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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.

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.

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.

What Went Wrong – Top 10 Wine Making Mistakes #1

March 19th, 2009 by robin in wine making, wine making tips

This is going to be the first in a series of blog articles focusing on wine making problems. One of the best ways to ensure great wine making results is to understand the most common errors people make.

Mistake #1: Inadequate Equipment

Winemaking equipment, such as fermentation pails, carboys and spoons often seems similar to items that may be around the home. However, in many cases, proper wine making equipment and utensils are made of special materials, and this can influence your finished product.

Re-using plastic pails from other sources, like buckets that previously held food products, is always a mistake. The food odors will have sunk into the plastic, and will taint the wine. Also, plastic items not intended for food purposes, such as brand-new garbage pails must never be used for wine making. The pigments, UV protectants and plasticizers (chemicals used to keep the plastic from becoming brittle) will leach into the wine, and could affect your health.

Saving a few dollars by using suspect equipment is not worth it. It is better to invest in good equipment to help ensure the quality of your wine.

Tomorrow Wine Making Mistake #2 – Cleaning and Sanitizing….