This debate has been going on since the introduction of plastic carboys made from PET. PET by the way stands for polyethylene terephthalate. There are very good arguments for going with either glass or PET, however, the right answer for you will depend on your own preferences. To help you out I have outlined the pros and cons of each here so that you can make an informed decision for yourself.
The First Winemaker’s Academy Wine Tasting
This past weekend (July 7th 2013) my wife and I hosted the very first wine tasting showcasing the wines produced during The Great Riesling Yeast Experiment (part i, part ii, part iii). It was held at our house with just one other couple we invited over.
The point of this wine tasting, and the point of the experiment, was to determine if you could produce distinctly different wines by fermenting the same grape juice with different strains of yeast. I split a six gallon World Vineyard Riesling kit into two, three gallon batches and fermented them separately, one with RHST and the other with W15 yeast strains.
Continue reading “The First Winemaker’s Academy Wine Tasting”
Cold Stabilization of Wine
Cold stabilization of wine is a method used to keep tartaric acid crystals from forming after the wine has been bottled. This process is referred to as cold stabilization because it is the act of cooling the wine that causes tartaric acid to form tartrate crystals, also known as wine crystals or wine diamonds.
If wines are not cold stabilized there is a chance that these crystals will form when consumers place bottles of wine in the refrigerator or store it for long periods of time. While the crystals are harmless it can be rather unsettling to find what looks like broken glass in your wine if you don’t know what it really is.
Why do Tartrate Crystals Form?
Should You Soak or Boil Corks Before Bottling?
It is often recommended that wine makers soak or even boil corks prior to bottling. Is this really necessary? Let’s take a look.
Why Some Recommend Soak and / or Boil Corks
Soaking corks came about as a way to clean the dust off of new corks. However, even back before pre-sterilized corks were available corks were not soaked for very long. Somewhere along the way some wine makers decided that this is a necessary step during the bottling process.
Long soaking times, however, allow the cork to absorb whatever liquid it is submerged. That liquid can then be squeezed out of the cork when it is inserted into the bottle. Anything that comes out of the cork at that point goes into your wine.
Boiling corks likely came about as a means to ensure the corks were sanitized. This would be a great way to sanitize corks without using chemical, however, boiling corks can seriously damage them and make your wine more susceptible to problems. Continue reading “Should You Soak or Boil Corks Before Bottling?”
Specific Gravity Temperature Correction Calculator
All hydrometers are calibrated to be accurate at a given temperature. Most newer hydrometers are calibrated for 68 degrees (F). Because the density of fluids changes as their temperature changes if you don’t measure your specific gravity at your hydrometers calibration temperature you’re going to get an inaccurate reading.
While the correction may be small for a single reading if you don’t adjust, it becomes increasingly difficult to compare readings over time. For instance, if you take an original specific gravity reading at 75 degrees (F) and a final reading at 65 degrees (F) you can’t compare these readings because the fluid densities are different at the different temperatures. You must correct each of your readings for temperature differences before you can compare them. Continue reading “Specific Gravity Temperature Correction Calculator”