sediment

[outbackmac]

I just went to open one of our Red wines and noticed sediment in the bottom of the bottle. the wine was degassed and aged in carboy for prob 4-5 months b4 bottling. Sorry this wine has been in the bottle for 6-8 months. Juice buckets

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Is it tartric acid ?

Typically will fall.out if it gets colder

I will cold stabilize prior to bottling just for that reason

 

[sour_grapes]

You did not explicitly ask a question, but this seems normal to me. It is likely "wine diamonds" -- aka potassium bitartrate aka cream of tartar.

 

[Floandgary]

I do a lot of juice buckets. ALL will age in carboy for 12 months minimum, racking at 3 month intervals. It vary's with each bucket but I have gotten sediment as far along as the 9 month rackover. While a light sediment in the bottle is not cause for alarm, it goes to show that just a little more time in the carboy can eliminate it! Oh and just to mention it, there are always the clearing/fining agents if you are in a hurry to bottle.

 

[ceeaton]

If you want anything more than guesses from the brains (not me) here, you need to give a little more information about the origin of the red wine. Was it a kit, was it a bucket, was it from fresh grapes, was it from frozen must?

Then, if it was a kit, what kit was it, did you follow the directions. Did you use the clarifiers after degassing, etc. Was the wine clear when you bottled it. Did you rack it to a separate carboy before bottling?

If it wasn't a kit, did you use clarifiers like superklear or sparkoloid etc?

More information will produce better answers. Thanks!

 

[GreginND]

He said it was a juice bucket.

It sounds perfectly normal. Most commercial red wines are ages for 1-2 years in barrels before bottling and they still form sediments over time. Could be many things - tartrates precipitating out; polyphenols polymerizing; etc. Plan on setting the bottle upright a day before serving and decanting it. It will be just fine.

 

[ritsmon123]

I would like to ask a question about a wine kit that I made the name of the wine kit is orchard breezing mist wine green apple delight.i have put
it into a glass carboy I have stabilized the wine and degassed it and I did not disturb the lees in the bottom is it common for the sediment to settle on the bottom again it said to leave it for two weeks for it to clear so should I leave it for the two weeks and then siphon it into another bucket to bottle it.

 

[cpfan]

I would like to ask a question about a wine kit that I made the name of the wine kit is orchard breezing mist wine green apple delight.i have put
it into a glass carboy I have stabilized the wine and degassed it and I did not disturb the lees in the bottom is it common for the sediment to settle on the bottom again it said to leave it for two weeks for it to clear so should I leave it for the two weeks and then siphon it into another bucket to bottle it.

WOW what a run on difficult to understand sentence.

Yes it sounds absolutely normal, and yes that sounds like the right approach.

Steve

 

[ceeaton]

He said it was a juice bucket.

Humm, must have been drinking, maybe some wine. I think I need one of those breathalyzers they put on cars, but on my computer instead so I can't login and post stupid posts.

 

[GreginND]

Humm, must have been drinking, maybe some wine. I think I need one of those breathalyzers they put on cars, but on my computer instead so I can't login and post stupid posts.

LOL, we've all been there. No way would I put one of those devices on my computer. I'd be shut off from the internets!!!

 

[outbackmac]

I would like to thank those that took my post serious. before bottling i will and some fining agents to clear

 

[outbackmac]

how far in advance of bottling do you recommend adding clearing agents?

 

[heatherd]

I typically do it a week but suspect you could just do it a few days prior. Be sure to rack before bottling.

 

[carlb]

I have been making juice buckets for a few years and have found that bulk aging at least 1 year rackings every 3 to 4 months gives me very good results. I also do a final racking a day or two before i am going to bottle. In most cases there is very little to no sediment in the carboy that i rack just before bottling but sometimes i find with Merlot i have a little dusting of very fine sediment .

 

[Turock]

If you allow your reds from juice buckets to bulk age in the carboy for a year, you eliminate virtually all of the sediment. It takes quite sometime for all of the unstable components in a wine to drop out. Plus, your wine will taste better with more aging as the flavor comes to more complexity. Juice buckets are thin enough on taste--you only make this worse by not bulk aging long enough. And many reds can benefit from aging for 2,3,or 4 years.

Reds need no fining agents. It is very clear to me that if they are cloudy, you're not bulk aging, and you're bottling too soon.

 

[Floandgary]

You (and anyone else reading) should be thoroughly convinced by now that a 1 year timeframe with scheduled rackovers appears to be what works to eliminate sediment and CO2 without additives.... PLUS what your wine will do to improve its character! Now there are some which will continue to drop sediments for a much longer time and you may be able to identify them by asking around, but if you prefer not to wait that long, a little sediment in the bottle is not a winemaking sin!!

 

[JohnT]

You (and anyone else reading) should be thoroughly convinced by now that a 1 year timeframe with scheduled rackovers appears to be what works to eliminate sediment and CO2 without additives.... PLUS what your wine will do to improve its character! Now there are some which will continue to drop sediments for a much longer time and you may be able to identify them by asking around, but if you prefer not to wait that long, a little sediment in the bottle is not a winemaking sin!!

+1 on what floangary said! I age my wines for at least 18 months up to 2 years. I never have a problem with either clarity or gas..


Another point is this (and I hope I do not sound harsh).. So what if you have some sediment in your bottle??? Who Cares??? The whole purpose of decanters is to give your wine a mini "racking" before you drink it (and also some aeration).

If your wine tastes good, and you like it, don't mess with it any more. Just decant, enjoy, and remember to age longer next time...

 

[sour_grapes]

I never have a problem with either clarity or gas.

Would the missus agree with these statements?

 

[Turock]

The poster already made the comment that this wine was only aged for 4-5 months before bottling. This is not enough CLOSE to enough aging for even a white, let alone a red. It's plain to see that it was bottled too soon and one should expect sediment in this case.

 

[JohnT]

Would the missus agree with these statements?

This is why she made me cut down on the bean dip!!!