Forgot the second part of the question...

And what happens if I don't top it off and
leave more than 2" from the bottom of the bung.
I suppose this would expose a greater
area of the wine to the atmosphere inside the carboy,
but is this going to destroy my batch?




--
Bob Becker

www.becker.org

Absolutely top it off. Yes - you can ruin an otherwise good wine by not
keeping your wine topped off. I top off to less than 1" of the bottom of the
bung.

As for the 'goo' - use a good wine, something similar in style to what
you're making. Once you're making a lot of wine, it gets easier; you have
some of last years' handy, and topping off becomes an exuces to 'test' some
last years' vintage. :-)

Personally, I think that especially when using carboys topping off with
water is a crime; punishable by a life sentence of drinking white zinfandel.



"Bob Becker" > wrote in message
...
> Forgot the second part of the question...
>
> And what happens if I don't top it off and
> leave more than 2" from the bottom of the bung.
> I suppose this would expose a greater
> area of the wine to the atmosphere inside the carboy,
> but is this going to destroy my batch?
>
>
>
>
> --
> Bob Becker
>
> www.becker.org
>

On 6/29/2006 4:32 PM, Bob Becker wrote:
> Forgot the second part of the question...
>
> And what happens if I don't top it off and
> leave more than 2" from the bottom of the bung.
> I suppose this would expose a greater
> area of the wine to the atmosphere inside the carboy,
> but is this going to destroy my batch?


Bob,

Inadequate topping exposes your wine to oxygen, which can oxidize your
wine and also provide food for oxygen loving bacteria. Top off per the
directions.


Cheers,
Ken

What if topping off means that you're going to have ~7 gal. of wine (6.5
Gal. carboy) when the recipe is for a 6 gal batch. Won't you have a
dilute wine? I've used 6 gal kits. When everything is added in to make
up 6 gal. there is still a lot of head space in a 6.5 gal carboy, and a
5 gal. carboy won't hold it all. In a 6.5 gal carboy it would take at
least another gal of liquid to get within 2" of the bung.

mail box wrote:

>
>
> Bob,
>
> Inadequate topping exposes your wine to oxygen, which can oxidize your
> wine and also provide food for oxygen loving bacteria. Top off per the
> directions.
>
>
> Cheers,
> Ken

That is why you need to get a 6 gallon carboy.

You undergo primary in the 6.5 and then transfer to a 6 gallon carboy
and top up.


RomeoMike wrote:
> What if topping off means that you're going to have ~7 gal. of wine (6.5
> Gal. carboy) when the recipe is for a 6 gal batch. Won't you have a
> dilute wine? I've used 6 gal kits. When everything is added in to make
> up 6 gal. there is still a lot of head space in a 6.5 gal carboy, and a
> 5 gal. carboy won't hold it all. In a 6.5 gal carboy it would take at
> least another gal of liquid to get within 2" of the bung.
>
> mail box wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Bob,
> >
> > Inadequate topping exposes your wine to oxygen, which can oxidize your
> > wine and also provide food for oxygen loving bacteria. Top off per the
> > directions.
> >
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Ken

How about shooting CO2 into the head-space to displace the O2?

Droopy wrote:
> That is why you need to get a 6 gallon carboy.
>
> You undergo primary in the 6.5 and then transfer to a 6 gallon carboy
> and top up.
>
>

RomeoMike wrote:
> How about shooting CO2 into the head-space to displace the O2?
>
You can certainly do that but unless you are sure you got all the air
out you can't guarantee it will work. The goal is to exclude oxygen.
If you do this, bubble it into the wine.

As others have said, topping with dry wine is the way to go. It's
foolproof, it can't fail unless you use something sweetened with
sorbate which could make a targeted dry wine a little sweet if a lot is
used. (Commercial wines rarely if ever use sorbate.)

I use the little ring at the top of the carboy shoulder/neck interface
as a guide. I keep the level at least to that ring, never below. I
rarely let a wine drop more than an inch below the bung, especially in
a barrel.

If you don't have any wine even a cheap box wine is better than water.
It will make you appreciate your efforts all the more. I have yet to
make a wine that did not compare favorably to most box wines. (The
Australians put some very good wines in boxes. I am not comparing to
that, I mean more the Almaden and Peter Vella styles. They have their
place too, many like them and that is all that matters. My personal
preference is not to that style.)

