# How long on lees?



## Priapus (Dec 18, 2014)

I've never been able to find information on the maximum amount of time you can leave wine on it's lees. I know this is a variable situation but I'd like to learn more. I have apple wine that has been racked once from the primary to the secondary and has been sitting like that now for about two months. (I just haven't had the time to get to it.) There must be some length of time when things can start to go wrong.


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## acorn (Dec 19, 2014)

I assume you are asking about fine lees, that is after you have racked off the coarse lees at the end of the primary fermentation (typically no longer than 2 weeks). Unless you are going to age the wine on lees (sur lie) and stir it every so often (batonnage), I would recommend racking the majority of fine lees within the 2-3 months. Of course, it can be more or less depending on what you want to achieve by letting your wine sit on the lees. Personally, as I researched sur lie ageing, which one of my wines is currently undergoing, I found this article very helpful in deciding and planning ahead. 

http://www.brsquared.org/wine/Articles/surlie/surlie.htm

Even if you are not interested in sur lie ageing, I still encourage you to read it because it goes into detail about the advantages and risks related to leaving your wine on its lees for too long under various conditions.


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## Enologo (Dec 19, 2014)

Great article.


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## beano (Dec 19, 2014)

Yes, great article. Very informative.


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## Priapus (Dec 22, 2014)

Thanks for the help guys!


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