This is not a problem if you are brewing wine without bubbles. You simply leave the wine to ferment in a demi-john with an airlock until fermentation has completely stopped; no more bubbles emerging from the airlock and the wine tastes dry .Or use a hygrometer. Hygrometers show how much sugar is still present in the wine as dissolved sugar and alcohol have different densities. If there is still a lot of sugar in the liquid than the carbon dioxide released by continuing fermentation could be too great for a bottle to contain. The hygrometer will float higher in the liquid when the sugar level is higher - because the liquid has greater density than if there is proportionately more alcohol. My hygrometer has a mark on it accompanied by the warning “do not bottle when above this level”.
Managing the balance of pressure created by fermentation is a little trickier when it comes to making sparkling beers or wines. You need a certain level of gas to build up within the bottle so that when opened it fizzes. While plastic bottles are not aesthetically so appealing and not good for long term storage they are more forgiving of bottling errors than glass bottles as they can stretch as little. If the pressure builds up too high in a plastic bottle it will tear open, a glass bottle will explode propelling shards of glass through the room. Going into a room full of potential exploding glass bottles to get one out for drinking, and hoping it will not go off when you are holding it is not fun, and certainly an avoidable peril. So here are a few tips:
• Follow recipe instructions carefully re timing of bottling
• Never use screw top lids on glass bottles
• Use plastic bottles with screw tops or champagne/beer bottles with corks
• Stand bottles in waterproof container with a lid – if you have got the balance wrong it will save a lot of time clearing up
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