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FAQ-Wine Bottling

Question: Why is my beer over carbonated?
Answer:

Typically a beer over carbonates because it is stored in too warm of a location for too long. Yeast will continue to ferment if left to its own devices. Once a beer is carbonated (typically 2 -3 weeks) make sure to move the beer to a location below 55 °F for storage. At this temperature the yeast will hibernating and stop creating CO2. Other possible causes are either too much priming sugar was added and/or the beer was bottled before fermentation was fully completed. In order to ensure a homogeneous mixture of your beer and your priming solution one can use a sanitized stainless steel stirring spoon to gently (careful not to add oxygen) mix the beer and priming solution together....Click to Read full Answer

Question: My fermenter has blown the bung and airlock off, what now?
Answer:

If your airlock has blown off the primary fermenter there is no reason to worry, being that the rapidly escaping carbon dioxide gas is creating an upward draft, which is keeping atmospheric air (i.e. airborne microbes and wild yeast) out of the primary vessel and out of contact with your beer. Once discovering this, merely re-sanitize the bung and airlock and reposition it back on your fermenter. If the fermentation is still too rigorous then a blow-off tube can be attached in lieu of the bung and airlock. Your beer SHOULD NOT be thrown out, 9.9 out 10 times everything will turn out just fine. Read on for more information regarding possible explanations and solutions for your occurrence....Click to Read full Answer

Question: What size corks should I use with my Plastic Plunger Corker?
Answer:

Midwest suggests using only #8 corks with the plastic plunger corker. Larger corks are just too difficult to load into the corker, and even more difficult to force into the bottle. The reason that the plastic plunger corker is the one we include in our starter kit is that most winemakers eventually upgrade to a floor corker (#8253, 8254, 8256, 8258). The plunger corker allows us to offer a winemaking equipment kit at a reasonable price. Two upgrades, the Double Lever Corker (#8201) and the Gilda Single Lever Corker (#8202) are available for only a few dollars more, respectively....Click to Read full Answer

Question: What head space do I need in my secondary when making wine?
Answer:

You’ve got your wine transferred and are ready to add the metabisulphite to your wine. Head space becomes important after you have added the metabisulphite because you are killing the yeast. Up until now, your wine has been fermenting and that creates a CO2 layer over the wine. This CO2 layer protects the wine from oxidizing, and can help prevent bacteria from floating into the wine. CO2 isn’t much help from protecting the wine from bacteria, but it does help a little. Once you add metabisulphite the yeast starts to be killed off and you lose your CO2 layer. Now your wine is unprotected from oxidizing. You do want a small amount of air to contact the wine because this is what is going to help age the wine. A small amount of air will allow the wine to slowly oxidize, but it will also help the alcohol to mellow and the flavors to blend better. Wine makers get in trouble because they leave a large air gap during this stage, and all of a sudden they end up with a prune juice tasting wine. Not very appealing for most people....Click to Read full Answer

Question: What are the differences between the corkers? Am I fine just using the plastic plunger corker that came with my kit?
Answer:

The plastic plunger corker does work fine, but it is more difficult to operate than the other corkers that we stock, and we recommend using only #8 corks with it. As for the other corkers, the basic rule of thumb is that the more you spend, the easier the corking chore becomes.

The Metal Double Lever Corker works on the same principle as the plastic plunger corker, but the levers give you leverage to make it easier to push into the bottle. However, we suggest having an assistant on hand to hold the bottle still.
The Gilda Compression Hand Corker is much easier for one person to operate, as it has a plastic iris that compresses the cork for you.
The Floor Corking Machine and the Italian Floor Corker are both very similar in construction, the main difference being that the Floor Corker has a plastic iris, and the Italian Corker is equipped with a brass iris.

