Hi all,

I made some tomato wine a couple of months back, it's been racked
twice now, and is pretty much crystal clear, and is making absolutely
no bubbles at all. I've decided that because it's so clear, I'll
bottle it soon after christmas.

Question is, seeing as the wine has not peeped so much as a bubble in
the last two weeks, is there a need to stabilise the wine before
bottling it?

cheers
jon.

It might help us to know how old the wine is, and what's your final SG?
Darlene

"hammerstein" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I made some tomato wine a couple of months back, it's been racked
twice now, and is pretty much crystal clear, and is making absolutely
no bubbles at all. I've decided that because it's so clear, I'll
bottle it soon after christmas.

Question is, seeing as the wine has not peeped so much as a bubble in
the last two weeks, is there a need to stabilise the wine before
bottling it?

cheers
jon.

On Fri, 05 Dec 2003 13:19:18 GMT, "Dar V" wrote:

It might help us to know how old the wine is, and what's your final SG?
Darlene

Sorry, I don't have the readings here at work, but I seem to recall
that the SG was 0.992 or thereabouts. I started it about 6 or 7 weeks
ago, and racked it off the sediment about 3 weeks ago, as it had
stopped fermenting and was very clear already.

I appreciate it may be a little early to consider bottling it, but
it'll be about 10 or 11 weeks old after christmas, and it hasn't blown
a bubble or dropped any sediment in 3 weeks.

HTH.

Cheers,
Jon.

That's pretty young yet. I make it a rule not to bottle anything until it
is at least 7 months old, because most fruit and vegetable wines can benefit
from bulk aging. And they can get better if you let them bottle age as
well. On the other hand, it all depends on the particular wine though.
Where did you get your recipe? Did they say it could be bottled this young?
Darlene

"hammerstein" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 05 Dec 2003 13:19:18 GMT, "Dar V" wrote:

It might help us to know how old the wine is, and what's your final SG?
Darlene

Sorry, I don't have the readings here at work, but I seem to recall
that the SG was 0.992 or thereabouts. I started it about 6 or 7 weeks
ago, and racked it off the sediment about 3 weeks ago, as it had
stopped fermenting and was very clear already.

I appreciate it may be a little early to consider bottling it, but
it'll be about 10 or 11 weeks old after christmas, and it hasn't blown
a bubble or dropped any sediment in 3 weeks.

HTH.

Cheers,
Jon.

With an SG that low it should not need stabilizing. But I agree with
Darlene, it is really young for bottling. Even if it is clear it could
throw some sediment of some sort. Besides, it will age better in bulk.
Check tomato wine recipes on Jack's site. He is one of the best sources I
have found for how young a wine should be bottled or drunk.

Ray

"hammerstein" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 05 Dec 2003 13:19:18 GMT, "Dar V" wrote:

It might help us to know how old the wine is, and what's your final SG?
Darlene

Sorry, I don't have the readings here at work, but I seem to recall
that the SG was 0.992 or thereabouts. I started it about 6 or 7 weeks
ago, and racked it off the sediment about 3 weeks ago, as it had
stopped fermenting and was very clear already.

I appreciate it may be a little early to consider bottling it, but
it'll be about 10 or 11 weeks old after christmas, and it hasn't blown
a bubble or dropped any sediment in 3 weeks.

HTH.

Cheers,
Jon.

On Fri, 5 Dec 2003 12:17:31 -0600, "Dar V" wrote:

That's pretty young yet. I make it a rule not to bottle anything until it
is at least 7 months old, because most fruit and vegetable wines can benefit
from bulk aging. And they can get better if you let them bottle age as
well. On the other hand, it all depends on the particular wine though.
Where did you get your recipe? Did they say it could be bottled this young?
Darlene

Cheers Darlene (and Ray).

I can't remember where I got the recipe from, but I printed it out,
and it says to rack a couple of times (every 30 days), stabilise, wait
10 days then bottle. It does say don't drink it for a good few months
though. I could do with an empty demijohn as well.

I'm all up for waiting, but I'm fairly new to this sport and I'm
probably a little impatient at the moment. The plan with all of the
wine I make will be to bottle, consume half and store the rest for a
long time (6mnths - year).

I mean, how else am I gonna be able to tell how much better it gets in
6 months if I don't drink some NOW!? ;o)

Thanks again though, I'll re-rack after christmas and leave it for as
long as I can.

j.

Are you doing a 1 gallon, 3 gallon, or 5 gallon batch? I do all 1 gallon
batches. Usually, if the gallon is topped up and with no or very little
sediment, I'll get 5 (regular wine bottles) bottles out of it plus 1 glass
of wine leftover to try. I know it is hard to wait. I have 1 bottle left
from my first year of winemaking.
Darlene

"hammerstein" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 5 Dec 2003 12:17:31 -0600, "Dar V" wrote:

That's pretty young yet. I make it a rule not to bottle anything until
it
is at least 7 months old, because most fruit and vegetable wines can
benefit
from bulk aging. And they can get better if you let them bottle age as
well. On the other hand, it all depends on the particular wine though.
Where did you get your recipe? Did they say it could be bottled this
young?
Darlene

Cheers Darlene (and Ray).

I can't remember where I got the recipe from, but I printed it out,
and it says to rack a couple of times (every 30 days), stabilise, wait
10 days then bottle. It does say don't drink it for a good few months
though. I could do with an empty demijohn as well.

I'm all up for waiting, but I'm fairly new to this sport and I'm
probably a little impatient at the moment. The plan with all of the
wine I make will be to bottle, consume half and store the rest for a
long time (6mnths - year).

I mean, how else am I gonna be able to tell how much better it gets in
6 months if I don't drink some NOW!? ;o)

Thanks again though, I'll re-rack after christmas and leave it for as
long as I can.

j.

On Mon, 08 Dec 2003 13:23:00 GMT, "Dar V" wrote:

Are you doing a 1 gallon, 3 gallon, or 5 gallon batch? I do all 1 gallon
batches. Usually, if the gallon is topped up and with no or very little
sediment, I'll get 5 (regular wine bottles) bottles out of it plus 1 glass
of wine leftover to try. I know it is hard to wait. I have 1 bottle left
from my first year of winemaking.
Darlene


It's a 1 gallon batch, it's got no sediment in it at all, and it's
about 1 inch from the bottom of the airlock bung. it's an imperial
gallon though, which might make a difference?

I'm guessing that there's no real need to rack the wine unless it's
dropping sediment, so it might be an idea to leave it be for as long
as possible in its current container (glass demijohn w/ airlock)?

Thanks for the help, it's very much appreciated. Let's hope impatience
doesn't get the better of me; It has an unbeaten record to date. ;o)

j