Question:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The Glass marbles idea works great. I saw it on a previous post. I am amazed that something so simple is not widely known. I now use this practice. I have been making wine using juices from California which used to come in 23 litre containers and my secondary fermentors were also 23 litre size. The wine juices are now sold in 20 litre containers which means I have a 3 litre air space in my secondary container. Will this aire space affect the wine any? Is there any way to top up the container other than buying an extra 20 litres of juice. Appreciate any advice … thanks. Another method of protecting the wine from the air space is to fill this space with an inert gas. Argon or nitrogen are the best gases but CO2 can also be used. It only takes a small amount of gas to fill this void space. Check it out. I wish someone would invent a ballon or airbag that could be inserted into the carboy and then blown up to fill the void, and not give off flavors to the wine from the latex. Any winemaking inventors in our midst? – Mark
What I have done is drop a small chunk of dry ice (solid CO2) into the wine. Put the airlock back on and watch it bubble away. The CO2 gas displaces any air in the headspace of the carboy. -Pete
Response:
Great idea, but how do you inject the inert gas, and cork the bottle, without the gas disapating? Also, with the cork being permeable, wouldn’t it disapate over time anyway?
Derek, oxygen in the bottle usually isn’t a problem if you’ve sulphited the wine, simply because any oxygen in the airspace would react with the sulphite, leave nitrogen, an inert gas, left in the neck. Winemaking linx & FTP, rec.crafts.winemaking FAQ, Missing Link Rovers (Mtl Que Can), firstarter FAQ, Scouting FTP & Super Scout(er), Star Trek linx & FTP, Help Stop Spam, Zee Svedish Cheff, Summer Camp selection
Response:
What I have done is drop a small chunk of dry ice (solid CO2) into the wine. Put the airlock back on and watch it bubble away. The CO2 gas displaces any air in the headspace of the carboy.
Doesn’t the drastic cold cause a shock to the yeast? Sounds kinda iffy.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The Glass marbles idea works great. I saw it on a previous post. I am amazed that something so simple is not widely known. I now use this practice. I have been making wine using juices from California which used to come in 23 litre containers and my secondary fermentors were also 23 litre size. The wine juices are now sold in 20 litre containers which means I have a 3 litre air space in my secondary container. Will this aire space affect the wine any? Is there any way to top up the container other than buying an extra 20 litres of juice. Appreciate any advice … thanks. Another method of protecting the wine from the air space is to fill this space with an inert gas. Argon or nitrogen are the best gases but CO2 can also be used. It only takes a small amount of gas to fill this void space. Check it out. I wish someone would invent a ballon or airbag that could be inserted into the carboy and then blown up to fill the void, and not give off flavors to the wine from the latex. Any winemaking inventors in our midst? – Mark
Now we know what to do with all those brst implants. Brian 
Response:
Whoa! Doesn’t yeast produce CO2? Why go to all the trouble if fermentation CO2 displaces the Oxygen? Brian – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – CO2 is heavier than air, you can pour it in! Get some dry ice, put it in water, and pour in the gas. Great idea, but how do you inject the inert gas, and cork the bottle, without the gas disapating? Also, with the cork being permeable, wouldn’t it disapate over time anyway? The non-scientific want to know…. Derek Schott Albany, OR, USA DOD 313f^3
Response:
CO2 is heavier than air, you can pour it in! Get some dry ice, put it in water, and pour in the gas.
Better yet, chop the dry ice up and drop it into the wine. It’ll boil off. -Jason — Graduate Motto: Free-time with guilt. ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/local/quotes
Response:
Buy a bunch of marbles and sterilize them by boiling them, along with a pair of pale nylons in water for 20 minutes. Insert foot in carboy and drop marbles into legs. As legs fill, so rises the wine level. Works with sand if you use a heavy mill plastic bag where sand has been heated in oven at 150 degrees F for 30 minutes. When ready, rack wine first, then tilt caboy to recover marble and hose. Paul Jean Jr. Publisher Getting Started in Winemaking by JE Underhill – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have been making wine using juices from California which used to come in 23 litre containers and my secondary fermentors were also 23 litre size. The wine juices are now sold in 20 litre containers which means I have a 3 litre air space in my secondary container. Will this aire space affect the wine any? Is there any way to top up the container other than buying an extra 20 litres of juice. Appreciate any advice … thanks.
