WineXpert Wine Kit gone bad?

[tonyportale]

Hello,
Just racked (step 4) my Eclipse Cab into carboy to sit for the next 28 - 30 days. As I was racking I could see that the color was not a deep burgundy but more of a deep mahogany. It was easy to see as it hit the white funnel. The taste was still 'young'. Is the color at this stage not good a good thing?. Could it be some sediment causing the color?
Thank you

 

[DoctorCAD]

Way to early to worry about stuff like that.

Give it a couple of months to settle, it will be fine.

 

[cpfan]

I can't comment on the wine colour (I'm red-green colour blind, and also haven't made this kit).

BUT, I have have to ask...what's with the 'white funnel'?

If you're pouring the wine into a funnel to get it into a carboy, well that's just plain wrong. So please tell us what you are doing.

I ask this because when I ran a store this big guy (I'm 6'1" and was probably about 230 at the time, and he was bigger) came into my store. He wanted to buy a big funnel so that he could pour from his primary pail into a carboy. I told him that there wasn't one in the store. He wanted to know how I did the transfer. My answer was "NOT by picking up 23 litres of wine". He didn't look like he would have a problem doing it though.

Steve

 

[tonyportale]

I can't comment on the wine colour (I'm red-green colour blind, and also haven't made this kit).

BUT, I have have to ask...what's with the 'white funnel'?

If you're pouring the wine into a funnel to get it into a carboy, well that's just plain wrong. So please tell us what you are doing.

I ask this because when I ran a store this big guy (I'm 6'1" and was probably about 230 at the time, and he was bigger) came into my store. He wanted to buy a big funnel so that he could pour from his primary pail into a carboy. I told him that there wasn't one in the store. He wanted to know how I did the transfer. My answer was "NOT by picking up 23 litres of wine". He didn't look like he would have a problem doing it though.



Steve

NO, no not doing that. I had 1/2 gallon of wine left over from the first racking that I saved for topping off. When I was done siphoning out of the main carboy, I poured some of the wine from the 1/2 jug into the new carboy to bring the level of the wine up to the neck of the carboy.

 

[wineh]

NO, no not doing that. I had 1/2 gallon of wine left over from the first racking that I saved for topping off. When I was done siphoning out of the main carboy, I poured some of the wine from the 1/2 jug into the new carboy to bring the level of the wine up to the neck of the carboy.

Respectfully, it still sounds odd, and pouring is what you have done. If the "jug" was from the first racking as you state, then it was likely not stabilized or clarified. It then becomes possible that the "jug" fraction could be oxidized, or just has more sediment in it causing it to look off colored.

 

[tonyportale]

Respectfully, it still sounds odd, and pouring is what you have done. If the "jug" was from the first racking as you state, then it was likely not stabilized or clarified. It then becomes possible that the "jug" fraction could be oxidized, or just has more sediment in it causing it to look off colored.

Sorry for confusion, the wine in the 1/2 gallon jug was from the same racking that was done in stage 3. The entire 6 gals. was transferred back into a fermentation bucket to help release the CO2 easier during de-gassing. Then the juice was racked back into an oversized 6gal carboy to be stabilized and clarified. After that was done, I racked back down into a 5 gal. and a 1/2 gal. jug. (I did not like all the headspace left in the oversize 6 gal. carboy). The 1/2 gal jug had airlock on it just as the carboy did. I'm thinking as you are that the 1/2 gal. jug just had a lot more sediment in it. Time will tell.
Thank you