William Frazier wrote:
> Brian - Beware! If your 6.5 gallon carboy is anything like those in my
> cellar it will hold right at 7 gallons when full to 1/2 inch below the top.
> How many gallons of wine will your kit make? If you need more than a few
> ounces of water to top up your new wine you will adversly affect it. I
> would get some new carboys of assorted sizes, gallon bottles, etc. so you
> can store your new wine in full containers as it ages. I would avoid adding
> any water to the wine. If anything I would add a commercial wine of similar
> type to top up the wine.
>
> I also make beer. I believe winemakers are much more concerned about
> keeping air away from their product than beer makers. However, I think it's
> just as important for beer. I make 6 gallon batches of beer so I'm sure I
> will have a full 5 gallon carboy, topped up to within 1/2 inch of the air
> lock for lagering.
>
> Just say no to oxidation.
>
> Bill Frazier
> Olathe, Kansas USA
>
> "Brian" > wrote in message
> news:trfGd.290$ul4.31@trnddc01...
>
>>Have homebrewed beer for several years with good success. I won a wine
>>kit at our club Christmas Party, a nice Shiraz. The kit calls for
>>secondary in a 6-gallon carboy. All I have is a 6.5 gallon carboy (I
>>thought this was a standard size). Anyway, the kit says to top up to
>>within 2" of the stopper, and I'm wondering if adding that much water is a
>>good thing, or do I risk ruining the wine by not doing so?! Thanks in
>>advance for your help!
>>

Brian, I like your suggestion about the gallon bottles. Perhaps Bill can
get some of those old 4 liter Gallo wine jugs used for their cheaper
wines (Paisano comes to mind), and possibly some half-gallon containers
as well. Avoid plastic milk bottles, they are thin enough to let oxygen
permeate them.

Bottled water typically comes in 5 gallon carboys. I was able to find
some empty ones at Wal-Mart for about 6 bucks each, or you can get
bottled water for about $13 or so in a 5 gallon carboy which includes
the deposit, then just keep the carboy. Keep a lookout for the
old-fashioned glass carboys, I like them better than the plastics (the
smooth sides don't trap sediment like the plastic ones).

It is difficult to predict exactly how much wine you will end up with in
your final aging container, as there will be some loss from wine left
behind with the sediments after siphoning off the clear wine. Small
amounts of this leftover wine are not really worth trying to make
drinkable, but if you are the frugal type and have some Bentonite handy,
you can add about a half-gram per 750 ml bottle to the turbid leftover
liquid. The bentonite will help it settle out, and provide you with some
wine that should be suitable for cooking with.