Joiner's Musings

Racking to another carboy This next stage is relatively simple and involves adding the sodium metabisulfite to the wine after racking it from the secondary carboy to a second sanitized carboy as can be seen in the photo above. This is called the racking and clarification step. This is done after 8 days and at this point the wine is quite clear.The sediment left behind is a thick dark sludge. Because of the very low level of sulphite in the kit it is necessary to add sodium metabisulfite powder to prevent oxidation if one intends to age the wine for a lengthy period. However, the amount of the powder is very small, only 1/4 teaspoon. This will have no effect on the flavor, nor will it have any effect on early drink-ability. We leave the wine for 14 days to finish clarifying. the next step is bottling assuming that the wine is completely clear after the settling period.

reading instructions Phase III Is it Wine-making or Wine Making, can't decide which or is it just one word. Anyway this is part three of four. It is the stabilization and clarifying stage. At this stage we add metabisulphite, sorbate and chitosan. The idea is to drive off the CO2, disperse and stabilize the wine and to stir up the remaining yeast at the bottom of the wine to agitate any gas out of the wine. After this we let it rest for 8 days and rack the wine. At this point it is tasting like wine - very raw of course. This will be a 6 week process in all.

Racking into the secondary The next part of our Limited Edition Winexpert Cabernet Merlot kit involves racking into a carboy and this is called the secondary fermentation phase. After 6 days in the primary bucket, fermentation has come to an end since there is little activity in the airlock. A SG reading should show 1.010 or less and that is what we have at this point. We are now ready to rack the wine into the glass carboy.  Not a lot of fermentation takes place at this next stage but enough to prepare for the last phase in 10 days when the final chemicals are added to the wine. I will describe the chemicals and what needs to be done in Part III so stay tuned. the primary fermentation container  A little trick to siphoning that really works is this;  rather than try to suck the wine through the siphon tube by mouth into the secondary it is much easier to fill the siphon tube with water, clamp one end to keep the water in the tube and then viola it will sip...

Pinto Noir presentation Wine Making is a lot of fun. Looking for a hobby to make retirement more bearable. Just kidding, retirement can be a fun time but I know a lot of people who make me wonder if they truly are enjoying it. For example I will ask a retired acquaintance, "how is retirement, acquaintance?" and the answer I usually get is, " I am busier now than I ever was". Well bullshit to that. What they are really telling me is that they are bored out of their frigging tree and are desperately looking for things to occupy their time. Cabernet Merlot  Anyway, as you sail into those golden sunset years you have to have a hobby. I am luckier than most since I have several well established hobbies going into my senior years. Wine and beer making is one of them. Or is that two hobbies? Anyway, the batch we are currently making is a Limited Edition Winexpert Cabernet Merlot. Winexpert makes excellent kits but they are a tad on the pricy side and available o...

From the dock We would like to extend this screened in section  Well, we certainly are anxious to depart the east coast and head for central Canada to our cottage in Quebec. The weather there is not much different than it is here at the moment but it doesn't hurt to yearn for the cottage, you know, getting away from it all, relaxing with a drink on the deck, meeting friends and family and enjoying all that the lake offers. The first shot is a view of the cottage from the water, actually from the dock. So peaceful The plan this summer is to extend the screened-in portion seen in the second photo. It has, or rather it has always been a little on the narrow side at six by twenty. Yes, over the years we have enjoyed it but have often thought, it should be a little bigger so that we can use it as a summer country dining area and entertainment focal center. We would like to expand it to ten or perhaps even twelve by twenty so that we can enjoy the "outdoors" an...

It's a 2011 WRX (World Rally Blue) and it has been places, all across Canada in fact and back; all on the same set of tires. Along the way our son made many stops across central Canada and spent a couple of days in the Ottawa area, paying respects to his aunt whose husband passed away this past Easter weekend. He had Easter dinner with his uncle in eastern Ontario and headed out on his journey to Nova Scotia. Tonight he is staying in Quebec City and a place called the Fairmont Frontenac Hotel  that he says is comfortable and quite pleasant (it's probably a strip motel somewhere in or near Quebec City) and will continue on his journey to Nova Scotia. Quite the adventure for our son and the beginning of a new career in Halifax. Needless to say the car preformed flawlessly. It's a Subaru of course and made for the long distance drive across Canada or anywhere else for that matter.

This past week my brother in law passed away after a lengthy illness at age 74. I am sure that Fred was not ready to go but a number of health issues complicated his journey through life and the last couple of years were certainly the most challenging for him. Fred was a complicated man and I don't think he was very well understood. Sometimes when he tried to do the right thing his actions were misinterpreted but he always tried to do what he thought was best. I will always respect him for that even though some might not have completely agreed with his stance on some issues. Fred was dependable, reliable and predicable. If you needed something done, Fred was there to help. His general knowledge of construction, his attention to detail and his meticulous approach to any job large or small made him an invaluable help when you needed something done and done right.10 years ago I asked Fred to design an extension for our cottage which he did with great enthusiasm. We copied the...