Monday, July 5, 2010

Is that Cider? Winemaking, Day 9

 So 8 days have gone past, and it's time to check on our wine again.  This is one is a quick, simple step.  All we're doing today is transferring the wine from the plastic fermenting bucket into a glass carboy.  If that's a new word for you (I know it was for me when I started making wine), a carboy is really just a big glass bottle with a rubber stopper.  In this rubber stopper you put an airlock, which is a simple S shaped piece of plastic that you fill with water or vodka.  The airlock lets out the carbon dioxide from the fermenting wine, but doesn't let oxygen get back in and ruin the wine.  Since I'm sure some people are wondering, the vodka is to keep things sanitized.  If bugs do get into airlock (attracted to smell of the wine), the vodka will make sure nothing contaminates the wine.  They won't actually get in the wine though, don't worry. 

You'll also notice that the wine looks REALLY cloudy right now.  Don't worry about that, that's just the bubbles and the suspended yeast working away, turning your juice into wine. 

2 comments:

  1. It sounds as if you also produce an interesting bug-cocktail as a by-product!

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  2. I can save some for you next time, if you want. :)

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