Re: When to bottle?

Ray <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Something is wrong with my carrier and I can see two others have responded
> to your post but I can not see their response.  So I apologize if I repeat
> them.  I also apologize if I contradict them but then ...

Many thanks to you and the others who replied - although I'm not much less
confused, I think I've decided what I'm going to do now! I was particularly
concerned about the idea that plastic containers were 'smell permeable' as
right now, they're next to the kittens' litter tray (yuk!) - but I sampled
the rosehip (which was the closest to the smelly place) and it hasn't picked
up anything unpleasant! So - I'm going to bottle everything that is clear
and still, rack that which is still but not clear (with a view to fining if
they still don't clear - I think the plum, the pear and the parsnip are the
worst - must be something to do with 'P' ;)), and leave those which are
still active to complete their fermentation (luckily, most of those are now
in glass, as I rack from plastic to glass whenever possible).

Next question - best way to wash bottles? I've just been scrubbing 'em under
hot water to get the labels off, then giving them a good soak in ChemPro.
Takes forever though, and I'm getting a bit bored with it - especially when
I've calculated that I'll have to wash at least 120 bottles for all the wine
I've got going on! I don't have a dishwasher (well, I do, but it's still in
the shop - long story). Any suggestions?

By the way, I thought I'd see whether I could make wine from cartons of
grape juice (y'know, just the normal stuff for drinking) - was worried as to
whether there might be preservatives in there - but afer 2 days of sitting
there not doing a lot, the juice (to which I added some sugar and of course
yeast) went nuts and bubbled up through the airlock - 3 times! It's now
settled a bit, but is audibly hissing - looks like it's working alright! I
just love all this experimentation - and I have to say that I'm delighted
with the aforementioned rosehip (which is still a baby, of course) - even
though it's so young, it tastes like a decent dry white, with not a trace of
'cattiness' <g>.

Oh, and one last question - when I tried out my new vinometer on the chilli
wine - it came out with a reading of 22% - could this be right? I haven't
tested any of the others, but that seems a bit high for an ordinary yeast to
me. I have noticed that the home made stuff I've tried so far seems a lot
more effective (ie, I get tiddly!) than the average bought wine. Is this
normal?

Many thanks!

Jo (hic!)


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