Cold Stablization

[Runningwolf]

I also use BB's in my freezer. 18-28* and I really don't think you have anything to worry about. I leave 3-4" min of head space. You're air lock goes crazy as the wine warms up and with milk crates you won't have any issues moving the BB's.

 

[Wade E]

That temp will work just fine and being in BB will be safer especially once it is that cold and when it needs moving like Dan stated. Just make sure when you rack it from there to another vessel that if its glass you let that wine warm back up or subject that empty carboy to that colder temp so as to not rack 24* wine into a 60* glass carboy!!!!! Crack!!!!!!!!!

 

[Runningwolf]

Just make sure when you rack it from there to another vessel that if its glass you let that wine warm back up or subject that empty carboy to that colder temp so as to not rack 24* wine into a 60* glass carboy!!!!! Crack!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for addind that Wade as that was one of the points I was getting to and left out.

 

[ffemt128]

Well I moved both the Malvasia,Noble Muscadine, Chablis, and J Reisling outside the basement door in the covered stairwell. Wine level was just at the neck or just below for all of them so that should be sufficient I would think. The Malvasia, J Reisling and Chablis aren't dropping anything at the current temps recently but they may in the colder temps.

I think I may rotate the rest of the carboys through the stairwell over the course of the next couple weeks just to see what happens. At 40-50 degrees at last racking there were still crystals, though not as many as the previous racking.

Just checked the meat thermometer that I have sitting on the bench at carboy level. It's currently reading 42 degrees. At head height where I had the regular thermometer it is 53 degrees, that area is subject to the heater vent though. Funny, doesn't feel that cold down there right now.

 

[homer]

Crystals in my Mars Grape Wine after 4 weeks. bk

 

[Flame145]

Do you have to rack the wine as right away. While it is still cold ?? or does it matter if the wine comes back to temperature, prior to racking ?????

 

[ibglowin]

Do you have to rack the wine as right away. While it is still cold ?? or does it matter if the wine comes back to temperature, prior to racking ?????

You should rack while cold to avert anything going back into solution at a warmer temperature. Once a crystal forms it tends to drop out of solution for the most part and stay a solid but every now and then something will break the rules and do its own thing based on temperature so why take the chance.

 

[ffemt128]

Is there any concern going from a 30* carboy to a 60 degree carboy? I'm planning on moving indoors again this coming Saturday. The weekend was single digit temps for the most part and I believe the rest of the week will be around 30. As I said before, I was dropping acid like crazy at temps of 45-50ish. I just wanted to see if anything else was going to precipitate out.

 

[Runningwolf]

Is there any concern going from a 30* carboy to a 6 degree carboy? I'm planning on moving indoors again this coming Saturday. The weekend was single digit temps for the most part and I believe the rest of the week will be around 30. As I said before, I was dropping acid like crazy at temps of 45-50ish. I just wanted to see if anything else was going to precipitate out.

Doug I am confused on what you're saying. You say you're going from 30* to a 6* but then you mention the temp as being in single digits to 30"s. Regardless of which way you are going, you'll be fine. As we mentioned before use caution moving the carboys so you don't bump anything. Moving in milk crates is best. Wait till you wine comes back to room temperature before racking.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

i've gotten the diamonds in an accidental leaving of a bottle in the fridge for 2 weeks. that's set at ~36-40F, so i don't think 30F is necessary. you could also chill the glass carboy before racking into it to avoid cracking. i think the crystals will mostly stay out as i left that bottle out with a bit of wine in the bottom and the crystals were still there. had to be getting close to room temp after letting it sit for an hour or two. only had 3-5 oz's of liquid in it.

 

[ffemt128]

Doug I am confused on what you're saying. You say you're going from 30* to a 6* but then you mention the temp as being in single digits to 30"s. Regardless of which way you are going, you'll be fine. As we mentioned before use caution moving the carboys so you don't bump anything. Moving in milk crates is best. Wait till you wine comes back to room temperature before racking.

