Day 5!

Today was the day there was a bit more excitement in the wine-making world.  Or at least in my wine-making world!  I completed my first racking today!  It was a little messy and a lot of work, but it's done and well on its way to making some high-class wine (haha).

I started, as usual, by cleaning and sanitizing all my equipment.  There was quite a bit more today than the last few days, though.  In addition to the hydrometer, thermometer, and stirring spoon, I needed to clean the measuring cup, a spoon, an airlock and bung, my auto-siphon, tubing, and of course, the carboy.

It was a little cumbersome and I spilled some of the water, but I didn't make as much of a mess as I thought I would!  That came later... :)

After all the cleaning and sanitizing, I took everything I needed downstairs.  I took my readings and I'm not sure if I waited too long, but the Specific Gravity was lower than the instructions range (1.040-1.050).

Temperature: 75 degrees Fahrenheit
Specific Gravity: 1.030

I'll have to see how this plays out, but I think as long as the SG is going down, it should be ok (I hope!).  Maybe on future kits I'll know what is the better course of action, but I'm just learning now.

I got my packet of yeast nutrient and some cold water, mixed them together until the nutrient dissolved, then poured it into the wine.  I stirred everything up to get everything re-suspended, and it was time to get that wine into the carboy.

I'm really digging the auto-siphon deal.  It made life way simpler, even though it did take a good 10 minutes to get all of the wine from the bucket into the carboy.

The whole time I was thinking it looked like pineapple juice...

The last little bit was a surprise...I wasn't paying attention and then all of a sudden the carboy was overflowing!  Hello, mess!  It wasn't much, thank goodness, but it was enough that I had to use about 30 select-a-size paper towels.  Oopsie!

I then filled up my airlock, put it in the bung, and put it in the carboy.  It's really fizzy right now, so it's quite fragrant in my apartment.  I'm hoping that doesn't last too long, lol.  I don't need to be smelling like wine fumes any more than I already do. ;)

So now we wait.  The blog will be on a bit of a hiatus until there's more to do, which should be between days 9-14.  At that point, if the SG is 0.996 or less, I will do a second racking from the carboy, to the bucket, back to the carboy, and dissolve the clarifying chemicals to start clearing up this pineapple juice! :)