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Wine Bottling Supplies

The last step in winemaking is filling and corking your bottles and few things are more important to the shelf life of your wine than how its handled at this point.  This is especially true when it comes to preparing your wine to be bottled.  The better the care you take, the better the wine.

First, your wine has to be clear, stable, and free of C02.  Clear means free of particles that could later fallout of suspension and leave a deposit in the bottles. 

Stable means finished fermenting and with enough sulfites (S02) present to prevent oxidation and spoiling. 

Free of C02 means that although the fermentation may be finished, a wine can still be saturated with carbon dioxide.  If this is the case it will go into the bottles with the fizziness intact.  This means that depending on the conditions, the CO2 could expand and push the corks out or even break the bottles.  It may also provide you with the dubious pleasure of drinking a sparkling wine that's supposed to be still (sparkling Merlot , anyone?).   You can get rid of the C02 in your wine by stirring it. 

When the fermentation is finished, most people add fining agents, and this is when vigorous stirring is called for.  Like shaking up a soft drink, vigorous stirring chases the bubbles out and not only prevents the wine from being fizzy in the bottle, but also helps the fining agents to work better.  If you're not using fining agents, make sure your wine is free of C02 before bottling.