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Question: I’ve noticed a little bit of mold on top of the corks of some of my wines. Is the wine spoiled? Is the bottle leaking?
Answer:

This isn’t necessarily a sign that your wine has leaked through. It could be that a small amount of wine stayed on top of the cork at bottling and has molded there. Carefully wipe the top of the cork and the bottle neck with a clean damp cloth before extracting the cork, and the wine should be fine....Click to Read full Answer

Question: What equipment do I need to bottle?
Answer:

1) Be sure you are using the non-twist-off type of beer bottle if you are going to be capping standard 12 or 22 oz bottles. A 5 gallon batch of beer will require about 48 -54 12 oz. bottles or 26-30 22 oz. bottles. 2) Caps- All our caps will fit any standard non-twist-off variety bottle. The caps will not properly seal if crimped onto a twist-off bottle. The only difference in our caps is the print, except for the oxygen absorbing caps. These are only really required for long-term storage beers to prevent oxidation and staleness due to oxygen’s presence in the headspace of the bottle. 3) A capper is needed....Click to Read full Answer

Question: What is the ideal storing temperature for my ales and lagers?
Answer:

Your main concerns here are heat and sunlight—both bad for your brew. Heat can cause oxidation, which results in a stale, cardboard-like taste. If your house does not have air conditioning, we suggest storing your beer on the floor of your basement during the summer months, or in the refrigerator. Most people keep their house at around 68 °F, which is fine for storing your beer. Just keep it out of direct sunlight. You may also store your brew in the refrigerator, if you have the space, ideally between 34 and 40 °F. Lagers, on the other hand, should always be refrigerated if possible. For the first two weeks after bottling, they should be kept at the same temperature you had it at for primary fermentation, so that the carbonation can take place. After that, the colder the better, so long as its above freezing. It's a good idea to keep your beer at constant storage temperature, so as not to take your beer through a roller coaster ride of extreme temperatures. As a happy medium, 50-55 °F is a good long-term storage temperature range for your ales....Click to Read full Answer

Question: Can I use screw cap bottles for my wine?
Answer:

Sure! Studies are finding that in many ways, screw capped wines are actually better than natural cork and synthetic corks. The number one reason to use screw caps, is that you will not encounter any wine that has "cork taint", developed from a fungus that grows on corks and spoils wine. Studies are also finding that screw caps may just preserve the freshness of your wine better than synthetic corks and at least as well as natural cork. As there is more room in the neck of the bottle, you may wish to use Private Preserve (A6031) to purge the headspace of oxygen, preventing oxidation, before you cap the wine....Click to Read full Answer

Question: What are the proper conditions to store my wine?
Answer:

The main concerns to storing your wine are temperature, temperature stability, humidity, ventilation, and darkness. Wine is best stored between 40-65 °F, optimally between 55-57 °F. Even more important is temperature stability. The temperature in your storage area shouldn't fluctuate more than 5 °F in a year. This keeps oxygen from being drawn into your bottle, upsetting the freshness or even spoiling your wine. Maintaining this sort of stability can be difficult to achieve, so simply do the best you can for those long-term storage wines. Also, keep your wine within 50% - 80% humidity. Finally, you should keep your wine out of sunlight as the light waves can breakdown the more complex particles in your wine. Packaging your wine in dark bottles (green or brown) will help protect your wine from those light rays....Click to Read full Answer

Question: How long should I store a wine before I drink it?
Answer:

Although the concentrate kits can be done quickly, some winemakers elect to store the wine longer before they start to drink it. The reason is because a good wine can become a great wine when you allow it to age. However, this is all a matter of taste to the individual. Some wine drinkers really enjoy a bold, strong, new tasting wine, and others want a very smooth, laid back, easy drinking wine. Try a bottle of your wine from time to time until you are happy with the flavor. There is no set time frame on when you will enjoy the wine that you made.The following are some general considerations for wine storage.

