Bottling the red

The ingenious bottling machine. 

The Rondo red wine had settled out nicely and we determined it was time to bottle it. Fermentation was complete, there was no yeast remaining after flocculation, no bubbles rose up when open so CO2 was ok, and it had clarity. The smell was really pleasant, the colour was gorgeous, and it was dry but full of flavour. It needs time to mature but we determined it was ready to bottle. Brix measured 6 so it's low alcohol at 3.3% ABV.

I ran the bottle filler while Alex did the corking again. The bottle filler is a real pleasure to use. Perfect volume every time. Stops when full. Easy peasy. But it does look like an IV blood transfusion in action. 

So we have 11 bottles plus one more that contains the remaining wine that we decanted off the flocculant. It's now out in the cold shed on the wine rack where it will stay for a minimum of six months. 

We then set to washing the clear bottles for the white wine and the remaining cider. We'll do those tomorrow after checking the white for clarity. All the neighbours got cider and honey for Christmas so we need to replenish our supplies. 

Happy New Year one and all! Here's to peace and joy in 2024.