WineXpert Should i

[Vlabruz]

This is the cabernet kit I was planning to rack. Its been this way for a little less than a month. Should I just wait another month or get of that lees?

 

[Tim3]

I used to get anxious about letting wine sit on the fine lees too. After a while you realize there really isn’t a rush and it’s best to time things to minimize racking, even if that means wine sits on the fine lees for 6 months. The only caveat to that rule is when the fermentation had issues. If the fermentation didn’t go exactly to plan it’s best to rack off the fine lees when there’s a buildup, even if that means an extra racking is required.

 

[rustbucket]

You mentioned that it's only been a few weeks, and assuming that this time period represents the first racking out of the primary fermenter, I'd wait a month to let it clear some more. Then either bottle or rack for bulk aging.

 

[Jim Welch]

That looks like a substantial volume of lees, and this may have occurred to you, if you rack into an identical size container you’ll need something to top off.
Also when I have that much lees, I like to pour off the lees after racking into a clean container and cold crash it in a fridge. I’m almost always surprised how much wine is in the lees.
As a matter of fact I’ve come to almost always cold crashing the lees no matter how much. I use 4 oz, 8 oz, 16 oz, 32oz, and 64 oz Ball jars for this.

 

[Vlabruz]

That looks like a substantial volume of lees, and this may have occurred to you, if you rack into an identical size container you’ll need something to top off.
Also when I have that much lees, I like to pour off the lees after racking into a clean container and cold crash it in a fridge. I’m almost always surprised how much wine is in the lees.
As a matter of fact I’ve come to almost always cold crashing the lees no matter how much. I use 4 oz, 8 oz, 16 oz, 32oz, and 64 oz Ball jars for this.

I started doing that. I have pinot grigio and skeeter pee lees cold crashing now

 

[Khristyjeff]

That looks like a substantial volume of lees, and this may have occurred to you, if you rack into an identical size container you’ll need something to top off.
Also when I have that much lees, I like to pour off the lees after racking into a clean container and cold crash it in a fridge. I’m almost always surprised how much wine is in the lees.
As a matter of fact I’ve come to almost always cold crashing the lees no matter how much. I use 4 oz, 8 oz, 16 oz, 32oz, and 64 oz Ball jars for this.

@Jim Welch How do you extract the wine from the bottle after cold crashing without mixing the lees in again? Syphon?

 

[ChuckD]

How do you extract the wine from the bottle after cold crashing without mixing the lees in again? Syphon?

I leave it a week or more then carefully pour off the wine. You can get almost all of it.

 

[Vlabruz]

@Jim Welch How do you extract the wine from the bottle after cold crashing without mixing the lees in again? Syphon?

I was going to use a turkey baster

 

[Jim Welch]

@Jim Welch How do you extract the wine from the bottle after cold crashing without mixing the lees in again? Syphon?

I do the same as @ChuckD, usually into a smaller ball jar, once settled it’s easy to see how much is there.

 

[mikewatkins727]

@Jim Welch How do you extract the wine from the bottle after cold crashing without mixing the lees in again? Syphon?

I use a straw.

 

[Ohio Bob]

It’s either called quality control or the vintners cut, etc.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

I was going to use a turkey baster

I use a turkey baster For that also for blowing kmeta through my siphon line.

 

[Vlabruz]

I use a turkey baster For that also for blowing kmeta through my siphon line.

I use a tub of star san and usually pump it through with the siphon