For topping up I would suggest sanitised marbles.
They will add volume to the wine but without diluting your wine.
Adding water will dilute and adding an other wine will affect taste
(if it is not the same wine).

Cleaning with water and soda, then rinse and then sanitise with water and
sulphite.

On Fri, 13 Apr 2007 20:26:53 -0700, guy wrote:

On Apr 13, 10:19 pm, "J Scott" wrote:
I'm a newbie and about to start my first batch of wine. I would greatly
appreciate some advice from you guys who have some experience. I'm starting
out with a 3 gallon batch. I have a pretty good understanding of the
primary fermentation. Once I finish my primary and move on to subsequent
rackings, I know I have to monitor specific gravity and etc. using a test
jar and my hydrometer. My first question is this. If my test jar and
hydrometer are cleaned with sulfite solution, is there any reason why I
can't return the wine sample to the carboy provided I keep aeration to a
minimum? If I shouldn't do this then my next question is about topping up
to compensate for the loss of wine. After several checks I'm going to have
less volume over a period of time. If I add water to top up then I'm going
to be changing my acidity, specific gravity and etc. What would you suggest
in regards to topping up to eliminate the air space? Thanks so much for the
suggestions!

By the way... my first wine is going to be apple made with pure juice from
the store. No additives or preservatives. Any veterans of this method have
any tips or advice? Thanks!

Jeff

Jeff,
You don't clean with a sulfite solution, you sanitize. Usually you
rinse with tap water after you sanitize. Yes, you return the wine to
the carboy.

Welcome to home winemaking. Another good site for you is:
http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php

Guy