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The Thief That Always Gives Back

April 17th, 2009 by robin in wine making

The wine thief is a wonderful tool that makes it easy to take a small sample of your wine while it is in the carboy. You can use this sample to test the specific gravity of your wine or even for tasting. While you slowly submerge the wine thief into the carboy the wine begins to fill the tube. As soon as you lift the thief out of the wine the special tip traps the wine in the 19″ long tube. The tube is large enough to actually fit a standard hydrometer so you are able to instantly get a specific gravity reading without having to use a separate test jar. When you are done with the sample of wine you can neatly return it back to the carboy by pressing the tip against the neck of the carboy. No mess, no lost wine – unless of course you touch the tip to the inside of a glass to sample instead of returning it to the carboy.

The Bottle Filler Tip – A Tip You won’t forget

April 16th, 2009 by robin in wine making

We discussed auto siphons and their usefulness in the winemaking process. For the home winemaker who doesn’t wish to invest in a bottling machine or fancy bottling equipment there is a small inexpensive tip you won’t want to miss out on – the bottle filler tip.

Bottle Filler Tip

The bottle filler tip is a small hard plastic tube which it approximately 15″ in length. It fits into the opposite end of the tubing from your auto siphon or racking cane. It has a small black pressure sensitive end on it. When the black tip is depressed against the bottom or side of a bottle the wine will flow through it. As soon as you lift up and the pressure is released, the wine flow is stopped. This allows for a very controlled flow of wine into your bottles so you can have precise filling with minimal spillage.

Considering you may already have an auto siphon or racking cane in your stash of wine making supplies this is an extremely cheap addition. The bottle filler tip can be found for under $5.00 each so it is hard to argue against using it.

Up next, something that looks like a giant version of a bottle filler tip – the wine thief.

Auto Siphons – Moving the Wine

April 15th, 2009 by robin in wine making

We have discussed many pieces of equipment that are “must haves” when making your own wine. Some may say that today’s topic – the auto siphon isn’t necessary, but I argue that it makes things so much easier that making wine without it is just silly.

Auto Siphon

Some home winemakers use only a racking cane and tubing to transfer their wine. Technically, this method works just as well. However in order to get the wine moving, one must use their mouth on the free end of the tubing to create the suction. When making wine we work so hard to keep things sanitary. Therefore, I believe that using your mouth on one of the pieces of equipment simply throws all that hard work out the window, especially when there is something just as simple and cost effective that is much more sanitary.

An auto siphon, pictured above, is a hard tube with a cane that fits inside it and a removable cap for the bottom. When used in conjunction with the appropriate sized tubing, you can quickly create a suction that allows you to effortlessly transfer your wine (or any liquid for that matter) from one location to another. You simply insert the bottom of the siphon in the wine and the end of the tubing in the empty container to which you want to transfer; this could be a sanitized carboy or even a bottle. The action to start the suction is to pull up on the cane inside the tube and then pushing down quickly. This immediately creates the flow of wine through the tubing – you do not need to pump the cane, simply move it 1 or 2 times and you are done. One other fact I’d like to point out is that you do not need to drastically draw up on the inside cane. If you pull the cane beyond the surface of the liquid in which the auto siphon is submerged you are no longer building pressure inside the tube. You only need to draw the cane up slightly to get it to work.

An auto siphon also can make quick work of bottling your wine with the addition of a bottling tip. This is an economical and easy way for a home winemaker to bottle a batch of wine. We will discuss this nifty tool in our next article.

Hydrometers & Specific Gravity

April 8th, 2009 by robin in wine making

A hydrometer is a tool that every winemaker should own. It is a small graduated tube which usually has three (3) scales, Specific Gravity, Brix Scale, and Alcohol Potential on it. Hydrometers are also available containing a thermometer. If you are not planning on purchasing a separate thermometer, then I recommend that you purchase a hydrometer that has one. The temperature is important when it comes to ensuring your must is within the proper range for healthy fermentation.

One can get extremely technical with a hydrometer and the readings it can provide. For the majority of home winemakers, however, there are just some basics that you need to understand to make sure your wine is progressing properly. For that we need to focus on the specific gravity scale. For those of you that are already asking, “specific what?” The specific gravity is the density of a liquid compared to water. I know, that definition may not have helped, but it really is not complicated if you’ve ever been swimming in the ocean and a pool. When you go swimming in the ocean, it is much easier to float than when you are in a pool. This is because the salt in the ocean makes the water more dense, therefore it has a higher specific gravity.

