What a Mess

I learned (the hard way) how easy it is to make a mess while making wine. Yesterday evening, I decided to stabilize my second batch of wine, a Winexpert Port style wine. It was finished fermenting, and I only had to add in a few additives and let it rest for another couple of weeks. It wasn't that easy.

First, you have to stir the daylights out of the wine to degass it. I've got a plastic drill attachment that I use for this. It worked marvelously on the first kit. Well, on this kit, I was so fascinated with watching the gas bubbles expel themselves, I forgot about friction. I was spinning the drill so fast that I melted the plastic stirrer. LOL! Yes, it was like I had a piece of taffy coming out of the end of my drill. Oh well, it was only $7, and once it cooled, it re-hardened, if not a little warped. It should still work.

Then, I decided to take a measurement of the specific gravity of the wine, to get a finished reading. This is an indication of how much sugar is in the wine. I had already topped up the carboy (glass jug) with the extra wine, so it was full, within 1" from the stopper. I plunged my tester all the way to the bottom, not thinking about the fact that the wine would be displaced (i.e. up and out of the carboy). So, about 2 cups of wine cascaded out the top and down the sides of the glass jug, all the way to the carpet! *&%#!

So, I calmly proceeded to get the steam cleaner and a scoop of OxiClean to clean up my mess. It worked wonders. I was amazed at how well that stuff works. Needless to say, I learned a valuable lesson. It never occurred to me to put down a drop cloth. I never thought I'd spill like that. Sure, a drop or two here or there would be OK, but 2 cups of red, Port-style wine? What was I thinking. At least it was cleanable.

So, now I've got some empty containers. I'll be starting my 3rd batch very soon, likely this coming week. It's another kit, a Blackberry Cabernet. Yum. It's a wine-cooler style drink, but without the carbonation. It should be really good. I think I'll add a little bit more sugar though, just to give it a little higher alcohol content.