My mistake, it should have said 30* to 60*. It was single digits both saturday and sunday here but warmed up into the low 30's monday afternoon. I'm not planning on racking right away anyhow, I was just curious.

Thanks and I'll edit the original post to reflect above.

 

[robie]

Setting outside or in a doorway will get the temp down, but you will have lots of fluctuations, as the outside temperature changes.

I have this problem. My CS is in my garage, near an outside door. What I do is get the temperature of the wine down close to where I want it, then wrap the carboy with a blanket.

The volume of 6 gallons of wine helps keep the wine temperature from fluctuating very fast, anyway. Adding a blanket helps stabilize it even more. Just don't wrap it before it gets to your desired CS temperature.

Now, if I can just keep from running over $175 worth
of RJS En Primier Cab with my car...

 

[ffemt128]

I just pulled my juice from the stairwell after 6 days. I must say I was quite surprised. All juice went into the well crystal clear with absolutely nothing on the bottom of the carboys. The Muscadine from what I can see has a layer of crystals, the J Reisling and Chablis have a good thick layer of crystals. The Malvasia has some crytals but far less than the other wines.

I just placed my 12 gallons of Apple out there as well and will let it remain there for a week or so. Temps at night are in the teens and for the next week they are expectings highs in the upper 20's. I think a week for these should suffice.

I may move my Red Muscadine out later this afternoon for a week as well.

Will the Merlot and Pinot Noir benefit from the same or should I not bother?

 

[robie]

Just remember that wine can still freeze. The temperature at which it will freeze depends on the alcohol content.

It can freeze in the lower 20's F.

Goggle - "temperature at which wine will freeze"

 

[Runningwolf]

Robie I agree with you on it freezing. Before I got a thermostat for my freezer I was cold stabilizing in the lower single digits in my freezer. I left it in there for 5-10 Days. I did get some heavy slush on a few but it never got close to freezing solid even at the top. I think Doug will be fine. I did use extra caution when handling the glass.

 

[ffemt128]

Robie I agree with you on it freezing. Before I got a thermostat for my freezer I was cold stabilizing in the lower single digits in my freezer. I left it in there for 5-10 Days. I did get some heavy slush on a few but it never got close to freezing solid even at the top. I think Doug will be fine. I did use extra caution when handling the glass.

In the stairwell when it was single digits ourside, it wasn't that cold there. I'm only left the previous batch out there for 6 days since crystals were precipitaing out already in the normal temps of the basement. With temps being mid to upper 20's now, I may leave these out for 10 days. I check them every couple days to ensure they are not freezing or getting slushy.

 

[Runningwolf]

Doug, freezing is not a bad thing if you don't break your carboy. I always make sure I live extra space for expansion. Read what luc has to say about freezing wine.

 

[robie]

Doug, freezing is not a bad thing if you don't break your carboy. I always make sure I live extra space for expansion. Read what luc has to say about freezing wine.

Now THAT is interesting. I have never heard this before. Think I just might do some experimenting with this. I wonder if the amount of time the wine is frozen has any impact?

Thanks for sharing Luc's tests with us. he is quite the wine maker, I've learned a lot from his work.

 

[joea132]

I cold stabilized 3 full demi-johns (a real bear to move) in my garage for 3 weeks. My pH was around 2.9 and the wine tasted like crap. I moved them back in the 60*-70* basement a few days ago and forgot to leave the headspace. Big mess! I'm worried that the acid didn't precipitate out enough because the wine didn't taste all that different. I also sulfited too early and im waiting for them to wear off so I can undergo MLF probably in the spring.


I'm going to take a pH reading again when it comes to temperature, but I didn't see many crystals when I racked... when it was cold, the pH read around 3.5 but obviously temperature affects the reading.

 

[Runningwolf]

Hey Joe welcome to the forum. Time to fess up. Whats your connection to the boss man? Its good to see Wade is getting a few people up there to trade with. When you get a chance how about going to our introductions thread in the beginners section and let us know a bit about yourself and what you have made or making. Once again. welcome to the party.