Response:
Hey Derek, The original thread was speaking of carboys I believe. If not, that is what I was talking about. It is impractical as far as I know to do this while bottling wine. Great Wine to you & Merry Christmas! Brian – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – All, I think this was mentioned but I’ll repeat. You can replace the air in the carboy with an inert gas. Carbon dioxide or nitrogen will work. What you are really trying to do is keep oxygen away from the wine. Great idea, but how do you inject the inert gas, and cork the bottle, without the gas disapating? Also, with the cork being permeable, wouldn’t it disapate over time anyway? The non-scientific want to know…. Derek Schott Albany, OR, USA DOD 313f^3
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – All, I think this was mentioned but I’ll repeat. You can replace the air in the carboy with an inert gas. Carbon dioxide or nitrogen will work. What you are really trying to do is keep oxygen away from the wine. Great idea, but how do you inject the inert gas, and cork the bottle, without the gas disapating? Also, with the cork being permeable, wouldn’t it disapate over time anyway? The non-scientific want to know…. Albany, OR, USA DOD 313f^3
If you fill the container with inert gas before filling with wine, then place the end of the wine hose at the bottom of the vessel; the gas remaining in the head space will be mostly inert. No hand method is 100%, that’s where sulphur comes in! CO2 can be captured in a balloon during fermentation, then bottles filled from this natty source. (cannot store gas in ballons, it will disipate quickly) Always fill with the end hose on the bottom of the vessel, to force the air out evenly and completely. latron clyde — edress is spam proof
Response:
CO2 is heavier than air, you can pour it in! Get some dry ice, put it in water, and pour in the gas. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Great idea, but how do you inject the inert gas, and cork the bottle, without the gas disapating? Also, with the cork being permeable, wouldn’t it disapate over time anyway? The non-scientific want to know…. Derek Schott Albany, OR, USA DOD 313f^3
Response:
All, I think this was mentioned but I’ll repeat. You can replace the air in the carboy with an inert gas. Carbon dioxide or nitrogen will work. What you are really trying to do is keep oxygen away from the wine.
Great idea, but how do you inject the inert gas, and cork the bottle, without the gas disapating? Also, with the cork being permeable, wouldn’t it disapate over time anyway? The non-scientific want to know…. Derek Schott Albany, OR, USA DOD 313f^3
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The Glass marbles idea works great. I saw it on a previous post. I am amazed that something so simple is not widely known. I now use this practice. I have been making wine using juices from California which used to come in 23 litre containers and my secondary fermentors were also 23 litre size. The wine juices are now sold in 20 litre containers which means I have a 3 litre air space in my secondary container. Will this aire space affect the wine any? Is there any way to top up the container other than buying an extra 20 litres of juice. Appreciate any advice … thanks. Another method of protecting the wine from the air space is to fill this space with an inert gas. Argon or nitrogen are the best gases but CO2 can also be used. It only takes a small amount of gas to fill this void space. Check it out. I wish someone would invent a ballon or airbag that could be inserted into the carboy and then blown up to fill the void, and not give off flavors to the wine from the latex. Any winemaking inventors in our midst? – Mark If you are wondering that you are not reading this list very closely. TS
Rhetorical question in search of meaning of life from an honest man with a valuable idea, soon to be spammed to the whole group, I’m sure. Say, what????? – Mark
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The Glass marbles idea works great. I saw it on a previous post. I am amazed that something so simple is not widely known. I now use this practice. I have been making wine using juices from California which used to come in 23 litre containers and my secondary fermentors were also 23 litre size. The wine juices are now sold in 20 litre containers which means I have a 3 litre air space in my secondary container. Will this aire space affect the wine any? Is there any way to top up the container other than buying an extra 20 litres of juice. Appreciate any advice … thanks. Another method of protecting the wine from the air space is to fill this space with an inert gas. Argon or nitrogen are the best gases but CO2 can also be used. It only takes a small amount of gas to fill this void space. Check it out. I wish someone would invent a ballon or airbag that could be inserted into the carboy and then blown up to fill the void, and not give off flavors to the wine from the latex. Any winemaking inventors in our midst? – Mark
