Racked!
So it's been a while since I posted something new. Well, I've been busy and/or away from a computer. Kat and I went up to Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving. What a delicious meal! We opened a bottle of the Blackberry Wine, and I have to say, this was the best one yet. I think it's still getting better as it continues to age.
Anyway, there hadn't been a whole lot of new development in the Pumpkin process, so I figured there wasn't much to report. After the SG had dropped to .990, I decided to let it sit a few more days to see if the pulp would compact some more to make sure I could get enough liquid out to fill up my 5 gallon carboy. Boy, did it! I also filled up and old 1.5 L bottle of wine, and put the rest back in the primary bucket to see if it would compact any more!
The racking went smooth. I had recently purchased a new tip for my racking siphon, which keeps the sediment from going through the racking tube to the bulk aging carboy. So I put that on, and (after sanitizing the 5gal. carboy) started racking. I made sure to stay with it the whole time, as I wanted to keep the end of the siphon out of the pulp. It didn't take too long before I had finished this step. I added 5 Campden Tablets, put the airlock on, and moved it back into the closet.
Next step. Waiting!! They say patience is the key to winemaking, and I'll have to try to have some! All in all, the wine should bulk age now until time for bottling. I'll be keeping an eye on it though to see when more sediment falls out. It's my understanding that it takes a lot of work to clear pumpkin wine. That means watch, rack off new sediment, watch, rack off new sediment, lather, rinse, repeat. Basically, I'll do this until I'm satisfied with the clarity and then bottle it.
As for the extra wine, I've got the bottle in the fridge with a cork on it. I'll stop by Alternative Beverage soon and get an airlock to fit that. Let that settle some, and maybe try something fancy with it, or put it aside to use as a topper next time I make pumpkin wine. I'll see how much liquid I can get out of what's left over in the primary and maybe find something to do with that. If I get enough, maybe I'll try to make a jelly or something.
Also, I'd like to say hello to all my family members who have been stopping by to check this out. Check out the archives if you want to read about the process from the beginning. I will try to post the pictures I have from the beginning soon.
Salud!
Anyway, there hadn't been a whole lot of new development in the Pumpkin process, so I figured there wasn't much to report. After the SG had dropped to .990, I decided to let it sit a few more days to see if the pulp would compact some more to make sure I could get enough liquid out to fill up my 5 gallon carboy. Boy, did it! I also filled up and old 1.5 L bottle of wine, and put the rest back in the primary bucket to see if it would compact any more!
The racking went smooth. I had recently purchased a new tip for my racking siphon, which keeps the sediment from going through the racking tube to the bulk aging carboy. So I put that on, and (after sanitizing the 5gal. carboy) started racking. I made sure to stay with it the whole time, as I wanted to keep the end of the siphon out of the pulp. It didn't take too long before I had finished this step. I added 5 Campden Tablets, put the airlock on, and moved it back into the closet.
Next step. Waiting!! They say patience is the key to winemaking, and I'll have to try to have some! All in all, the wine should bulk age now until time for bottling. I'll be keeping an eye on it though to see when more sediment falls out. It's my understanding that it takes a lot of work to clear pumpkin wine. That means watch, rack off new sediment, watch, rack off new sediment, lather, rinse, repeat. Basically, I'll do this until I'm satisfied with the clarity and then bottle it.
As for the extra wine, I've got the bottle in the fridge with a cork on it. I'll stop by Alternative Beverage soon and get an airlock to fit that. Let that settle some, and maybe try something fancy with it, or put it aside to use as a topper next time I make pumpkin wine. I'll see how much liquid I can get out of what's left over in the primary and maybe find something to do with that. If I get enough, maybe I'll try to make a jelly or something.
Also, I'd like to say hello to all my family members who have been stopping by to check this out. Check out the archives if you want to read about the process from the beginning. I will try to post the pictures I have from the beginning soon.
Salud!
posted by Rob | 1:39 PM
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