Half full demijohn

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Stretch

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Hi
I have heard that it's not good to have a half full demijohn, my wine is finishing its fermentation and I can up short for the last Demi! What can I do? Can I top it up with anything without ruining the end result.
 
option one: Drink it ;)
option two: you should be ok if you used the sulfites (like campden tablet) They produce an SO2 gas that being heavier than air sits on top of the liquid protecting the wine from air.
My understanding is it doesn't last very long but if its a week or so till you clear and bottle you should be fine. Thats what I am doing anyway.
I have quite a lot of head space in the carboy but racked on to a campden tablets so should be fine, will replenish sulfites again right before bottling which should be on Sunday. (added finings today to make sure its as clear as I can make it although it was pretty much clear already)
RR
Ps. You can also mod a 2 litre bottle and rack to it instead of the dj
(any 2 litre water bottle form Tesco or something just drill a hole in the top and fit your airlock)
 
I used campden tablets when I crushed and juiced the grapes in the fermenting bucket, now I've strained and racked to dj's, will the Campden tabs still have an affect ?
 
I used campden tablets when I crushed and juiced the grapes in the fermenting bucket, now I've strained and racked to dj's, will the Campden tabs still have an affect ?
Normally you would rack the wine from primary on to a crushed campden tablets. The initial addition of campden tablet was to kill the wild yeasts and other microbes so you can start your fermentation from clean slate so to speak. On racking you then add another dose to prevent the oxidation while syphoning and also to prevent it from being infected at the time when its vulnerable the most (racking, degasing etc)) Is your fermentation finished btw? If you just strained and transfered to complete the fermentation in the dj's you should be fine just add the CT's next time you rack the wine away from sediment, but if the fermentation was over then I would think it would be best to add the campden tablets now . Just draw a sample from each dj mix with a crushed CT in a wine glass and stir it back in. Do this for every dj seperately. Try not to mix all tablets in one glass. That way you can control the exact amount of sulfites that go into each demijohn ( 1 tablet per gallon of wine).
 
You're ok then :thumb:
Plenty of CO2 produced still in the dj's to push the air out the airlock
RR
 
You're ok then :thumb:
Plenty of CO2 produced still in the dj's to push the air out the airlock
RR

fermentation has finished and I have a SG of 0992, I have racked into DJ's and added a campden tab to each DJ, how long should I leave like this before I can bottle it ??
 
fermentation has finished and I have a SG of 0992, I have racked into DJ's and added a campden tab to each DJ, how long should I leave like this before I can bottle it ??
Just leave it for about a week to let the yeast to clean up after itself and then decide which way to go
Anything from days to months now (depends on how you wish to clear it) If you use the finings it would catch and drop any nasties almost immediately so you should be able to bottle within days( as soon as it looks clear to the eye) or if you let it clear naturaly you are looking at several rackings and months of wait But if you wish to have something PRONTO just rack it off add your finings and bottle as soon as its clear . Just enjoyed a bottle of my experimental yesterday (3 weeks from fruit to table so it does work)
 
thanks for the info, when I racked it earlier today I was really surprised on how clear is was, couldn't see looking through dj as there brown glass.
I will rack again in a week or so and then bottle I think, tastes alright, little bit on the acid side / bit of a twang.

do I need to add more CT every time I rack or bottle?
 
thanks for the info, when I racked it earlier today I was really surprised on how clear is was, couldn't see looking through dj as there brown glass.
I will rack again in a week or so and then bottle I think, tastes alright, little bit on the acid side / bit of a twang.

do I need to add more CT every time I rack or bottle?
Depends how long you would like to keep your wine, if its only months then the first addition (to sterilise the fruit) and the second at the racking time should be enough Anyhow a third addition of sulfites at the time of bottlingis beneficial as it would help to keep your wine fresh in the bottle and cut the risk of infection (mold in the bottle etc) and oxidation. 3 times when doing your very own wine (fruit to bottle) are just about as far as you can take it to protect your wine, any more than that and you are risking taking it above the recommended level of sulfites and that is no good for both the wine and your health
 
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