Joe

On 6/29/2006 11:46 PM, RomeoMike wrote:
> What if topping off means that you're going to have ~7 gal. of wine (6.5
> Gal. carboy) when the recipe is for a 6 gal batch. Won't you have a
> dilute wine? I've used 6 gal kits. When everything is added in to make
> up 6 gal. there is still a lot of head space in a 6.5 gal carboy, and a
> 5 gal. carboy won't hold it all. In a 6.5 gal carboy it would take at
> least another gal of liquid to get within 2" of the bung.
>
> mail box wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Bob,
>>
>> Inadequate topping exposes your wine to oxygen, which can oxidize your
>> wine and also provide food for oxygen loving bacteria. Top off per
>> the directions.
>>
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Ken

RomeoMike,

As with everything else in life, a little common sense needs to be
applied. I agree completely that topping up a 6 gallon batch with a
gallon or more of water is a solution that does not make sense.

If you don't have the proper carboys, go get them. Or rack into your
existing 5 gallon carboy, and rack the remainder into one or more gallon
cider jugs or 2-3 gallon carboys. Or top off with a finished wine, or
with young wine from another batch you have in production. Or don't
dilute the wine initially, but only upon racking. Or dilute partially
before pitching, and partially afterwards, in a proportion that works
for your carboys. Or do any of a number of other things which make
sense. The wine will wait.


Cheers,
Ken

And there's always the option of using sanitized marbles to displace
the wine to where you want it (but adding them to a glass carboy would
be exceedingly dangerous). If you have a hose slightly larger than the
marble (very slightly) you can run it down to the bottom of your
carboy, feed the marbles into the hose, and the wine having to slip
between the marble and the hose should slow it down. Just a thought,
havent tried it myself.

Bob Becker wrote:
> Forgot the second part of the question...
>
> And what happens if I don't top it off and
> leave more than 2" from the bottom of the bung.
> I suppose this would expose a greater
> area of the wine to the atmosphere inside the carboy,
> but is this going to destroy my batch?
>
>
>
>
> --
> Bob Becker
>
> www.becker.org

I have used marbles before. They are okay. Several issues:

1. Getting enough marbles to displace a gallon or two can get kind of
expensive, depends on if you can find big bags. Most I found were intended
for the game marbles and only came with 10-20 in the pack. Try a craft
store for big bags.

2. They work great once they are in, just make sure you let the carboy
sit somewhere where you can siphon from. The minute you try to pick up a
carboy full of 100 marbles, any kind of sediment you have is going to be
instantly mixed back in to your wine. I used to just let it settle on a
high table so I could rack with no movement.

I never had any problems adding them to a glass carboy. The marbles
were pretty small and light compared to the heavy glass of the carboy. They
may not work all the time, but have saved me in a pinch when I am making a
wine that I don't have anything to top up with.

Bryan


"Mr. Wolfie" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> And there's always the option of using sanitized marbles to displace
> the wine to where you want it (but adding them to a glass carboy would
> be exceedingly dangerous). If you have a hose slightly larger than the
> marble (very slightly) you can run it down to the bottom of your
> carboy, feed the marbles into the hose, and the wine having to slip
> between the marble and the hose should slow it down. Just a thought,
> havent tried it myself.
>
> Bob Becker wrote:
>> Forgot the second part of the question...
>>
>> And what happens if I don't top it off and
>> leave more than 2" from the bottom of the bung.
>> I suppose this would expose a greater
>> area of the wine to the atmosphere inside the carboy,
>> but is this going to destroy my batch?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Bob Becker
>>
>> www.becker.org
>

That's a great suggestion --- wish I had thought if it before; definitely
gonna get a bag of marbles into the winery asap.



> And there's always the option of using sanitized marbles to displace
> the wine to where you want it (but adding them to a glass carboy would
> be exceedingly dangerous). If you have a hose slightly larger than the
> marble (very slightly) you can run it down to the bottom of your
> carboy, feed the marbles into the hose, and the wine having to slip
> between the marble and the hose should slow it down. Just a thought,
> havent tried it myself.
>