If you are wondering that you are not reading this list very closely. TS
Response:
PEI have been making wine using juices from California which used to PEcome in 23 litre containers and my secondary fermentors were also 23 PElitre size. The wine juices are now sold in 20 litre containers which PEmeans I have a 3 litre air space in my secondary container. Will this PEaire space affect the wine any? Is there any way to top up the PEcontainer other than buying an extra 20 litres of juice. Appreciate PEany advice … thanks. Hi Steve, There is a variety of things you could do… Top it up with water, you probably won’t notice the difference. My glass secondaries are 19.6 liters, 23 liter ones are rare now, you could buy one of the 19.6 liter ones, and when I made five Can gallons…I think you are in bc…I am in Campbell River… I would put the balance of the wine into a gallon bottle or whatever size I needed. Another way is to put in a similiar wine, already fermented, or buy grape juice, available in litres from the wine store. But don’t, definitely don’t leave the air space. The air will oxidize your wine, leaving it tasting awful… I make most of my wine from fruit, really cheap and very very tasty… Happy Brewing Mike.
Response:
All, I think this was mentioned but I’ll repeat. You can replace the air in the carboy with an inert gas. Carbon dioxide or nitrogen will work. What you are really trying to do is keep oxygen away from the wine. Good wine to you, Brian – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The Glass marbles idea works great. I saw it on a previous post. I am amazed that something so simple is not widely known. I now use this practice. I have been making wine using juices from California which used to come in 23 litre containers and my secondary fermentors were also 23 litre size. The wine juices are now sold in 20 litre containers which means I have a 3 litre air space in my secondary container. Will this aire space affect the wine any? Is there any way to top up the container other than buying an extra 20 litres of juice. Appreciate any advice … thanks. Another method of protecting the wine from the air space is to fill this space with an inert gas. Argon or nitrogen are the best gases but CO2 can also be used. It only takes a small amount of gas to fill this void space. Check it out.
Response:
I have been making wine using juices from California which used to come in 23 litre containers and my secondary fermentors were also 23 litre size. The wine juices are now sold in 20 litre containers which means I have a 3 litre air space in my secondary container. Will this aire space affect the wine any? Is there any way to top up the container other than buying an extra 20 litres of juice. Appreciate any advice … thanks.
Response:
I have been making wine using juices from California which used to come in 23 litre containers and my secondary fermentors were also 23 litre size. The wine juices are now sold in 20 litre containers which means I have a 3 litre air space in my secondary container. Will this aire space affect the wine any? Is there any way to top up the container other than buying an extra 20 litres of juice. Appreciate any advice … thanks.
During active fermentation it is ok to have some "air" space because it will fill with CO2 and protect the must from oxidation. However, when fermentation slows down you should definitely top up to prevent oxidation. This is very important. I always try to have "topping up" wine for this purpose. You can use last year’s wine or buy jug wine if you do not want the extra juice. Rett
Response:
I have been making wine using juices from California which used to come in 23 litre containers and my secondary fermentors were also 23 litre size. The wine juices are now sold in 20 litre containers which means I have a 3 litre air space in my secondary container. Will this aire space affect the wine any? Is there any way to top up the container other than buying an extra 20 litres of juice. Appreciate any advice … thanks.
OK, here comes a crazy idea that works just great. If your container is larger than the volume of wine you are making and you don,t want to dillute with water or another wine, simply sterilize glass marbles and add them to your mixture untill it is "topped off". That air space on top of your carboy could become a problem at the end of your fermentation process if the wine cannot maintain the "CO2 cap" which protects it from the outside air. Bryan Casper
Response:
I have been making wine using juices from California which used to come in 23 litre containers and my secondary fermentors were also 23 litre size. The wine juices are now sold in 20 litre containers which means I have a 3 litre air space in my secondary container. Will this aire space affect the wine any? Is there any way to top up the container other than buying an extra 20 litres of juice. Appreciate any advice … thanks.
