Help save my wine!

[acafro]

so today I discovered that those plastic handles that are used to carry carboys are JUNK!!!! I was moving my wine (now in the fining and clearing stage) back into the fermentor when the plastic handle failed and I dropped the carboy (fortunately) a plastic better bottle... My issue is now that I lost in upwards of 3/4 of a gallon of wine I am no longer topped off to within a few inches of the bung... its more like 5 inches and there is a lot of open head space.

I have no idea what to do now that I'm missing a lot of wine. This is a kit wine (and my first wine) I have been working on and it hasn't even begun to clear yet.

should I just leave it? or is there something I should do to bring the level back up to where it should be?

Also if anyone can help... I've been trying to degas this wine for 2 hours now and had to give up because my drill burned out. At first I thought I was just making air bubbles but upon further investigation (and dropping it) it still has CO2 dissolved in it... I am using a degassing rod with an electric drill. and yes it is done fermenting... its SG is .994 before I added preservatives and the F-pack. :smack:

please help!

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Go to the liquor store and buy a similar wine (one that you'd like to drink), top up with that. That will be fine.

The wine will degas over time without your help if your willing to leave it in secondary for a good amount of bulk aging. This won't hurt things at all.

 

[acafro]

Even though it hasn't cleared yet?

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[Thunder_Chicken]

Yes.

 

[acafro]

Thank you! Any idea on the degassing?? It seems awfully excessive to me...

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[sljohnson]

You could add water to top it off, but that will dilute the alcohol percentage and the wine wont taste right, at least that is my experience. Adding a store bought similar wine to it might be a good idea, never tried it. In the past I have went below the neck of the carboy and I really havn't noticed any bad effects. I know that you want to reduce that amount of surface area of the wine exposed to oxygen. But, if you plan on drinking this wine over the next year I think you are fine leaving it as it is.

 

[sljohnson]

Your really shouldn't degas the wine until you are close to bottling, if you are? I usually degas my wine about a week before I bottle it and I degas over two or three days, 3 to 4 times per day. I do 3-4 degassing session per day for about 15 minutes each. This might be a little excessive, but it ensures that you will not blow your corks. I knew a guy who didn't degas at all and bottled at about 60 degrees. Then he stored the bottles in his basement at about 75 degrees. The movement of the wine as it was bottled and the temperature increase cause enough of the CO2 to come out of solution and after two days all of the corks on his bottles blew. Made one hell of a mess. Just something to be aware of.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Thank you! Any idea on the degassing?? It seems awfully excessive to me...

Have you added the preservatives and F-pack? You may have additional clarifiers to add as well, depending on your kit. If the instructions say to add these things now, do so, then top off with wine.

Some residual fermentation may occur so I wouldn't worry about perfect degassing at this point. If you can borrow a drill in the next day or so, get it and degas as well as you can. Then let the wine sit for at least two weeks. If it is not clear, wait another 7 days. If it is not clear after 7 days, wait another 7 days.

As I said, if you can't degas any better, the wine will generally degas on its own, it will just take some time. More time never hurts in wine.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Your really shouldn't degas the wine until you are close to bottling, if you are?

No, you generally degas right after fermentation ends when the preservatives and clarifiers are added in these kits. He still has a ways to go before bottling.

 

[acafro]

Yes, fermentation has ended, I added the preservatives, f-pack, and clearing agent nothing else to add now, just wait and bottle and wait.... I followed the instructions that came with the kit, but it says in big bold letter that if I don't degas completely it won't clear. So I was worried. I'll degas it some again in a few days when i can get another drill and then let it sit and see how it does. Thanks for the help guys. Makes me feel a little better... I thought I had messed it up.

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[Thunder_Chicken]

Nope, you're good. Very few things in wine or beer brewing are emergencies. Time is usually on your side.