Recipes

[Giacomo]

Hi, I, Giacomo, am new here. Read QQ. about clarifying wine. After first racking, I use the French recipe of whipping Three egg whites with three tablespoons of water w a pinch of salt; whip well then pour into five gal carboy, stir really well, put on a bubbler and after about ten days, wine will be clear. Then re-rack, avoid sediment at bottom, and leave the wine to sleep for about a year.

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome to WMT, Giacomo!

 

[winemaker81]

Welcome!

I've not used egg whites, but that sounds about right, if I correctly recall what I've read about it.

Based upon my experiences and that of others, I'd not let the wine "sleep" for a year without adding sulfite. The rule of thumb was every 3 months, but folks are posting about using longer periods without ill effect. It's worth looking for other threads regarding sulfite usage.

I've not seen the term "sleep" used before, but it fits.

 

[Ldypink]

Hi, I, Giacomo, am new here. Read QQ. about clarifying wine. After first racking, I use the French recipe of whipping Three egg whites with three tablespoons of water w a pinch of salt; whip well then pour into five gal carboy, stir really well, put on a bubbler and after about ten days, wine will be clear. Then re-rack, avoid sediment at bottom, and leave the wine to sleep for about a year.

Welcome

 

[G259]

I was always told to rack every three months, to stay off of the lees.

 

[winemaker81]

I was always told to rack every three months, to stay off of the lees.

Ditto. However, if there are no lees?

Over the past couple of years I'm questioning a lot of what I was taught. IMO the old rules (mostly) made sense during the time in which they were formulated, but new products, knowledge, and techniques may offer different solutions.

 

[G259]

Depending how long since the last racking, I'll say that there is the possibility of a 'dusting' of lees on the bottom. Just be careful when racking off of that and bottling. A sample with a little 'dust' is not a problem, as long as you know it's there, and can account for it. You know what you are doing, so just a reminder.

 

[Rice_Guy]

If your technique is good enough to avoid oxidation good, ,,, ie it wouldn’t matter if you racked once a month, for fun or to sample the carboy etc.
@winemaker81 if it only shows a dust you probably are better off not risking extra air exposure. Reading between the lines traditional “letting it sleep for a year“ is a technique to avoid air exposure on a basically clean wine in a culture which didn’t have as many vacuum pumps.
The world I occupy is mainly fruit wines which have low built in antioxidants therefore I feel the risk of oxidation is high, ,,, therefore I minimize contact with air and don’t do racking to fit the calendar.

I was always told to rack every three months, to stay off of the lees.