Racking wine's with small seeds/pulp

[InfinityOnHigh]

I've been fermenting ~1 gallon of blackberry/wineberry wine for the past week and have set to rack it for secondary fermentation. My siphon has an inner diameter of 3/16in, which seems to be just the size for seeds from the primary fermenter to get stuck in. I've only been able to siphon off 3 quarts because of this, but there is still a lot left. Does anyone have any advice on how to siphon the rest of the wine out? I figured I could us thinner tubing, but then seeds could just as easily get stuck on the end. A wider tubing would stop blockages, but at the same time draw must/seeds into the wine (although it would still separate most of the must out). Any ideas?

 

[Ohio Bob]

People have reported using mesh screens, mesh bags, sort of like plastic tea bags, rubber banded at the end of the dip tube.

 

[Rocky]

If I understand your issue properly, you have the wine in a 1-gallon sized container or slightly larger. If I were going from primary to secondary with something like blackberry wine, I would pour the wine through a large sieve set inside a large funnel into the secondary fermenter. I would let the "dregs" drain in the sieve into the funnel until all or most of the liquid has passed. I would likely have to clean out the sieve from time to time.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

 

[ChuckD]

I’ll summon @winemaker81. He made a nice device out of PVC and a straining bag for just this purpose.

 

[BigDaveK]

I always transfer not rack into secondary. Pour into mesh bag to catch small stuff then into secondary container. There's still fermenting to be done and I don't want to leave too many yeast behind.

Everyone has their procedure.

 

[winemaker81]

As requested, here's my high-tech racking jig. I wrap it in a fine grain nylon straining bag, secure it with a rubber band, plunge the unit into the must, and put the racking cane inside.

The jig is 3" or 4" PVC, about 2' long. I used a 1/4" drill bit (I think) and simply drilled a bunch of holes in it.

Before grape season I will drill a few more holes, clean up the holes with a rat-tail file, and sand the bottom smooth.

I've been trying to find a tall, narrow straining bag, but no luck so far.

 

[Rice_Guy]

My primary answer is the reverse of @winemaker81 i have PVC tubes with holes. A six inch tube gives a snug fit on some straining bags, otherwise I hang the bag inside and spring clip a larger bag over the rim. A carboy of Wine is carefully bailed into the bag and pulp in side the bag gets squeezed to express liquid.

With smaller (lees) quantities I will take a plastic reusable coffee filter hanging on top of a food container or this stainless coffee filter on a canning jar. I will not use iron kitchen sieves. This sat in the fridge over night and will top off the carboy today.

 

[Hazelemere]

strain with panty hose

 

[kilendra]

If you’re willing to spend $24 plus shipping/tax, I’ve had great results with this stainless steel siphon filter: Auto Siphon Filter

 

[barryjo]

strain with panty hose

I was going to suggest knee-high nylon stockings but close enough. Cut the panties in half.

 

[winemaker81]

If you’re willing to spend $24 plus shipping/tax, I’ve had great results with this stainless steel siphon filter: Auto Siphon Filter

The mesh size is 300 microns, which filters out a LOT of stuff. Does it get "gummed up" during usage? How large are the batches you've used it on?

 

[wood1954]

I use 5 gallon paint strainer bags soak in starsan to help sanitize first.

 

[wood1954]

For straining my grape must I use a large mesh laundry bag in the press

 

[winemaker81]

For straining my grape must I use a large mesh laundry bag in the press

I was taught to line the press with cheese cloth, but discovered that rather few chunks come through. I have a large straining bag that fits in a 6 gallon primary fermenter, so I line the receiving bucket with the bag, as it's easier to deal with.

 

[kilendra]

The mesh size is 300 microns, which filters out a LOT of stuff. Does it get "gummed up" during usage? How large are the batches you've used it on?

I've used it on 2-6gal batches where I use fruit, skins, etc in primary. I also use a transfer pump (1 gal per min diaphragm pump, Anti-Gravity Transfer Pump Kit) + 3/8" racking cane, so bought the filter to to make sure that seeds/etc didn't end up stuck in the pump's diaphragm. Haven't tried using the filter with an auto-siphon.

Haven't had issues with gumming up (so far!), but the mesh can be annoying to clean depending on how much dretis ends up stuck in the openings.

 

[InfinityOnHigh]

I actually do have some old cheesecloth I had used for another thing, which I can use as a mesh. I had never figured on securing it around the tube as a filter, so thanks everyone for all the advice and tips!