Bob is exactly right. The best way to top up is to not do it. Go to
smaller carboys. Another way, and I am not sure I like this one, is to make
it stronger than you want so you can cop up with water and end up at the
right place. In other words, use more fruit and more sugar for a higher
alcohol level. I would rather make it at the right level and then just use
the right size carboys. I have lots of carboys. 13, 6.5, 6, 5, 3, 2.8, 1,
4/5, and 1/2. Sometimes I have to top up the last one but it gets mixed
back in and that does not effect the whole batch very much.

Ray

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Your learning already and don't even know it. That's why it's so hard
> to give advice Russ, you ALWAYS forget something. That something is,
> always make enough wine to fill at least 1 thing to the top. If you
> made exactly 5 gallons and your going to use a 5 gallon carboy to to
> store it, you probably didn't make enough. Now, you could use the
> blueberry wine you have BUT you could also use gallon jugs instead of a
> 5 gallon carboy and break up the last ( part of the 5th gallon) gallon
> into magnums and wine bottle size increments. If your hell bent on the
> carboy then use the blueberry wine to top up. Don't forget, next time
> you rack you'll run into the same problem. It's always good to have
> muliple increments of wine around to top up.
>
> Bob
>
> wrote:
>> As some of you may now know, I'm in the first week of making 5
> gallons
>> of blueberry wine from oregon puree. This weekend, I will do my
> first
>> racking process.
>>
>> My question is, when I "top up", should I just use distilled water?
> I
>> don't want to throw the flavor off by adding some oddball wine. I do
>> have a bottle of blueberry wine that I haven't opened yet that I
>> bought. Should I just use that? Or would water be OK?
>