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Question: Glass Carboy Secondary Fermenters
Answer:

Our 1, 3, 5, 6, and 6.5 gallon glass carboys are great, sanitary vessels for secondary fermentation and maturation of your wine, beer, meads, or other fermented beverages. They resist scratches and do not retain any flavors or odors. They are, also, more easily kept clean and sanitized than plastic fermenters. The 5 gallon carboy is a perfect secondary when used with our recipe kits or any 5 gallon wine kits. The #7 stopper or universal carboy bung work best in the 5 gallon carboy. The 6 gallon carboy uses the #6.5 stopper and is a perfect size for the Vintners’ Reserve and Selection Series wine kits. For a glass primary fermenter, the 6.5 gallon carboy gives sufficient head space for 5 gallon wine and beer batches....Click to Read full Answer

Question: How do I apply bottle wax to my wine bottles?
Answer:

Use an old soup can. Take the label off and clean it out thoroughly. Pour 1/2 a bag of bottle wax into the soup can and place it in a saucepan that contains 3 inches of water. Then, heat the water until the wax is melted. Carefully dip the wine bottle into the wax. When you are done, simply cool the wax right in the soup can and store it until your next batch....Click to Read full Answer

Question: How do I bottle my wine?
Answer:

The first thing you need to do is to make sure you’ve got the right kind of bottles. A standard wine bottle has a neck opening 18.5 mm in diameter. This will accommodate a standard cork. There are bottles with different neck sizes on the market, and you may encounter some as used bottles.
The second step is to make sure your bottles are clean and sanitary, which are two different things.
Filling the bottles comes next. A sanitized siphon hose and racking cane are necessary, and a bottle filler (#6810 or 6800) is an excellent tool for getting the fill levels right. Consisting of a rigid tube and a one-way valve, it allows carefully controlled filling.
Bottles should be filled so that the wine is about one inch away from the bottom of the cork. What this means is that if you are using a cork 1-3/4 inches long, the wine should be 2 inches from the top of the bottle neck. This is important: you don’t want to leave a lot of ullage (airspace) in the bottles, but you have to leave enough room under the cork for the compressed air to sit.
Next comes corking.

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Question: Why are my corks popping out of the bottle?
Answer:

Your corks keep popping out because you are bottling your wine too early and it is continuing to ferment in the bottle. As the yeast consumes the sugar still in the wine, it produces both alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. In your carboy, the CO2 escapes through the airlock as bubbles. Once you bottle the wine there is no place for the gas to go. Some of it is absorbed into the wine and the wine changes from a still wine into a sparkling wine. When the wine has absorbed all of the CO2 it can absorb and the pressure continues to build, either the cork is blown out of the bottle or the bottle explodes. You should never bottle a wine that has not been stabilized or at least has a specific gravity lower than 1.000 and shows no sign of refermentation for 30 days after racking. Here are some tips to keep this from happening again: 1) When apparent fermentation has stopped, rack the wine into a clean, sanitized secondary and reattach the airlock. Look at the wine 24 hours later. If there is positive pressure in the secondary (you are seeing bubbles coming out of the airlock), the yeast is still working. Racking allows the wine to absorb oxygen and this extra shot of oxygen often rejuvenates a wine that previously seemed finished. 2) When the pressure inside a carboy appears to go negative (i.e. the liquid inside the airlock is being pushed toward the part of the airlock connected to the bung), check it daily for two weeks to see if it swings back to positive. When high pressure weather fronts pass through an area, the liquid in an airlock will tend to be pushed downward by the high pressure and it will appear that fermentation has finally ended when in fact it hasn’t. The only way to know for sure is to take a hydrometer reading. 3) When you are sure all fermentation has stopped, check the specific gravity of the wine. If it is not dry (1.000 or lower), repeat the procedures in step 1, above. If it is dry, crush one Campden tablet per gallon of wine (or use 1/4 level teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite per 5 gallons of wine -- do not exceed this amount) and dissolve it and 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate per gallon of wine of in a half-cup to full cup of the wine. Stir very well to ensure it is completely dissolved. Pour this into a clean, sanitized carboy and rack the wine into it. Reattach the airlock and wait 10-14 days minimum (Midwest recommends waiting a full month). Then bottle your wine as you normally do....Click to Read full Answer

Question: How do I store my wine for a long time?
Answer:

A few simple things that you can do makes the difference:

Temperature

The temperature that you store a wine plays a big role in how well it will taste in the future. You want a cool, consistent place to keep the wine. The ideal temp to store a wine is 52° F. A lot of people can use their basement floors for storing wine as the floor tends to stay a consistent temperature of 52 to 55° F throughout the year. For those in areas that do not offer basements, a wine cooler is a good idea to invest in. A wine cellar would be ideal, but not everyone wants to take up their living room with a walk in cellar.