So carrying this analogy over to winemaking, when you float the hydrometer in an unfermented juice the sugar content allows the hydrometer to float high. As the wine ferments, the amount of sugar present decreases and the hydrometer floats lower giving a lower specific gravity reading. Now some may be saying that the temperature of the liquid affects your specific gravity readings and adjustments should be made. Technically, this is true since the Specific Gravity scale on the hydrometer is based upon water at 60°F. However, the adjustments for temperature are minimal and for the basic home winemaker, you simply want to know that your wine is fermenting properly and when it is time for the next step. As such, I don’t feel it is necessary to be that worried about it.

Finally, the other information you may want to know is roughly what is the alcohol content of your final wine. This can be determined through a simple calculation. If you take your starting specific gravity and subtract the specific gravity after you clear/stabilize your wine and divide that number by 0.736 and multiply by 100 you will have a good estimate of your alcohol percentage.

[SG (begin) - SG (final)] / 0.736 * 100 = % Alcohol

As I said, we have only brushed the surface of the hydrometer, but if you understand this much you be well on your way.

Bungs, Stoppers & Closures – Say What?

April 3rd, 2009 by robin in wine making

Regardless of what you call them bungs, stoppers or closures – you need them. They aren’t usually given any attention, but where would wine making be without them? For one thing, if you didn’t have one where would you put your airlock? Seriously, these items are important. They work in conjunction with air locks to ensure an air-tight seal at the neck of your carboy, keeping your wine healthy and safe.

The thing we really need to discuss when it comes to bungs is size. They are given number sizes that can sometimes be confusing if you don’t know what they mean. Below please find a chart that will help you find the right size stopper for your carboy or jug.

Size	Top Diameter (in.)	Bottom Diameter (in.)
2	3/4	5/8
3	15/16	3/4
4	1	3/4
5	1 1/6	29/32
5.5	1 1/8	1
6	1 1/8	1 1/16
6.5	1 3/8	1 1/8
7	1 7/16	1 3/16
7.5	1 1/2	1 1/4
8	1 5/8	1 3/8
8.5	1 11/16	1 7/16
9	1 3/4	1 15/32
9.5	1 13/16	1 1/2
10	1 15/16	1 5/8
10.5	2 1/16	1 3/4
11	2 1/4	1 15/16
11.5	2 1/2	2
12	2 9/16	2 1/8
13	2 11/16	2 5/16
14	3 1/2	3
15	4	3 1/4

There are several “universal” stopper sizes that you don’t have to worry about measuring for. There is a small, medium and large of these and they come in drilled and undrilled forms. The small generally fits glass carboys. The medium usually fits Better Bottle carboys and the large are designed to fit larger demi-johns and barrels. Their dimensions are as follows:

Size	Top Diameter (in.)	Bottom Diameter (in.)
small	1 8/16	1 2/16
medium	1 12/16	1 7/16
Large	2 4/16	1 14/16

So regardless of whether you choose to call it a bung, stopper or closure, please give this piece of equipment the respect it deserves. We would be lost without it.

Tomorrow we will discuss hydrometers.

Better-Bottle PET Carboys – How Do They Compare?

April 2nd, 2009 by robin in wine making

6 Gallon Better Bottle Carboy

We all agree that carboys are a vital part of your wine making equipment. First, it is important to answer the question, “What is a Better-Bottle^® carboy and why is it different from what I see at the water cooler?” As the Better-Bottle^® website tells us Better Bottle carboys are made of special polyethylene terephthalate copolymer (PET) , which is very different from other plastics. These carboys are designed specifically with wine and beer making in mind and the manufacturer has done extensive testing in this capacity. Other plastic bottles have a similar shape, but they are made of either polyethylene & , polyvinyl chloride , polypropylene , polystyrene, or polycarbonate (the plastic made from Bisphenol-A, BPA). There has been a great deal of news coverage about these plastics in the past year or so with respect to their use in re-useable water bottles and their possible hazards. Beyond that these plastics are extremely permeable, as a result they will not keep oxygen from getting to your wine.

The biggest advantage to Better Bottle carboys compared to glass is that they are not breakable. Not only will your wine be safe in it, but you can’t get cut or injured by dropping it. Running a close second has to be the weight. A Better Bottle carboy weighs about 10x less than a glass carboy. That makes it substantially easier to move around without jostling your wine too much. Finally, as we discussed yesterday in our discussion of glass carboys, Better Bottle carboys are less expensive. A 6-gallon Better Bottle carboy can be almost half the cost of a 6-gallon glass carboy.

Tomorrow we will discuss, bungs and stoppers.

