# At what SG should I rack this wine to carboy ?



## NSwiner (Mar 27, 2010)

Ok I'm new this wine making from juices like this So i'll tell you what I've done so far . I used mixture of Ocean spray cranberry/raspberry juice ,white cranberry juice and 2 cans of welches frozen white grape juice , sugar added yeast nutrient ,yeast energizer ,and yeast plus slurry from sparkling wine it took off like a charm .The starting Sg - was 1.074 , don't want it to be real strong alc % . So my question is what do you think would be a good SG for me to rack to the carboy ? I was thinking SG - 1.010 but that might not be the best time maybe I should let it to go to SG - 1.000 .


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## Luc (Mar 27, 2010)

By racking I presume you mean transferring from a bucket to a carboy.... 

I would go by instinct. 
There is no pulp involved just juice. So no pressing is involved.

So when to rack.
Well I give you my philosophy and modus operandi.

Ask yourself why you started fermenting in a bucket.
Well that is because you were afraid for the foaming.

So rack when vigorous fermentation and foaming is over.
The SG reading is not important in this.

Next is what I do not do. I do not rack.
I just pour it from a bucket into a carboy. And make sure you'll take all sediment along. Most yeast is in the sediment. That way
one last time oxygen is introduced that gives the yeast an extra
boost.

Of course this procedure is only intended for pure juice
wines. With wines made from pulp my method is totally
different.

Luc


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## Wade E (Mar 27, 2010)

You can either ferment till dry in the bucket or transfer to carboy at any time but like Luc said Iwould stir it all up so that you dont run into a problem with it not fermenting all the way down. The only time I dont stir it up is when I actually want the wine to quit early.


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## NSwiner (Mar 27, 2010)

I thought leaving it on the sediment to long because it can cause off tastes in your wine ? Is this type of juice different ? Oh & thanks guys for your help .So glad I have such helpful people that make me more at ease about trying new things I'm sure I wouldn't be trying this 5 months after starting my first kit if it wasn't for you guys


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## Luc (Mar 28, 2010)

Leaving on the sediment too long is talking about months,
not a few days or weeks.

Even better: the French leave certain wines on the lees
for many weeks and months. They stir the wine every now and then. And then it is called: aging sur lies.
It gives the wine a better mouthfeel and some sense of sweetness.

You should never leave the wine too long on the gros lees, however on fine lees there is not much of a problem.

Luc


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## rodo (Mar 28, 2010)

Luc

I have learned much from you. 

Thank You

Rod


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## Wade E (Mar 28, 2010)

As Luc has said, it is not a god idea to keep the wine on the lees from primary where there are a lot of solids cause those solids can spoil but if you are just using juice there really isnt much if any(depending on the juice used) solids there to spoil. If you are using a juice with lots of pulp in there you will want to rack off this pulp first and then the sediment after that is the lees that you leave the wine on.


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## NSwiner (Mar 28, 2010)

Ok i understand that better now ,Thanks .I think I will leave some in the bottom of the bucket because I put the slurry from the other wine in there also .But after that I won't worry about it anymore .


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