Might of made a boo boo....Please help to clarify

[Leeboy]

Here is something i have been wondering. If i rack a few extra times, im going to keep loosing a little bit of wine at the bottom. So, i have to keep adding water , wont that dilute the wine and make it less potent?

 

[rezod11]

Top up with a similar type of commercial, no dilution.

 

[Leeboy]

great....Thanks alot .

 

[astebbi1]

Here's another racking tip that might be useful. I found it at Home Depot. I believe it was under two dollars.

That's exactly what I need right now an I'm loving the price!

What should I look for at Home Depot, something in the plumbing section??

 

[jimmyjames23]

That's exactly what I need right now an I'm loving the price!

What should I look for at Home Depot, something in the plumbing section??

Ya. It can be found in plumbing. It's a mesh filter cartridge for a tap set. But like someone else said you can make a racking cane from PVC. But I bought mine with 6 ft of line for under $6 at my local brew shop. Winemaking stuff is pretty cheap.

 

[Leeboy]

I'm glad I racked again , there was a lot of sludge on the bottom. I think my next investment will be a glass carbouy, I'd like to be able to see the bottom a little more clear

 

[jimmyjames23]

The benefit of racking is two fold. It removes "off flavors" created by the dead yeast and helps lower co2 production. Massive amounts of co2 are stored in the lees.
For short brew wines you can rack every 10 days. For patient brews rack monthly.
And if you're in a hurry to reap your rewards you can always add a mixed egg white when the SG drops below 0.996.
Think you got sludge now... See what egg white mix does in 24 hrs.

 

[robie]

Don't start off the racking with the racking wand all the way to the bottom. Hold it very still with your hand and lower it as the level goes down. Don't let the wand wave around in the wine, causing currents to form; this will stir up sediment.

When it does hit the bottom, watch the siphon hose carefully; if you see sediment being sucked up into the hose, pull the wand out immediately.

You can save the sediment in a small sealed glass container and put it in the frig. Let it set for several days to a week and the sediment will settle again. Using a sanitized turkey baster, draw off the clear wine from the sediment container. This way, over a 30-bottle wine making cycle, you can recover several bottles of otherwise wasted wine.

 

[astebbi1]

Ya. It can be found in plumbing. It's a mesh filter cartridge for a tap set. But like someone else said you can make a racking cane from PVC. But I bought mine with 6 ft of line for under $6 at my local brew shop. Winemaking stuff is pretty cheap.

Thanks, yea I'm using a PVC racking cane right now probably the same setup as Jswordy suggested -shout out to Jswordy what's up man good to see you're still on the forum- we both dig this video http://youtu.be/opNrEpu-D34 great for beginners and getting a good setup..

I've had pretty good results with the PVC cane, but I'd like to see if a filter would cut down on how many times ill have to rerack/how much sediment it in the final product..

 

[astebbi1]

And if you're in a hurry to reap your rewards you can always add a mixed egg white when the SG drops below 0.996.
Think you got sludge now... See what egg white mix does in 24 hrs.

That's amazing I had no idea you could use egg whites to clear.. So that doesn't create any off flavors in the wine?? Also how much egg whites do you add??

 

[jimmyjames23]

That's amazing I had no idea you could use egg whites to clear.. So that doesn't create any off flavors in the wine?? Also how much egg whites do you add??

1 tsp egg white for 5 gallons. Mixed with 3 tsp water and a pinch of salt. Whisk gently for 5 min. Remove foam with a spoon. Stir wine. Add egg white mix. Stir well for 5 min or so.
Cook and eat rest of egg.
No off flavors but it will strip reds of some of its tannins...just like most fining agents.

 

[jimmyjames23]

Oh. And you don't have to be exact with the measurements. More just works faster.
As long as you don't put 10 egg whites in or something ridiculous like fry the egg first you should be fine.

 

[astebbi1]

1 tsp egg white for 5 gallons. Mixed with 3 tsp water and a pinch of salt. Whisk gently for 5 min. Remove foam with a spoon. Stir wine. Add egg white mix. Stir well for 5 min or so.

Thanks I've got some apple wine going right now that could really use some clearing so ill definitely give this a try.. Do you need to wait and retrack to get the egg whites and whatnot out after it clears??

 

[jimmyjames23]

Ya. It will settle to the bottom quickly. If you wait 1p days it will be almost crystal clear. Just rack it off the compacted lees.
This is the clarity after racking and back sweetening with honey.

 

[jimmyjames23]

Ten days not "1p" days. Lol.

 

[Leeboy]

Well.....mine has been sitting since I was told to re rack..... Should I rack one more time before bottling? (I can wait) also, what would happen if I dumped some grape juice in there to give it a deep sweet flavour?

 

[jimmyjames23]

Is it clear?

 

[saramc]

If you share your wine, please remember to label that egg whites were used, and ask your drinking partners if anyone has an egg allergy...can be quite detrimental to those with allergies. Most outgrow egg allergy before starting school but there are still many adults with allergies to egg whites.
It would be a great opportunity to talk about the various ways you can clear a wine, if you have interested people.

 

[jimmyjames23]

If you share your wine, please remember to label that egg whites were used, and ask your drinking partners if anyone has an egg allergy...can be quite detrimental to those with allergies. Most outgrow egg allergy before starting school but there are still many adults with allergies to egg whites.
It would be a great opportunity to talk about the various ways you can clear a wine, if you have interested people.

And remember for those with seafood allergies that Isinglass is made from Fish (swim bladder) and that Chitosan is often made from Shellfish

 

[jimmyjames23]

Well.....mine has been sitting since I was told to re rack..... Should I rack one more time before bottling? (I can wait) also, what would happen if I dumped some grape juice in there to give it a deep sweet flavour?

If you dump grape juice in it may reactivate fermentation. Rack your wine first and then stabilize it with Potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate.
Then wait a few days and you can safely add something to sweeten it.