Wilko's 6 bottle Cab Sauv: A 'newbie' needs a lot of help!

[leegalvin]

Hello all!

I'm Lee, 30 year old Devonian, attempting to engage in a new hobby/obsession. I am brand new to home wine-making, so have started with the very basic beginner's kit from Wilkinson's. As a pretty enthusiastic red drinker (though far from an expert), I went with the Cabernet Sauvignon.

Until now, I have literally followed the kit's every instruction step-by-step - as a side-note, a funnel would have been very useful in those early stages (brewing sugar everywhere) - and am now at the fiddly stage...

After reading a few things online, I decided to add a second demijohn into the equation (something not in the Wilko's instructions). I also tracked down some siphon tubing with a sediment foot, and a pack of campden tablets. I'm now at the stage where the fermentation had slowed down to maybe one bubble in the airlock every 15 mins or so (only some more if I swilled the wine). I decided to add the wine stabiliser (that came with the kit) and one crushed campden tablet, before siphoning the wine into the second demijohn (leaving the sediment behind).

Now in the second demijohn, I've added the finings and moved it into a cooler place.

According to the kit, I should occasionally swill the wine over the next 24 hours, then leave for 7-10 days to clear before bottling. However, I have a few questions (and remember, as a 'newbie, they're probably all ridiculous)...

1) Should I keep the bung and airlock on during this time? Should I just remove it when swilling the wine? Or should the demijohn be open to air?

And this ties in with my next question...

2) When siphoning my wine between demijohns, I had a sneaky taste ... and it wasn't great. The main reason being, the wine was slightly fizzy. I can only assume that this is the carbon dioxide in the wine. Will the "swilling" over the next day or so remove this? If not, is there anything I can do?

3) Is it worth racking again before bottling?

I'm also slightly concerned that the wine isn't as dark as it should be. Hmmm, perhaps I should just put this one down to being a practice run (and a cheap kit).

Anyway, nice to meet you all. Any help at this stage will be much appreciated?

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

1) Should I keep the bung and airlock on during this time? Should I just remove it when swilling the wine? Or should the demijohn be open to air?

Once the initial fermentation has died down, you should always keep it under airlock. Leaving the wine open to the air results in oxidisation, which destroys all the valuable flavour compounds.

And this ties in with my next question...

2) When siphoning my wine between demijohns, I had a sneaky taste ... and it wasn't great. The main reason being, the wine was slightly fizzy. I can only assume that this is the carbon dioxide in the wine. Will the "swilling" over the next day or so remove this? If not, is there anything I can do?

As a general rule, newborn wines are undrinkable. Young wines are better. Middle aged wines can be very nice. Mature wines are delicious. There are exceptions to the rule, of course, but it's worth letting a wine mature, even if only for a few weeks, because it'll give you less of a hangover. One of the main reasons for maturing wine is to let the hangover-causing compounds be gradually metabolised or otherwise changed into more benign ones.

3) Is it worth racking again before bottling?

If you get more sediment in the demijohn, you need to rack. It's also a good idea if you are having difficulty clearing a wine. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother.

Hope that was helpful!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

And this ties in with my next question...

2) When siphoning my wine between demijohns, I had a sneaky taste ... and it wasn't great. The main reason being, the wine was slightly fizzy. I can only assume that this is the carbon dioxide in the wine. Will the "swilling" over the next day or so remove this? If not, is there anything I can do?

I have just read my wilco kit instructions and it says "add the finings into the DJ and gently swirl, over the next 24 hours regularly shake the DJ gently to remove unwanted CO2, transfer to a cool place and leave undisturbed to clear"

I save a lot of time and effort by using an old coat hanger and a cordless drill, watch the video here for more info -

http://youtu.be/SMwq3TpkqCE

 

[leegalvin]

Ah ok, thanks for your replies. I've got the airlock on and I'm regularly swilling the demijohn (which then makes it bubble), hopefully getting rid of some of the carbon dioxide. I think I'll have to invest in some kind of 'device' to stir it properly though, otherwise I could be here for eternity!

 

[leegalvin]

I haven't yet invested in (or fashioned) a device to de-gas my wine, so I'm continuing to swill the demijohn (keeping the airlock on). There's still a considerable amount of white-ish foam which develops when I do this, so I'm assuming I need to keep going! Problem is, I'm concerned I'm somehow damaging my wine by shaking it about so vigourously - and I don't want to introduce any oxygen. Perhaps I should just leave it to settle by itself?

Also, does the foam indicate that I should drop in another campden tablet, or would that affect the taste too much? I've noticed there's still a layer of sediment at the bottom, so I'll probably rack again before bottling anyway.

Any advice appreciated. Cheers! :

 

[Stamford Hillbilly]

I did the thirty bottle kit & like yours mine was very light in colour & drinkable but not exactly moreish. If I do another Wilkos kit I will use a lot less water, add a strong cup of stewed tea & maybe some pepper. Mine took ages to ferment too which ****** me right off. I felt like writing a shitty email to Wilkos to complain about the quality of the wine in general & the **** instructions specifically but in the end I just swallowed it, literally. You get what you pay for & thirty bottles for a tenner isn't bad. But red it ain't. At best its a glorified rose. Its great for making pasta sauce with though 'cos there's no body to interfere with the flavours.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I haven't yet invested in (or fashioned) a device to de-gas my wine, so I'm continuing to swill the demijohn (keeping the airlock on). There's still a considerable amount of white-ish foam which develops when I do this, so I'm assuming I need to keep going!

You will be surprised how much CO2 is in there and if you are only swirling i dont think you will ever get rid of it, the wurzels orange wine thread gives this advice on degassing -



De-Gassing

Your wine contains dissolved carbon dioxide, rather like an almost flat bottle of Cola. Getting rid of it is meant to aid clearing. Some people are quite obsessive about getting as much gas out as they can and use whisks or vacuum devices over a period of a couple of days. Other people simply don’t bother at all. Search the forums, read up about it and make your own mind up. I just make a token attempt.

Put your (washed) hand over the neck of the jar and give the jar a gentle shake, ease your palm away and the wine will fizz. Cover again and give it a harder shake, release the fizz, Cover again and give it a good shake, release the fizz. Repeat until there doesn't seem to be much fizz

 

[leegalvin]

Thanks for that - I'm now trying that method (creates a lot of froth, but I feel I'm progressing with it). Will let you know how it goes!

 

[leegalvin]

...been doing it sporadically (and quite vigourously) all day. Still creates a thick head of foam each time, which then takes a while to settle. Still a definite fizz. This will take a while! :hmm:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Now you know why i now use a coat hanger and a drill, it only takes a couple of minutes on high speed to clear a DJ