Should I rack again?

[crabjoe]

I just racked 3 days ago from Primary to secondary. When I went today to just check things out, it looks like there's just over a centimeter of sediment already. I'm a bit shocked at how quickly sediment is collecting.

So what the norm on racking? Rack as needed to get wine off of lees or is there a minimum period one should wait before racking?

BTW, this is my 1st red so I can't tell if the wine is anywhere near clear or not. I mean, when I look at it, to me, it looks just like it did before fermentation ever started.

 

[Intheswamp]

1/4" (.64 cm) is what I've heard from different places. But even more than that, in only 3 days and as fresh as the lees are, doesn't seem like they'd do any damage.

 

[Scooter68]

Normally until fermentation has finished, I would not rack again.

The terms 'primary' & 'secondary' are used to describe informally defined periods of the fermentation process. I have never heard of anyone needing to rack more than once during an ongoing fermentation.

 

[CDrew]

I don't know if this is grapes or a kit.

With grapes, you press when fermentation is close to done or done, the initial wine produces a lot of sediment. This is the "gross" lees. You want the wine to settle just a day or three and then rack off the gross lees leaving them behind. Everything subsequent is "fine" lees and you can rack when you want.

A centimeter of whitish lees sounds like fine lees and you can rack when you feel it's time.

 

[crabjoe]

Normally until fermentation has finished, I would not rack again.

The terms 'primary' & 'secondary' are used to describe informally defined periods of the fermentation process. I have never heard of anyone needing to rack more than once during an ongoing fermentation.

I call it secondary, but when I moved it, I'd say it was done fermenting .... SG .994.

I was going to rack it off the lees tonight, but then I remembered I had added oak chips.. So if I can wait a total of 10 days to rack, that's my plan, since my understanding is that oak chips pretty much give up everything in around a week.

 

[Scooter68]

If it's not done fermenting - wait. Until the SG stops dropping, let it go. Rushing things will only lead to mistakes. When the SG doesn't change for 3 days. THEN fermentation should be done.

 

[salcoco]

suggested intervals for racking is 3 days,, three weeks and three months thereafter. the first rack in three days is of off gross lees which contain dead yeast,particle of fruit etc. these items can cause off odors in the wine and thus the wine should be removed from these asap. the three week rack removes the wine wine from the fine lees. K-meta should be added at the three rack point . oak should not be added until wine is clear. Oak is cheap I would rack off of your sediment now to prevent off odors and ruining you wine. wait until wine is clear to add oak.

 

[crabjoe]

suggested intervals for racking is 3 days,, three weeks and three months thereafter. the first rack in three days is of off gross lees which contain dead yeast,particle of fruit etc. these items can cause off odors in the wine and thus the wine should be removed from these asap. the three week rack removes the wine wine from the fine lees. K-meta should be added at the three rack point . oak should not be added until wine is clear. Oak is cheap I would rack off of your sediment now to prevent off odors and ruining you wine. wait until wine is clear to add oak.

Thanks! I guess I'll be racking tonight when I get home.

 

[crabjoe]

Glad I racked it off the Lees.. I say this because I got a smell of it and boy did it smell like bread yeast.. And I know know since my other hobby is making pizza.

I did take a taste to see how it was.. The wine itself didn't taste bad.. It was a bit light bodied and had a crisp taste of alcohol, but it wasn't too bad.

 

[crabjoe]

It looks like I need to rack again.. Look at the sediment at the bottom of this 6 gallon carboy! What is going on? The only clearing agent I added was before fermentation even started and that was pectic enzyme. Other then that, nothing else.



BTW, how can you tell when a red wine is clear? It's so dark, I can't tell if it's cloudy or not. I mean before all that sediment appeared, the rest looked the same to me.

 

[Ajmassa]

BTW, how can you tell when a red wine is clear? It's so dark, I can't tell if it's cloudy or not..

Super secret carboy halogen LED laser lights

 

[Ajmassa]

Btw - the wine looks fine. No need to jump the gun.

It might look thick but often it’s just a small layer that builds up around the sides. My suggestion-stay with salcoco’s racking protocol.

 

[crabjoe]

Btw - the wine looks fine. No need to jump the gun.

It might look thick but often it’s just a small layer that builds up around the sides. My suggestion-stay with salcoco’s racking protocol.

Thank you. It makes sense that it might be a thin layer. After all, it's made from a wine kit... really, how much sediment can a concentrate juice have? Cant be as much as what you see in my pic, right?

 

[CabSauv]

Just a newbie to newbie tip, put a towel under that carboy or put it in a plastic storage bin if you've got one. I haven't had any break on me but I'd hate for you to lose your hard work. It's also really nice when racking if there's any spillage or overflow and won't spill and stain your floor.

P.S. The sediment looks completely normal to me too, no worries there.

 

[ZebraB]

I'm at the 3 month mark of my second batch. I'm at a quandary if I should rack. It is a cheap Chardonnay kit with a PH of 3.19 12.9% ABV. So the target Sulfide should be 20 but my cheap tester indicates that it is 50. So I don't need to add sulfides. It is clearing up and a layer of lees are likely ok because of the type of wine. The wine tastes good at this point. I have been using the headspace eliminator and I was planning on racking to a 5 gallon carboy and put the extra in a newer batch of a premium Chardonnay kit to top off. I would like your recommendations on if I should rack or keep as is and check sulfides again in a couple months.

 

[CDrew]

Without being tounge in cheek, you would never add sulfides. That's like adding H2S, the enemy of home fermentation.

Sulfites are what you might add but are very different from sulfides

Sulfide = S (2-)
Sulfite = SO3(2-)
Sulfate = SO4(2-)

All very different

 

[ZebraB]

I stand corrected. I meant adding Potassium Metasulphite

 

[Johnd]

I'm not sure if something around the carboy is affecting the appearance of the color in the photo, but at 3 months, a cleared chardonnay should be a golden yellow color, and yours looks brown, am I seeing the color wrong?

 

[ZebraB]

The picture coloring is off. It looks like a normal chardonnay color.... light golden yellow

 

[Johnd]

The picture coloring is off. It looks like a normal chardonnay color.... light golden yellow

OK, good. If you have sediment and are at the 3 month mark since your last rack / sulfite addition, it's a perfect time to do both. If you have enough faith in your "cheap tester" to believe that you are indeed at 50ppm, there's no need to add any additional sulfite, since you only need 20. If the lees are just a thin layer, you can probably get away with skipping the racking as well. At some point in time, consider getting your wine into a vessel where you can limit headspace, the headspace eliminators are nice, but little headspace is a sure thing. Good luck!!!