TOPPING UP YOUR HOMEMADE WINES

When you hear the words "topping up" it might bring to mind
several things--like "topping up" a glass of wine, or adding more
gas to the tank of your car. In reality, these thoughts wouldn't
be too far from what "topping up" means to the home winemaker.


- What Is Topping Up?

Topping up, simply put, is the process of adding more volume to a
batch of wine so as to fill any void space that may exist in the
wine's container while it is in bulk. To put it another way, it
means getting rid of any large airspace that may exist with a
wine.

The reason we are concerned about airspace is because we do not
want the wine to come into direct contact with air for any
significant length of time. With time, air equals oxidation; air
equals the growth of unwanted micro-organisms; and in more severe
cases, air can equal the complete spoilage of a wine.

Brief periods of air exposure are of little to no significance to
the quality of the wine. It is longer periods that concerns
us--days or weeks. This amount of air exposure can bring about
these negative effects on a wine.


- When Does Topping Up Matter?

It is important to understand when topping up really matters. For
example, during an active secondary fermentation, when the active
fermentation is under an air-lock, topping up is of no issue at
all. This is because the fermentation creates CO2 gas that drives
out the air that is in the airspace. This CO2 gas has no negative
effect on the wine and is, in fact, a great protector of the
wine.

In the case of the beginning primary fermentation, topping up is
of no issue because the yeast actually needs air during this
time. Air significantly aids in the yeast's ability to multiply
itself. This is also one of the reasons an air-lock should not be
used during the primary fermentation. It cuts off the much needed
air.

So, when does topping up matter? Very simple. It is when the
fermentation has completed and no more CO2 gases are coming off
the must. This is when topping up the wine becomes valuable. This
is the time when air exposure needs to be dealt with. The wine is
no longer being protected by the CO2 gases from a fermentation,
and any air that is in the container with the wine at that time
can actually come into direct contact with the surface of the
wine.


- What Should You Top Up With?

There are many ways you can go about topping up a wine. How you
tackle the job depends, in part, on how much headspace you are
dealing with. If you have a 5 gallon batch with just a pints
worth of headspace, you would handle the job differently than if
the headspace were a gallon or more.

- Water
The most common means of topping up a wine is to simply add
water. This is appropriate if your headspace is around a pint or
less per 5 gallons of wine. Distilled water is preferred. It can
be purchased at any full-line grocery store, or you can use tap
water that has been boiled for a half hour or so and then cooled
down to room temperature.

The idea here is to use water that is void of free oxygen. Distilled
water has no free oxygen and by boiling tap water you can

remove a significant portion of its free oxygen.

- Vodka & Water
If your headspace is closer to a quart, you can still use water
but you might also consider adding some Vodka to the water as
well. By doing this the alcohol level of your wine is not being
diluted. Any cheap, 80 proof, American Vodka will do. Just add it
to the water at the rate of 4 ounces for every quart of water you
use.

- More Wine
Another option is to incorporate a wine from a previous batch or
wine that was commercially made. Obviously you would want to
select a wine that is similar to the wine being topped up. This
is a good option in the sense that you are maintaining flavor and
body as well as alcohol.

- Glass Marbles
You may also want to consider using glass marbles in the wine to
add volume to the batch. The marbles need to be sanitized first
with one of the many safe sanitizers we offer.

The biggest disadvantage with using marbles is that they have the
ability to crack or break a glass vessel. For this reason, we
strongly suggest that you do not use marbles with glass
containers. It seems that regardless of how careful one is, the
worst always happens in this situation.

- A Combination Of The Above
Also realize that any combination of the above methods can be
incorporated together as well. For example, maybe you don't have
enough glass marbles to get the job done. Well then use some wine
or Vodka water as well to finish the job.

- Smaller Containers
As a final note, if you are dealing with a serious amount of
headspace, then usually the best option is to put the wine into a
smaller container or a number of smaller containers. For example,
if you have 6 gallon carboy with only 4 gallons of wine in it,
then your best option would be to move the wine into 4 one gallon
glass jugs.


- Other Ideas:
There are a couple of other ways you can deal with air exposure
in a fermentation or storage vessel.

For example, instead of topping up, you can dissolve 2 or 3
crushed Campden Tablets into each 5 gallons of wine at the very
end of fermentation. Then put the air-lock back on the vessel.
This will cause any airspace in the vessel to fill with SO2 gas
from the tablets. This will create a protective layer of gas on
the wine.

Or alternatively, if you do not open a fermentation vessel after
the fermentation has stopped, the CO2 gasses from that
fermentation will stay trapped in the fermenter, again, creating
a protective layer of gas on top of the wine.

Both, SO2 gas from Campden Tablets and CO2 gas from a
fermentation are heavier than air and will linger in a given
space.


- Related Articles

"Controlling Oxidation In Your Wine"

"Fermentation 101"

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E. C. Kraus

Home Wine & Beer Making Supplies

Address: 733 S. Northern Blvd. - P. O. Box 7850 - Independence, MO  64053

Phone:(816) 254-7448  Fax:(816) 254-7051  Toll Free: (800) 353-1906

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