Some seldom used tools for winemaking can take the headache out of some issues you may be having with your wine as you near bottling. The amateur winemaker is not going to have a lab with expensive test items.

However, here are three inexpensive tools that will guide you through some situations.

The average wine drinker will taste a 2 percent residual sugar wine, declare it is dry and proceed to bottle. He will be dismayed to have his corks push out or bottles break as fermentation starts in a bottle not meant to hold pressure. If he bottles in champagne or beer bottles, he may have a surprise sparkling wine.

To go beyond the taste test use some inexpensive tools that are a “must have.”

A -5 to +5 hydrometer is a narrow range hydrometer for reading dry and almost dry wine. You need this hydrometer at the end of fermentation and especially for sherry making. If using a -5 to +5 hydrometer and the reading is below a (minus) -1.5 degrees or -2 degrees, then the wine is dry and not stuck.

If the hydrometer reading is higher than a minus -1.5, such as a 0 reading or a +1 degree, then there is residual sugar and one may attempt to restart or if it is ready to bottle, use sorbate as there is residual sugar.

Another inexpensive test that one could use for residual sugar is the Clinitest test kit. This is an older diabetic test that has been color coded for wine.

It is a good idea to test free sulfur dioxide with a titret test kit. If you bottle a wine with a low level, you may have a hint of vinegar or something strange after a short time in the bottle.

The recommendation is 40-50 ppm (parts per million) for wines in general at bottling time.

If you are in a hurry to bottle for Christmas, you may want to cold stabilize. Visit our Web site at www.fallbright.com for cold stabilizing directions.

Have a happy holiday season and enjoy the fruits of your labors.

May your wines fall bright.

Marcy Mitchell is a wine enthusiast and owner of Fall Bright, The Winemakers Shoppe. She can be reached at (607) 292-3995.