Carboys – Everyone Needs A Couple

April 1st, 2009 by robin in wine making

A carboy is the container used most during wine making. They come in various sizes, but are most common in 3 gallon, 5 gallon and 6 gallon. Carboys have a narrow neck with a small opening at the top for a stopper and an airlock. Carboys are primarily made of glass or PET plastic, commonly known as the brand name Better Bottles. There are constant debates as to which form is better, glass or plastic. Frankly, there are advantages and disadvantages to both and which you choose is personal preference. Today, let’s first discuss glass carboys.

Glass carboys clean and sanitize easily. They are scratch resistant and definitely are not capable of transferring any chemicals from within the glass itself. Conversely, there are three major drawbacks to glass carboys. First, glass carboys are substantially heavier than their Better Bottle counterparts, which brings us right to the fact that they are breakable. There can be nothing more disappointing or upsetting than waiting patiently for your wine to ferment and mature only to struggle lifting the carboy during a step and drop it; the carboy then breaks and wine goes everywhere. Finally, there is the matter of price. In 2008, Italy became the only country manufacturing glass carboys. This has resulted in a substantial rise in glass carboy pricing. One should expect that a new 6 gallon glass carboy should cost somewhere around $40-$50 US.

Tomorrow we will look at the other side of things and discuss Better Bottle PET Carboys.

Air Locks – What are they and why use them?

March 31st, 2009 by robin in wine making

We have already discussed primary fermentation containers. Today, let’s talk about air locks. An airlock is a device used to prevent outside materials from entering into your wine, yet lets the carbon dioxide gas created during fermentation to escape. This is important to prevent a build-up of carbon dioxide in the fermentation container which can result in a messy loss of your wine all over the room.

Different Types of Airlocks: 3-piece Economy, Tripple Ripple & Dry-Tap

Different Types of Airlocks: 3-piece Economy, Triple Ripple & Dry-Tap

Basically, an airlock is a glass or plastic tubular piece that has one end that inserts into the bung of your fermentation container or carboy and another end with a cap that allows the carbon dioxide escape. The airlock is usually marked with a fill-line to show how much liquid to insert. Winemaker opinions vary on what type of liquid to use in an airlock. Some people use vodka, other use everclear, but water is most common and is really all that is necessary. It is the carbon dioxide moving through the liquid during fermentation that provides the wonderful bubbling sound that winemakers have come to love.

In addition to the liquid airlocks, there is also a dry-tap airlock made specifically to work with the Better Bottle Carboy system. This airlock does not use liquid, but simply has a tiny ball inside that covers the hole. As carbon dioxide is released it pushes the ball up, allowing it to escape. When there is no carbon dioxide moving outward, the ball sits firmly in the hole preventing anything from getting inside.

Tomorrow we will discuss Carboys.

Primary Fermentation Containers

March 30th, 2009 by robin in wine making

Typical Primary Fermentation Container

We are starting our series on wine making equipment with the Primary Fermentation container since this is where the wine making process begins. Whether you are working from grapes, or juice, or some other fruit you will need a container in which it can begin to ferment. Generally speaking, these containers tend to be made from food-grade plastic and can hold a minimum of 3 gallons of must. We strongly recommend purchasing a container from your local wine supply store specifically made for this purpose to avoid problems.

Your local wine supply store generally carries a 7.8 gallon or 7.9 gallon fermentation pail that will suit most purposes. These pails or buckets are great since they have a wide openings so you can stir easily to mix all your ingredients prior to pitching your yeast. Often primary fermentation containers come with a lid that fits firmly on the top and has a hole where you can insert airlock. We recommend using a lid to prevent unwanted materials and creepy-crawlies from entering into your wine. If your lid does not have a hole you will want to add one since if you simply seal the container the carbon dioxide will build up inside, unable to escape, and eventually may burst.

Next, we will discuss the different types of airlocks.

How to Get Started Making Your Own Wine

March 29th, 2009 by robin in wine making

It is often the first thing people ask, “I always wanted to make my own wine, but I didn’t know how. What do I need to get started?” There is so much information out there that it can be overwhelming to the beginning and sometimes walking into your local wine equipment supply store can be intimidating if you don’t know what you are looking for or what things are. For this reason, we have decided it was important to discuss the equipment you truly need, and maybe a few we strongly recommend to make life easier, to start making your own wine. By the time we are done with this new series of posts, we hope you will have the knowledge to evaluate the various levels of Wine Making Equipment Kits out there to determine which is best for you. We will discuss it all from primary fermentation containers, to airlocks, carboys – glass & better bottles, to corkers, corks and bottle fillers. If there is a particular part you are looking for information on or have been debating purchasing, please let us know so we can address it.

We will start tomorrow with Primary Fermentation Containers.

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