Lost wine after fermentation

[tradowsk]

Looks like yet again with a passport kit I run into this issue of wasted wine. I just tried putting the wine sludge in the fridge in a sanitized jar with a few pumps of sulphite from a spray bottle. I left it overnight and it still didn't clear, Hmm very strange. I'm going to leave it for another night. Perhaps I should have degassed the sludge lol.

I've heard that getting as much liquid as possible (sludge and all) from the primary is the best approach, but if it's sludge why would I bother racking it. True...the sludge will fill headspace but sooner or later you will have to top up and rack off the sludge anyways. I just find it strange that some kits have a nice hard packed dead yeast layer and some don't leaving a loose slurry on the bottom.

How much (liquid and sludge) did you put in the jar in the fridge? If you just put the sludge in a jar, you're probably not going to get very much wine back using this method.

When I do my racking, I will not rack all the wine but leave a bit in there. I then stir that and pour it into a mason jar. That then sits in the fridge for a day or two until the yeast cake forms on the bottom and I can pour off the clean wine on top. Last time I did this I got back probably 1/2 gallon of good wine.

 

[kuziwk]

How much (liquid and sludge) did you put in the jar in the fridge? If you just put the sludge in a jar, you're probably not going to get very much wine back using this method.

When I do my racking, I will not rack all the wine but leave a bit in there. I then stir that and pour it into a mason jar. That then sits in the fridge for a day or two until the yeast cake forms on the bottom and I can pour off the clean wine on top. Last time I did this I got back probably 1/2 gallon of good wine.

Hmm probably like a bottle to a bottle and a half worth. Today is day two for the sludge wine In the fridge... so ill check it when I get home. I don't want to leave it more than two days as I imagine oxidization would ruin it. Do you find though that some kits form a nice yeast cake on the bottom? Or do you do this with every kit?

 

[tradowsk]

I do always do this for the first 2 rackings regardless of what kind of sediment I have at the bottom. After that, I usually don't bother since there's no usually too much left at the bottom.

I also always fill the mason jar completely to the top, even if I have to pour in a little "clean" racked wine. This way I don't have to worry about oxidation because there's zero headspace.

Idk if you already use bentonite, but that usually males a pretty solid yeast cake in primary

 

[kuziwk]

I do always do this for the first 2 rackings regardless of what kind of sediment I have at the bottom. After that, I usually don't bother since there's no usually too much left at the bottom.

I also always fill the mason jar completely to the top, even if I have to pour in a little "clean" racked wine. This way I don't have to worry about oxidation because there's zero headspace.

Idk if you already use bentonite, but that usually males a pretty solid yeast cake in primary

Yeah I always use the bentonite. Lately I have been adding boiling water in a glass jug and stirring it there to dissolve it really well before putting it in the primary...it doesn't seem to make any difference. Just not forming the hard yeast layers...it seems to be an issue with heavier grapes. Yeah i guess I should look for a glass jar than..or better yet a sanitized wine bottle or two would probably work really well I imagine.

 

[kuziwk]

Yeah so got home and the sludge wine didn't really clear very well, I ended up just dumping it because I felt like I was just putting dead yeast back into the carboy. At any rate took about two and a half bottles to top up the carboy. On the plus side there is not too much sediment in the carboy so likely won't need very much at all on the final racking when topping up. This is usually the case if you are bulk aging a bit that if you take the sludge with the first racking you are going to have to top up sooner or later anyways.