Humidity

Let’s face it; most of us don’t have a way to control this one too much. If you can keep the humidity around 60 to 70%, you are doing great. Do your best to keep the humidity up, or use a synthetic cork. The reason why you need to worry about humidity is because of the corks. If you use a standard cork, it can dry out over time. As the cork dries out it can shrink, which will allow more air to transfer into the wine.

Sorbate

Using Potassium Sorbate just before you bottle will help preserve the wine for a longer period of time. Look at sorbate like what lemon juice does for apples. The citric acid from the lemon juice helps prevent the apple from oxidizing.

Vertical vs Horizontal

You want to place your wine bottle on its side when you are using standard wine corks. The reason is that the wine will help keep the cork moist, so that it won’t shrink and dry out. Again, if your corks shrinks, it lets more air in that will oxidize your wine quicker.

Some Thoughts

Just follow the suggestions above and your wine will be able to store for many years without any problems. The use of a wine rack can help make the storage of your wine easier to access, and can take up less space. We offer several different styles of racks that can work with just about anyone’s décor.

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Question: Which bottle filler should I use?
Answer:

Midwest stocks three bottle fillers: The Fermtech Plastic filler, a plastic spring tip filler, and a 1/2" bottle filler. The Fermtech Plastic filler is the one included in our Homebrewing Equipment Kits, and is also the least expensive. This bottle filler will work just fine for most homebrewers for a long time. The only difference between this one and the spring tip is the valve; the Fermtech model has a ball valve that works on gravity (when you push down on it, the valve opens, when you let up the valve closes). This valve works great 95% of the time, but occasionally the valve does stick a little bit. Most times this can be avoided by making sure that you clean the filler thoroughly after each use. The spring tip has a spring valve that works much the same way, but since it has a spring, the valve will not stick open. The spring valve is on the top of the filler, which means that it empties itself out when the valve is released. The 1/2" filler requires a length of 7/16" tubing as well as a 1/2" spigot to run from your bottling bucket to the filler, and fills bottles much faster....Click to Read full Answer

Question: Is my wine ready to bottle?
Answer:

If your wine is clear, stable, and free of CO2, it's ready. Clear means free of particles that could later fall out of suspension and leave a deposit in the bottles. Stable means finished fermenting and with enough sulfites (SO2) present to prevent oxidation and spoiling. Free of CO2 means that although the fermentation may be finished, a wine can still be saturated with carbon dioxide. If it is, it will go into the bottles with the fizziness intact, and depending on the conditions, could expand and push the corks out (or worse, break the bottles), or provide you with the dubious pleasure of drinking a sparkling wine that’s supposed to be still (sparkling Merlot , anyone?). To get rid of CO2, stir your wine....Click to Read full Answer

Question: Is there anything to using a certain color, or shape, of bottle with my wine?
Answer:

There are a lot of different choices available when it comes to the wine bottle. You have clear, amber, green, or blue for color choices. Then the bottles come in punted, semi punted, or no punt. What's a winemaker to do? Go with what you want to use. Yes, the bottle color and shape can play a role in how the wine ages, but unless you plan on storing a wine for over 10 years, don’t worry about it. The shape of the bottle can influence how the wine ages because the air will come in contact with the wine in different areas depending on the bottle. That’s why they make a wine bottle specific to burgundy (or deeper red) wines. This really doesn’t matter to the person who is going to store the wine for a year or two and drink it. The punt is more for decoration then anything for the average home winemaker. The punt does play a role for long term storage, but again, unless you are planning on storing the wine for years, don’t worry about it. Colored bottles help prevent light from filtering into the wine and making it fade. In worse case scenarios, wine can actually oxidize because of light. The constant heating and cooling of the bottle will cause the wine to go bad. Most bottles that you see on the shelf are chosen mostly out of tradition, and not so much about storing the wine anymore. There are several wines that a person will collect that are placed in a certain bottle to help preserve it, but the average wine is placed in a bottle out of tradition. Don't be afraid to use a burgundy bottle for a chardonnay. Use whatever bottle that you like and think looks good for your tastes. ...Click to Read full Answer

