I was able to get 29 bottles of each wine this time around.  I’ve found that I’m not in favor of topping off the carboy before bottling.  I think that adding even a slight amount of water thins the body of the wine out too much.  I’d rather sacrifice one bottle per batch to get a more robust wine.

Both wines had gone through fermentation and reached dryness.  They were both settling quite nicely and aging away in the basement.  This coming weekend I will be bottling the remaining 2 batches of wine that are fining…the Merlot and the Riesling.

Next weekend, I will rack the wine into a carboy for the second phase (MLF) of fermentation.  No pic… because its the same as last time. 

Regarding the degassing. I received a response from my latest YouTube video about over-degassing. One person suggests that over-whipping can introduce too much oxygen into the wine and cause it to oxidize. I’ve not yet had a problem with this, but would be interested in hearing what others thought on the matter.

After degassing, I re-racked all of the wine into their respective carboys where they will sit and settle (fining) over the course of the next month or so until they are bottled. Instructions tell you that you can bottle within a couple weeks. I find that it is much clearer after a month. So… I wait.

Starting with a specific gravity of 1.080 (after adding 2 lbs of sugar to the must) and a temp of 75 degrees F, I added some Premier Cuvee wine yeast, and we are off to the races. The kit came with some oak chips which are added during primary fermentation as well.

My guess is that it will ferment for about 7 days before it reaches a good gravity for racking. I look for it to reach around 1.030 or so before racking it off the sediment (lees). Then, I will rack the wine into a carboy (better bottle) for the next phase of fermentation.

The wine I bottle yesterday was more full-bodied.  One of the mistakes that I had been making before today was topping off the carboys as they sat during clearing.  That had an effect of watering down the wine too much.  Sure, I wanted to get a full 30 bottles…but really, I was getting 29 bottles stretched into 30 bottles.  The other thing is that I have been more careful to leave behind more of the sediment in the carboys at racking, reducing the amount of wine that I have to bottle, but keeping a much more refined wine.  Makes sense.

I’ve also decided that I’m going to stay with #8 corks with the hand-corker that I have.  Though I can get a #9 cork into the bottle with the hand-corker, it is much more work, and I’m not sure it is worth it. 

So this batch of Pinot Noir has an alcohol percentage of 13.3% alcohol by volume.  Perfect.  As I bottled, of course, I tatsted the wine and smelled it.  It has a wonderfully smooth taste, with a clean finish.  After a couple months of aging, this wine will definitely be at the top of my favorites list.

Using the degassing wand with my cordless drill, I whipped both wines into a grand froth and added the potassium sorbate and the potassium metabisulphite.   Then, I added the isinglass that comes with the kit, and right away you can see how the gelatin attaches to the sediment and starts to precipitate to the bottom of the carboy.

I’ve noticed that after degassing wines, they tend to be more full, at least in volume.  Not sure why that is…but, it seems to make more wine.  I actually had some of the wine left over in the secondary container I used to whip it.

Now, the wines will sit for a few more weeks until they are ready to be bottled.

Like the previous batch, I bought this kit from Vintners’ Reserve.  I got a good deal on it too…NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT.

I added the bentonite and the juice, brought the temperature up to 72 degrees F and added water.  The specific gravity was low, at only 1.072, so I added sugar to bring that up.  I’ve learned in the past that in a 6 gallon container, 2 lbs of sugar will bring the gravity up around .010 – which is exactly what happened when I added 2 lbs.  I wanted to get it up closer to 1.090 at the start, so I added a third pound of sugar.  That brought it up to 1.088 (good enough).  That will yield a wine with alcohol content of 11.5%.  Perfect.  I also got a new scale for Christmas…making the measurement a real snap.  Thanks Ginger!

Now, we wait.  About a week from today, I’ll check the progress and probably rack into a secondary carboy container.

The Malbec is a real fruity flavor with a smooth finish.  Strong oak flavor is very nice on the palate.  I was able to create some nice labels and now the wine will age in the cellar…for as long as I can hold off on drinking it.

 :)