I kinda screwed up (again)

[guscampag]

I bottled up some Zinfandel about a month ago. I thought it was clear enough when I bottled it, but I guess I was wrong. I looked at it the first time yesterday and it looks terrible. The bottles were lying down and the whole bottom half of the bottles is covered with sediment. I really would like to clear them, so I want to put it back into a carboy with some sparkaloid and then rebottle.
What would be the least disruptive way to get the wine from the bottles back into the carboy? I know this is not good, but would like to do the least damage possible.
Thanks a lot.

 

[TipsyDragon]

the least disruptive way to put the bottles back is to not do it. the more you fidget with it now the greater chance of oxidation and contamination. just leave it in the bottles and chock it up to a learning experience. how long did you bulk age? sounds like you got antsy and bottled to soon. next time wait 6 months to a year.

the problem with comparing homebrew with commercial is the fact that commercial brewers filer the crap out of their product before sale removing the yeast and whatnot. Im sure if you could find a truly ancient bottle of wine you would find a yeast sediment layer in the bottles. i remember years and years ago seeing something on TV showing how to care for wine (i think) and the person flipped the bottle and sure enough there was a rain of sediment.

 

[Teromous]

I haven't started making wine yet, but there is a technique that I read about in one of my cider books that could help. It's a technique French champagne makers use. They leave yeast inside the bottles of champagne cider so it will carbonate. They then turn them upside down and let the lees drop to the cork. A small portion of the neck and top is placed upside down in a bath of ice so that it freezes. The cork is removed and the sediment plug comes out with the cork. This is done a number of times until the champagne is cleared.

There is more amplifying info, like filling the bottle a bit to make up for space, there are plastic corks designed for this process, and even pictures of how to build a rack for this process. If you are interested in reading more about it I'm sure you can find info on it online. If you are interested in the book, it's from:

Cider: Making, Using & Enjoying Sweet & Hard Cider

You can read a short description of it on Wiki. Look under Méthode Champenoise at this page about 2/3 down.

 

[malkore]

That's WAY more effort than is necessary to get clear wine.

Like: adding a finining agent like isinglass or chitosan after degassing, and then dropping temperatures a bit to help with dropping everything out of suspension.

The technique you're talking about is mainly used for sparkling wines, since you don't really want sediment left in the bottle which is always created by bottle carbonating with yeast and sugar (vs. force carbonation).

 

[Teromous]

That's WAY more effort than is necessary to get clear wine.

Like: adding a finining agent like isinglass or chitosan after degassing, and then dropping temperatures a bit to help with dropping everything out of suspension.

The technique you're talking about is mainly used for sparkling wines, since you don't really want sediment left in the bottle which is always created by bottle carbonating with yeast and sugar (vs. force carbonation).

I only mentioned that method because he said that his wine was already bottled, and said that there was a lot of sediment. As I mentioned, it is normally used in champagne. The only problem I could forsee would be that the cork and sediment plug would be hard to remove with wine, vs. the CO2 pressure that is normally inside the champagne bottle.

 

[mmadmikes1]

just let it settle out. When it come time to drink it decant. Pour slow and careful into carafe and when you get to sediment stop. the rest of wine will be clear. you loss some but you always have to sacrifice some to the wine gods

 

[guscampag]

Thanks to all for the great answers and advice. It sounds like I definitely should NOT rebottle as I originally intended. I think what I will do is let the bottles sit upright for a while to let the sludge settle to the bottom rather than on the side of the bottles. This will help a lot with the appearance , I think, and hell, I don't mind if there's a little crap at the bottom. I made this batch from a 6 gallon bucket of california juice and the "fresh juice set-up" directions they gave me told me to bottle it at about 2 months. I think next time I'll just leave it in the carboy for maybe 6 months.

Thanks again.

Gus