Question: How do you bottle beer?
Answer:

Bottling a beer can be a little time consuming, but easy enough to do. You want to make sure that all of your bottles are free of debris inside, and you have sanitized them just like you would any of your other equipment. Transfer your beer from fermenter into the bottling bucket. This transfer will allow you to add you’re priming sugar without mixing up the sediment. Bottling buckets make the bottling process much easier to do because all you have to do is take a small piece of tubing, attach one end to the spigot, and the other end to your bottle filler. When you are ready to bottle, turn the spigot on, and start filling your bottles. You want to use 2/3 of a cup of priming sugar for a 5 gallon batch of beer. It isn’t a bad idea to mix the priming sugar with 1 cup of water, boil, and then cool the mixture before you add it to your bottling bucket. This allows the priming sugar to dissolve better, and you will end up with a consistent carbonation level with all of your beers....Click to Read full Answer

Question: How to prepare corks
Answer:

If you are using a high quality, iris- jawed floor corker there is no need to soak or sulfite any of the corks that Midwest sells. Simply insert them dry. If you are using a small, hand-held corker (plunger, single or double-lever types) you may need to prepare your corks by soaking them in warm water for 20 minutes. If you have trouble getting corks to pass through your hand-held corker, you may want to try adding 1 cup glycerin to every four liters of warm water that you use for soaking. This ensures that the corks get enough moisture to lubricate their passage through the corker, not so wet that the corks will crumble apart....Click to Read full Answer

Question: The 4th and Vine labels you guys sell, will I be able to cleanly remove them for re-use of the bottles?
Answer:

All 4th & Vine Labels will soak off easily in hot soapy water, yet pass the "Ice Bucket" test....Click to Read full Answer

Question: What are the differences between the various types of corks?
Answer:

Agglomerated corks are made from chipped cork pieces ground to a specific size and glued together with non-reactive polyurethane glue. Inexpensive and easy to handle, these are suitable for wines that will be held for six months to a year.
Synthetic corks will not become tainted, won’t dry out, crumble, break or leak. A great way to provide a barrier to oxidation for wines that will be aged for a few years. We recommend using the Gilda Single level corker or one of the floor corkers when using these corks, as more force is required to get them in.
Natural cut corks are just that: simply punched out from cork bark. They rely on the density and elasticity of the natural cork bark to seal the bottle.

Another thing that comes in to play when choosing a cork is the bevel. This is the tapered edge that some of the less expensive corks have around the top and bottom of the cork. This is to allow easier insertion with hand held corkers.

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Question: When can I bottle my beer?
Answer:

Typically, you can bottle an ale 3 weeks after brew day with two-stage fermentation. This schedule allows for 7 days for primary fermentation, and 14 days for secondary fermentation. Wheat beers are often bottled right out of the primary, as it's common to not worry about the yeast still in suspension. No one balks at a glass of hazy weizen. Lagers will require up to 14+ days in the primary and often 4-6 weeks in the secondary before bottling. In any case, when the beer's specific gravity has stabilized at it's terminal gravity and it has sufficiently cleared, it's ready to bottle. Other "big" beers can use some extended aging, possibly leaving in the secondary for several months to develop their complexities in bulk and to allow yeast, gravity, and time to round out the edges of the beer. For these extended aging beers, you may wish to add a little bit of yeast (1/4 tsp should suffice) to your bottling bucket to make sure there are enough yeast cells in suspension to carbonate the beer....Click to Read full Answer

Question: My two carboys hit each other and broke. What can I do to prevent this?
Answer:

The 4-in-One Carboy Shield provides excellent protection against breakage. It will also protect your brew or wine from harmful light rays, heat and cold. Another alternative would be to make the move to Better Bottles, which are constructed of food grade plastic and are unbreakable....Click to Read full Answer

