Bottled a bit too early, what to do?

[Compact]

So
I left the Beverdale Red Wine in the fermenting bucket for a month or so and have just bottled.
All good, except I forgot to add the Stabiliser and the finings.

What do you advice.

1) Pour back into the bucket (clean and sterilised) and the Stabiliser and finings.
2) Add small amounts of stabiliser and finings to each bottle
3) Do nothing, everything will be ok.

 

[Spud]

I'm sure those more knowledgeable than me will give you a better answer, but we're it my wine, I'd leave it alone. Chances are it's fermented out, leave it somewhere it won't get disturbed, and check periodically, see how it clears. You might get a little bit of sediment at the end of each bottle, but it's not going to do you any harm. Treat it as a learning lesson.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

1) Pour back into the bucket (clean and sterilised) and the Stabiliser and finings.

I assume you didn't degas it so pouring it back into a sterilised FV will help get rid of some of the CO2, you then need to give it a vigorous stir to get as much CO2 out.

2) Add small amounts of stabiliser and finings to each bottle

This wont work as you will end up with lots of sediment in the bottles and measuring such small amounts of finings would be a real pain in the a**e.

3) Do nothing, everything will be ok.

You could do nothing but you would end up with a very dry wine, bottles with lots of sediment in them and the risk of bottle bombs.

 

[tonyhibbett]

I have found the stabiliser and finings are not needed for red wine kits. Red wine clears quite quickly and finings strip out a fair amount of tannin, leaving the wine somewhat bland. Chances are your bottled wine may actually be better as a result.

 

[Compact]

Quick question, decided to go with 1). I'm going to rinse out the bottles, should I re sterilise them? Cheers

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I would, its not worth the risk for the short time it takes to sterilise them.

 

[Compact]

Another quick question. The instructions say "add kieselsol shake, leave for 24hrs. Add chitosan shake, leave for 3-7 days. The wine should be clear"
Do you think I can do both sachets today? What does the 24 hrs bit do?

 

[Compact]

And hopefully final question, can I sterilise bottles now, screw on lids then fill after the 3 to 7 days? Saves lugging it all up to the bathroom again

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Another quick question. The instructions say "add kieselsol shake, leave for 24hrs. Add chitosan shake, leave for 3-7 days. The wine should be clear"
Do you think I can do both sachets today? What does the 24 hrs bit do?

I use "KwiK clear" or "Clear It" finings, you put part A in the DJ and an hour later add part B, 2 days later they are clear.

Yours takes 24 hours because its a different type of finings, you could put them in in the same day but they may not clear your wine.

Have a look at this - https://winemakermag.com/26-a-clearer-understanding-of-fining-agents

 

[Chippy_Tea]

And hopefully final question, can I sterilise bottles now, screw on lids then fill after the 3 to 7 days? Saves lugging it all up to the bathroom again

I always sterilise the day i am bottling but i have found this (part of a long post on bottle cleaning and sterilising) in the forum so it looks like it is OK to do it your way.

bottles go in for total immersion for at least 30 minutes (but more often left overnight), then they get two full-fill hot rinses (left for at least 20 minutes each rinse), are drained and dried inverted then capped with tin foil. I will then leave them for anything up to a month before filling.

 

[jamesw]

I have found the stabiliser and finings are not needed for red wine kits. Red wine clears quite quickly and finings strip out a fair amount of tannin, leaving the wine somewhat bland. Chances are your bottled wine may actually be better as a result.

I have jsut finished my youngs red wine kit, and it is difficult to test for clearing, I have added the supplied finings, but shining a light through it doesnt really come through (unlike lighter rose or white or WOW wines).

How clear does red wine get?

 

[tonyhibbett]

These kits clear completely within 48 hours, so no need to check.

 

[jamesw]

just the youngs cab sav you mean?
because my youngs strawberry and youngs elderflower took ages, i even had to add some vinclear to the strawberry because it didnt clear at all..
my youngs chardonnay is clearing without finings after stabilizer.