It is often the case that a vigorous ferment will overcome the fermentation
lock as yours did.
A good idea for the future is to cut a plastic fizzing drinks bottle in
half and then you can put it over the top of the fermentation lock in case
of a minor eruption. It is an extremely good idea to locate your fermenting
musts in an area that is not surrounded by your favourite furnishings. There
will always be a situation sooner or later where an accident will occur and
you will have a spoiling result --- especially with red wine! if you have a
utilities room that is not overheated that might be a good place.beware of
having your fermenting must in a place which it too warm. Do follow the
recommended temperature in your instructions -- cooler is better than
warmer---- it will just take longer to ferment out if it is cooler

You don't say whether this is your first kit (we all had a first time you
know) and I expect that you are wanting to drink this wine this Christmas
time. The kit is at the cheaper end of the kit wines available at about £18
I would really strongly suggest that next time you go up one level to round
about £30/£40 per kit -- Beaverdale, Grande Maison Reserve and so on. You
will be amazed at the increased quality in the end product especially in red
wine kits. The latest red wine kit that I bought in UK cost me £100 for a 23
litre/5 gallon(imp) kit!

Now to check the state of your wine for having cleared. The easiest way is
to siphon off just a glassful ( wineglass not pint glass) and examine it
against a suitable lit background. Do not put your siphon tube all the way
to the bottom of your carboy. If it is clear then you can bottle it for
imminent consumption.
It is often difficult to see through red wines in 5 gallon carboys ( a
little laser will do it). I am assuming that you have added finings and had
not been moving the carboy around That being the case almost certainly the
wine will be clear. If it hasn't cleared then keep it in a cool place for
another couple of weeks ( I would suggest also that you top it up with some
similar wine also)
Could you tell me what the final Specific gravity is? Are you able to check
this? If not it doesn't matter and don't worry about it.


Do you have a second carboy of the same size? I hope so because it is a
very good idea to rack from the existing carboy into the clean one --
carefully ensuring that none of the lees at the bottom of your carboy are
disturbed and go into the new vessel. Just be very careful and don't worry
about wasting a bit of your wine. This helps a lot when you are bottling so
that then you don't have to worry about the lees any more
Then you can do one of two things

1 Bottle, cork and label and start to drink as and when.

or

2. Dissolve a couple of crushed campden tablets in a little of the wine and
then add to the new carboy.. Top up the new carboy with wine of a similar
type ( from the supermarket!) to about 1 inch of the bung and let it sit for
another month before bottling --- and then bottle it. It will be much
better!

Hope that helps. It is a bit brief and basic.



--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire, England
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"Mike" > wrote in message
...
>I have a Grande Maison wine kit, as shown here...
> http://www.diamalt.co.uk/standardwine.htm
>
> I followed the instructions to the letter, however, all is not
> well. During fermentation, the wine expanded through the airlock
> and went all over our nice new ~cream~ carpet (I kid you not). So
> I poured some away, cleaned up the mess and left it to continue.
>
> About three weeks ago I added the sachet of clearing agent and it
> has been standing ever since. The instructions say to bottle the
> wine once it has cleared and suggests this should happen after
> about two weeks. Mine is ~very~ dark and while is does not appear
> cloudy or murky in any way, it is not translucent. A torch-light
> will not pass though. Also, I left about a 3cm gap at the top of
> the demijohn after the accident, should I top that up with water?
>
> I'm a bit lost with this TBH, so any help appreciated etc.
>
> Mike.