Question: How can I get the labels off of my returnable bottles? I don't want people thinking I'm serving them Milwaukee's Best Light Ice??!!
Answer:

Label removal is made pretty easy with B-Brite. Just take your bottling bucket, fill it about three-quarters of the way with warm water and add 1 tablespoon of B-Brite. Pack as many bottles as you can into the bucket, submerging them in the solution as you go. When you have as many bottles as you think you can get into the bucket, top off with more warm water if necessary. Then, just leave 'em sit for a while. Overnight, or even a couple of hours should do the trick. When you remove your bottles from the solution, the labels will just slip right off of the bottles....Click to Read full Answer

Question: It has been 2 weeks and I have no carbonation in my beer?
Answer:

We recommend agitating each bottle and/or moving to a warmer temperature, say, 70+ °F. If you added the sugar it will carbonate. Some styles will take longer to carbonate than others, and temperature can play a big role in carbonating a beer as well. It is not unusual for a beer to take 2-3 weeks to carbonate. Just open a beer each week until the carbonation level desired is achieved. Then place the beer in a cool location (below 55 °F) to prevent over carbonation....Click to Read full Answer

Question: What kinds of cleaning equipment does Midwest carry?
Answer:

We have several products to help you when it comes time to clean up your bottles, carboys and airlocks. The most common cleaning equipment we arm our customers with are the carboy brush, the bottle brush, and the jet bottle washer. The carboy brush is specially designed to scrub the hard-to-reach sides of your carboy. This feature is invaluable, especially when using glass carboys as your primary fermenter, as the krausen leaves a lot of proteins clinging to the sides. The bottle brush is exactly what you’ll need to prepare for bottling day. Finally, the jet bottle washer is a great way to rinse your bottles and carboys. You’ll need the optional faucet adapter if your faucet has internal threads. It carries a life-time guarantee and conserves water, too!...Click to Read full Answer

Question: My beer has a stale, cardboard-like flavor to it. Someone told me this is oxidation. What is oxidation, and how can I avoid it? Can my beer be fixed?
Answer:

Oxidation results in a stale, cardboard-like taste in your beer. If you are experiencing this, there are a couple of possibilities. If you have been storing your beer for an extended period of time, the beer may have become oxidized. While the bottle cap does provide a nearly airtight seal, air may seep into the bottle over time. If you plan on aging your beer in the bottle for an extended period of time, this is where those oxygen absorbing bottle caps will come in handy. The other possible cause of oxidation is the beer being exposed to high temperatures. If you store your beer at room temperature, and you don’t have air-conditioning, it is possible that your beer may become oxidized during the warm summer months. To avoid this, you can store it in your basement on the floor, where it may be much cooler, or simply refrigerate it. Once your beer has become oxidized, there is unfortunately no way to fix it....Click to Read full Answer

Question: I'm out of priming sugar, what else can I use?
Answer:

If you can’t wait until your next shipment from Midwest, or you don’t have a brew shop near you there are many options for carbonating you beer with something else than priming sugar. Just about anything that has sugar in it could be used, but here are a few examples and the amounts that you need: Using honey- 1 cup for bottling and <½ cup for kegging. Using maple syrup- 1¼ cup for bottling and 5/8 cup for kegging. Using molasses- 1 cup for bottling and <½ cup for kegging. Using brown sugar 2/3 cup for bottling and <1/3 cup for kegging. Using cane sugar (table sugar)- 1 cup for bottling and <1/3 cup for kegging. It is a good idea to mix these with a little water and boil before adding to your bottling bucket. That way everything breaks down and the yeast has an easier time using the sugars. Keep in mind that these different sugars will also leave a different flavor in your beer. The sugar that you use can be just one more thing to make your beer different then anything else out there. Maybe try brown sugar with a brown or a stout? That little extra sweetness can make a good beer even better. ...Click to Read full Answer

Question: Do I need special software to print on the 4th and Vine labels?
Answer:

