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  • Bottling and Corking

    This is a tutorial about how to bottle and cork your wines. The whole process for a 5 gallon demijohn needs about an hour, but can go much quicker if you are organised and have some experience.

    What you will need:
    Demijohn full of wine
    Siphoning tube
    Spray-bottle with sanitising solution
    About 25 bottles
    An old towel
    About 25 corks
    Corker
    A surface that is about 3 feet higher than where your bottles are placed on.

    Optional: wine glass, mity-vac, step-stool.
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    Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
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  • #2
    Clean your surface with the spray-bottle of sanitiser and the old towel.
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    • #3
      Place your demijohn on the sanitised surface and optional: hook up your mity-vac (or vacuvin or other degassing tool) and make sure the wine is properly degassed.
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      Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
      Twitter: VirtualWineO
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      • #4
        You will want to use your sanitising solution again for the siphoning tube. Pump 2 or 3 times and let the sanitising solution cover all parts of the tube.

        Also, hoist the demijohn on something so it's at an angle. I've used 2 used corks I had floating around. Make sure the demijohn is stable, though.
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        Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
        Twitter: VirtualWineO
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        • #5
          Make sure your siphoning tube is long enough to reach the bottle comfortably. If it's not long enough, I like to use a step-stool (usually is enough) to give me the extra "elbow-room"... The siphoning tube has a clamp on it so I can stop the flow of the wine.


          Then, line up the sanitised bottles (sanitising not shown). I usually spray the bottles one time with the spray bottle of sanitising solution. This just makes life a lot easier.

          Keep your old towel nearby. You will drip and dribble wine, no matter how experienced you are.
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          Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
          Twitter: VirtualWineO
          Facebook: Virtual Wine Circle

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          • #6
            Start to siphon the wine. Suck at the end of the tube, until you see the wine approach the clamp. Shut the clamp off, and put the end of the tube in the bottle.

            Release the clamp, and fill the bottle.

            Don't worry, even if your wine is properly degassed, the wine might foam and have some bubbles.

            This is still okay.

            When you are about 1 inch from the top of the bottle, press the clamp to the closed position. Let the wine below the clamp dribble out into the bottle before putting the tube into the next bottle.
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            Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
            Twitter: VirtualWineO
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            • #7
              The question about what color bottle to use:

              I like green bottles for reds, clear or blue bottles for white wines, clear bottles for rose. I chose green for this one, but I always have 1 or 2 clear bottles to see what it looks like.

              I also use varying size of bottles so when I want to taste the wine to see how it's progressing, I don't have to "waste" a whole 750 ml bottle. You can also use screw-tops (as seen in the middle picture). Just make sure you sanitise them with your spray bottle.

              There will also be a 1/2 glass left over (at least, depending on how much you splash). That's where the wine glass comes in handy.
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              Last edited by medpretzel; 26-11-2007, 09:44 PM.
              Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
              Twitter: VirtualWineO
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              • #8
                Like I said, you will make a mess.

                Get your old towel, your sanitising spray-solution, and clean up your mess.
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                Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
                Twitter: VirtualWineO
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                • #9
                  So now it's time to cork!

                  Count your corks, put them in a bowl.

                  Get your sanitising solution and spray them a few times, and toss them around. Spray again.
                  I do this not to lubricate them or to make them more squishy, but rather to make sure everything is sanitised. I don't want to risk my bulk-aged wine for the lack of sanitising. Even if it's a new bag of corks, I still do this.

                  Spray the iris of your corker. This is just what I do, because it's hard to clean and I just want to be sure.
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                  Last edited by medpretzel; 26-11-2007, 09:45 PM.
                  Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
                  Twitter: VirtualWineO
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                  • #10
                    Put the cork in the iris.

                    Then lower the part that you put the bottle on (has a spring), and place the bottle on there.

                    Press the lever down (sorry about the pic, but my arms are not long enough), and the bottle is corked!

                    The double-lever corker that some may use (and I used for 3 years) often gives you "dimples" in the corks. I use a 5p piece as a spacer, or even a cardboard spacer that will take the dimple away. If you spray your corks, this also sometimes helps the puffiness.
                    Attached Files
                    Last edited by medpretzel; 26-11-2007, 09:47 PM.
                    Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
                    Twitter: VirtualWineO
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                    • #11
                      If you don't have a corker, or your prefer to use flanged corks, that's okay too.

                      Spray each with sanitising solution, and press in the bottle.


                      If you have a plunger-type corker, all I will suggest to you is: Get a new one. This is more trouble than it's worth, and the corks are never as nice as you want them to be.
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                      Last edited by medpretzel; 26-11-2007, 09:48 PM.
                      Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
                      Twitter: VirtualWineO
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                      • #12
                        Sometimes it happens that you have what I call "peekers"... The corks peek out of the bottle. The only real thing to do is to uncork the bottles and put in new ones.

                        Yes, this also happens to experienced winemakers, so don't feel bad.
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                        Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
                        Twitter: VirtualWineO
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                        • #13
                          If you are doing more than one demijohn of wine, don't forget to label the group of bottles you have.

                          This may sound trite, and unimportant, but no, you will not remember which group is which in a week.

                          So, I like to use my demijohn labels and just hang them around one of the bottles that is in the group.

                          You should let the bottles stand upright for about a week or two so that no popping corks will spray wine all over your cellar. But if you properly degassed, this really shouldn't happen.
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                          Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
                          Twitter: VirtualWineO
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                          • #14
                            So you think you're done?


                            You are wrong! It's now time for clean-up. Just as important as anything else.

                            Place your equipment in the sink. Here is where some winemakers might disagree. I use normal dishwashing detergent and make sure everything is very clean. I also make sure that all suds are rinsed clear.

                            I use a demijohn brush to get some of the tougher stuff off.

                            Make sure you sanitise and wipe off your surface with your towel.
                            Attached Files
                            Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
                            Twitter: VirtualWineO
                            Facebook: Virtual Wine Circle

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                            • #15
                              Just as a follow-up, I spray the sanitising solution 18 times (okay, I don't know why, but it's just my lucky number) into the demijohn. I put a stopper on the demijohn and it's good to go for the next use.



                              I hope this tutorial helps, and if anyone has any input or comments, or even criticism, please let me know.
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                              Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
                              Twitter: VirtualWineO
                              Facebook: Virtual Wine Circle

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