a 3gal carboy and a 1 gallon carboy....you're going to need them sooner or later anyway.

 

[greyday]

I'd go with a 3gal carboy and a 1 gallon carboy....you're going to need them sooner or later anyway.

I second this. Never bad to have smaller vessels for future experiments.

 

[cooldood]

How about stick a balloon inside it an blow it up.

Then as it ferments it will sound like wine farts.



Sorry I will go back to my hole now