No, you can use a word processor or graphics software. If you are using either of these, consider the following as a guideline: 1. Set the margins to fit the label sheet. 2. Create columns to give you 2 equal sections to your page. 3. Add your text where you think you it should go. 4. Print your document out on a sheet of plain paper, then hold it up to the label sheet and see how close you are. Make adjustments until you are satisfied with the results. 5. Print one label sheet as a test. If everything is satisfactory print your labels....Click to Read full Answer

Question: Why does my wine have a brown tint to it?
Answer:

The reason your wine browns is because it is oxidizing. The biggest cause of early oxidation in homemade wines is the failure to use sulfites, or not using them properly. The second biggest cause of early oxidation is improper handling of the wine during fermentation, rackings, aging, bottling, and storage. All wines oxidize, but well-made, well-protected, and well-balanced wines resist oxidation for many, many years, and exceptional wines can last for 50-100 years without doing so....Click to Read full Answer

Question: Crystals formed in my wine bottle, why?
Answer:

The crystals you see are potassium bitartrate. This is excess tartaric acid that is precipitating out as a more complex compound. Potassium in the grape combines with tartaric acid to form a sparingly soluble potassium bitartrate. The solubility is reduced further by increased alcohol and the result is precipitation of crystals. Tartaric acid has two available H+ ions and the potassium ion replaces one of these. Thus, the potassium bitartrate is still acidic and is actually lowering the acid of the wine surrounding it. If you chill the wine for a week or so, even more crystals will form. These will not actually hurt the wine, but are unsightly and a nuisance to get out of the bottles once emptied. You have two choices. One, you can open the bottles and very gently transfer the wine to new bottles, or two, you can leave the wine alone and decant it before drinking....Click to Read full Answer

Question: How do I apply the heat-shrinkable capsules to my bottles after they’ve been corked?
Answer:

After all of your bottles have been safely filled and corked, you can choose to put heat-shrinkable capsules (shrink-caps) over the neck of the bottle. The best way to apply this heat is with the steam from a teakettle. At a rolling boil the teakettle will produce enough steam out of the end of it’s spout to shrink a capsule in only two or three seconds. Be careful not to burn your fingers!...Click to Read full Answer

Question: How often do I need to replace the rubber gaskets on my Grolsch-style swing-cap bottles?
Answer:

Each rubber gasket should last 5 or 6 uses....Click to Read full Answer

Question: What is the difference in cork sizes?
Answer:

Cork size can play a huge roll on how long your wine is able to be stored because the size of the cork will determine how much air is allowed to transfer over time. What a lot of wine makers don’t realize is that you do want slight amounts of air to come in contact with the wine to allow the wine to age. The more air transfer, the faster the wine will go bad. Let’s give you a little understanding of how to figure out what the different numbers mean when looking at a cork label. Typically, the first number on the package is going to give you the indication of the diameter of the cork. For example, you might see a label that reads #8 X 1 ¾”. The #8 is in reference to the diameter of the cork. To make it easy, the higher the first number the larger the diameter of the cork. The 1 ¾” is in reference to the length of the cork. Cork Size Storage Time #7 X 1 ¾” *3-6 Months #8 X 1 ¾” *1-2 Years #9 X 1 ¾” *2-7 Years...Click to Read full Answer

Question: Why are my corks turning red?
Answer:

Your corks are probably turning red because wine has gotten between the cork and the sides of the bottle neck. This happens because when you force a cork into a bottle, the air between the cork and the wine gets compressed. If you leave the bottle standing upright for 2-3 days, the pressure will work its way out around the cork. If, on the other hand, you lay the bottle down immediately, the pressure pushes the wine (instead of the compressed air) out around the cork. Leave your bottles upright 2-3 days, then lay them on their sides and watch them for a few days thereafter. The bottles should not leak. If they do, pull the corks and put in new ones. Make sure your corks are the correct size for a good fit....Click to Read full Answer

Question: How many bottles do I need to bottle a 5 gallon batch?
Answer:

48-54 12 ounce bottles 32-35 16 ounce bottles 24-26 22 ounce bottles 16-18 32 ounce bottles...Click to Read full Answer