What to do...

http://imgur.com/KuELNpt

http://imgur.com/aTBUK94

The above links go to my strawberry and peach wines. They've been in the carboy for about 3 weeks and spent about 10 days in the bucket before that. My finger shows the wine level.

The problem is that they haven't cleared and I really don't have the proper sized carboys to rack them into so that there is no headspace. I considered racking into 1 gallon carboys but I'd need 6 of theses and do not have enough. I have no other wines I can pour in to top them up either.

Should I:

1) leave them as is in the carboy. The headspace should be full of co2 &...

- add sulphites?
- keep as long as you want?
- rack in another month before the sediment begins to breakdown?
- something else

2) bottle and suck it up that I'll have a bunch of sediment.

3). Don't worry about it, that's not much headspace

4). Something else?




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4. Something else.



1. Too much headspace is too much headspace. No sulfite can fix that. You can use marbles and things to add some weight to bring up the level a tiny bit. But we're talking an inch or so to do that. You've got too much. Marbles could work for the strawberry, if it's not as much headspace, but you'd need like a LOT of them.

2. They aren't ready to bottle.

3. It's way too much headspace.

The "something else" that may work best for you is topping up with a similar wine. I know you don't have any peach or strawberry wine hanging around for this, but you could use a commercial pinot grigio or something that can bring the level of the wine up, and consider the marble trick to go the last inch.

Otherwise, yep, go with 6 gallon jugs, or 5 and a growler, or whatever you need.

next batch, make a 4 gallon batch if you want three gallons. Keep the extra in a wine bottle or growler, with a bung and airlock (growlers take #6 stoppers, wine bottles #3 I believe) and use it for topping up.

Thanks Yooper. Should I do this immediately or can I sit in it for another month before I rack?


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Jacktar said:

Thanks Yooper. Should I do this immediately or can I sit in it for another month before I rack?


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Click to expand...

Somewhere in between, I'd say. Probably not crucial to do it immediately, but I would do it as soon as possible.