wine 101: step 10

Thank you all for tolerating the guest post yesterday, and thank you, Sam, for writing it. Luckily, it is only a few steps off from the correct order and actually has some pertinent information for this winemaking theme.

I am feeling much better today. In fact, I was quite enjoying my little walk outside to the bus this morning until a little doberman pinscher got away from it's owner and rushed over to bite me. I normally do not avoid dogs who are running at me. I have always found that they just want to say hi, play, or bark at me. Therefore, I usually just keep on walking and wait for them to reach the invisible barrier which stops them about six inches from me, and then I decide whether they want to be pet or should be left alone.

This little guy today, though, he didn't pause. He went right for my upper calf, tearing a little hole in my pants and leaving me with a bite mark on my leg. I guess I should have been mad or something, but when the owner rushed over apologizing profusely and smacking her dog, I just said, "No problem," and kept walking. I don't know why.

STEP 10: Preparing for storage.
Once your wine has completed it's first fermentation, you have three options:
1. Drink it immediately.
2. Transfer to bottles for leisurely consumption.
3. Transfer to bottles for long-term storage.

Number one is pretty straightforward, and any info you need to know for this option will be covered tomorrow. Numbers two and three need some additional equipment and some preparation.

1. Bottles with lids.
You'll need something into which you can put your finished wine. Sam and I drink lots of juice that comes in handy 987mL glass bottles, and I usually put my wine into those. I also have some old wine bottles with lids and a couple of growlers. Having lids is important. Technically, for one year you will not need to seal your wine (I'll come back to this), but you will need something to keep the bugs out. Whatever you use, you will want to clean with soap and water and sterilize with boiling water everything before transferring the wine.

2. Ladle or siphon.
When I started making wine, I just used a ladle to transfer it from the fermenting vessel to my bottles. But as Sam mentioned in the previous post, that can stir up any sediment at the bottom. So I bought a long plastic tube from my brew store for about 50 cents and I use it as a siphon. You can also buy a handy siphon that you don't have to suck on to make work for about $8.

3. Strainer and funnel.
Just as when you started, you'll need to strain your wine when transferring it. A funnel is just very helpful all around.