Another method of protecting the wine from the air space is to fill this space with an inert gas. Argon or nitrogen are the best gases but CO2 can also be used. It only takes a small amount of gas to fill this void space. Check it out.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The Glass marbles idea works great. I saw it on a previous post. I am amazed that something so simple is not widely known. I now use this practice. I have been making wine using juices from California which used to come in 23 litre containers and my secondary fermentors were also 23 litre size. The wine juices are now sold in 20 litre containers which means I have a 3 litre air space in my secondary container. Will this aire space affect the wine any? Is there any way to top up the container other than buying an extra 20 litres of juice. Appreciate any advice … thanks. Another method of protecting the wine from the air space is to fill this space with an inert gas. Argon or nitrogen are the best gases but CO2 can also be used. It only takes a small amount of gas to fill this void space. Check it out.
I wish someone would invent a ballon or airbag that could be inserted into the carboy and then blown up to fill the void, and not give off flavors to the wine from the latex. Any winemaking inventors in our midst? – Mark
Response:
This may not be practical for all, but I usually just uncork a bottle of wine (or several) and top the carboys up. Obviously this requires a supply of wine and the willingness to use previously bottled wine for the task. In fact I did just that the other day with several of my carboys after racking. If you think the amount of wine used will be large, imagine the quantities required for dealing with ullage in barrel aging. Paul
Response:
The Glass marbles idea works great. I saw it on a previous post. I am amazed that something so simple is not widely known. I now use this practice. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have been making wine using juices from California which used to come in 23 litre containers and my secondary fermentors were also 23 litre size. The wine juices are now sold in 20 litre containers which means I have a 3 litre air space in my secondary container. Will this aire space affect the wine any? Is there any way to top up the container other than buying an extra 20 litres of juice. Appreciate any advice … thanks. Another method of protecting the wine from the air space is to fill this space with an inert gas. Argon or nitrogen are the best gases but CO2 can also be used. It only takes a small amount of gas to fill this void space. Check it out.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have been making wine using juices from California which used to come in 23 litre containers and my secondary fermentors were also 23 litre size. The wine juices are now sold in 20 litre containers which means I have a 3 litre air space in my secondary container. Will this aire space affect the wine any? Is there any way to top up the container other than buying an extra 20 litres of juice. Appreciate any advice … thanks. OK, here comes a crazy idea that works just great. If your container is larger than the volume of wine you are making and you don,t want to dillute with water or another wine, simply sterilize glass marbles and add them to your mixture untill it is "topped off". That air space on top of your carboy could become a problem at the end of your fermentation process if the wine cannot maintain the "CO2 cap" which protects it from the outside air. Bryan Casper
I don’t like this idea. The bottom of the carboy would become a real mess. At racking, you would lose a lot of wine, or transfer a lot of sediment. And how many marbles would you need to account for 3 liters? Two suggestions: Buy a container of juice of a type acceptable for blending, and keep the unused portion in the freezer. You will have to protect it from air. Or, as I would prefer, buy one of those good kits with the juice in a metal coated bag. Use just enough concentrate to make 3 liters of juice, and keep the remainder in the freezer in its original bag. You could cheat and add a little more concentrate, if you are careful enough not to increase the SG too much. Pierre
Response:
The Glass marbles idea works great. I saw it on a previous post. I am amazed that something so simple is not widely known. I now use this practice. I also thought it was a good idea until I started trying to find out where to buy marbles and then looked at the price. With respect to the original post I would say three litres of marbles would be very expensive. TS
I have to admit that 3 litres of marbles is a bit much. The original idea for the use of marbles was to help top off the loss from racking a carboy without introducing other liquids to the wine. The original post suggested that the carboy size being used and the amount of wine in the kit were already set factors. with that in mind, the marble idea works. As mentioned by the other posts, not getting into this situation in the first place, is probably a better answer. Bryan Casper
Response:
The Glass marbles idea works great. I saw it on a previous post. I am amazed that something so simple is not widely known. I now use this practice.
I also thought it was a good idea until I started trying to find out where to buy marbles and then looked at the price. With respect to the original post I would say three litres of marbles would be very expensive. TS
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