Hello,
Just out of curiosity, did the 5 gallon jug have a bung and airlock on
it, and did you notice if it was bubbling or not? Sounds like the wine was
being bulk aged for a number of years, it is hard to say if the wine was
stable or not. One would think it would be after that long, but who
knows....
You could leave the bottles as is, but watch them for any signs of
fermentation (bubbles in the bottles). When you decide you'd like to serve
the wine, let the bottle sit upright for a day or so to let the sediment
settle, and then decant the wine before serving.
If you notice fermentation in the bottles, then you need to be concerned
about the corks popping & bottles exploding, and this can be a mess as well
as dangerous. At that point, you could put the bottles in a fridge to slow
down the process, while you decide what you'd like to do.
If you'd like a sweeter wine or you decide you don't want the bottles
with sediment in them, then you could uncork them, and siphon the wine off
the sediment into a 5 gallon jug. If you like the wine as is, then you
could let the wine sit, add 1 crushed campden tablet per gallon, and
stabilize it (potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate/ 1/2 tsp per gallon),
wait 10 days for sediment to drop, and then rebottle. Or you could sweeten,
add 1 crushed campden tablet per gallon, stabilize (potassium sorbate or
sodium benzoate/ 1/2 tsp per gallon), and wait 10 days or more for the
sediment to fall out, and then rebottle.
These are just my suggestions, I would suggest you check out Jack's wine
site http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp . I don't have any wine that
old, so maybe some others will have better insight into dealing with it.
Good-luck.
Darlene


"*Popa Cork*" > wrote in message
k.net...
>I just received a large 5 gallon jug of very excellent 1996 wine made by a
> friend before his passing.
> Going to the local wine specialist store, I bought 24 bottles and corks, a
> cork press, sanitizer and gained just enough knowledge to be dangerous.
> After sanitizing and preparring, I plunged the siphon down into the brew
> (and some of you can see this coming already) and began siphoning via
> la`pump.
> SO now as you can guess I have sediment in each and every one of the
> bottles
> from the mother jug.
> Is it practical or even adisable to open all the bottles again and filter
> the wine before re-bottleing? I don't mind the process so much, but I
> don't want to damage the wine.
> Now I read where potassium sorbate should be added before bottling to
> stabilize it, but how much for 5 gallons?
>
> One fella I talked to said he would *cut* his home brew with white grape
> juice (not canned) to sweetin it if it was too tart. Is that like
> cheating?
>
> Your help is greatly appreciated.
> Cheers!
>
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