Primary fermentation to carboy

[GeoffMcG]

Hello fellow winemakers,
What is the best way to move wine after primary fermentation into carboys for secondary fermentation? Last year I fermented about 170litres and used bucket to transfer it out into the press. The free run flowed through into a container then I pressed the rest.
I'm thinking that this is a prime opportunity for oxygen to get into the wine and cause problems.
Is there a better way to do this?
I'm thinking of syphoning the free run into carboys then just scooping out the rest and pressing it but expect blockages in the racking cane would be a problem.
Any suggestions?

 

[Rice_Guy]

I'm thinking of syphoning the free run into carboys then just scooping out the rest and pressing it but expect blockages in the racking cane would be a problem.
Any suggestions?

the beer folks have stainless steel filter tubes which they use for pulling liquid out of a mash tun.
I think there have been pictures on WMT where someone took a PVC pipe and drilled holes in it to act as a gross solids filter, inserted the racking cane down the pipe and then pumped the wine out of a tank, filtration efficiency would be better if the pipe had a nylon filter bag over the pipe.
. . .... I am still down at 30 liter carboys/ plastic pails where running everything through a nylon filter bag works well enough, .... good question, yes I see the oxygen risk, and it will be interesting to read what others do.

 

[BernardSmith]

Definitely no expert but if you press the fruit while there is still sugars to ferment (say, at 1-4 brix) then is the risk of "oxidation" really an issue? The yeast are still very active. Won't they scavenge every last molecule of O2? If you press after active fermentation has ceased then that's another story. No?

 

[NorCal]

In addition to having some level of fermentation going on, the wine is saturated with CO2, which is coming out of solution, also protecting the wine. I have never experienced oxidation in the wine from open handling the wine at this early age. My protocol is to press and let the wine sit in open container until the next day. This lets the must finish up fermenting of any sugars that were released during pressing as well as let the gross lees settle before going into a container for mlf or storage.

 

[mainshipfred]

The gajillion holer works great and I sometimes use it. Mostly I just dump everything in the press and let the free run do it's thing before pressing. I also never worry about oxidation at this stage.

 

[winemaker81]

I concur on not worrying about oxidation.

Last fall I racked free run wine from beneath the cap (at 0.998 I had a bit of activity going). I made a jig -- took a length of 4" PVC pipe and drilled many holes through it within 8" of one end. I wrapped it in a fine straining bag and plunged it into the must. Insert the racking cane in the pipe and go!

 

[GeoffMcG]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I hadn't thought of it still being protected enough at that stage but it makes sense.