Stiring after primary fertmentation

[jhawk]

I am make a 5 gallon batch of wine from fresh white grapes. Before racking into the carboy do you stir the primary up and then rack or leave the lees and gross stuff behind?

 

[scubaman2151]

Leave the lees on the bottom.

 

[scotty]

There are 2 schools of thought on that. Some say stir every day except on the last day and leave as many lees as possible others say to stir even on the day of transferring to the secondary so one gets all the active yeast. The last few batches (unless its a kit and instructs otherwise)) i have stirred every day and transferred as much of the lees as possible. When secondary is completed i strive to avoid thr racking of lees.

 

[jhawk]

Like you said Scotty I have heard to stir or not to stir. I also have heard that the lees add body and fullness to the wine also if you transfer over the lees to the secondary and let the wine set on them.

 

[grapeman]

With fresh grapes, I would leave the sediment behind. This will leave behind the heavier solids. Don't be too fussy, some solids are fine in there. There is still plenty of yeast in there for it to finish its work.


By the way, what variety did you end up getting?Edited by: appleman

 

[jhawk]

Well I was going to do concord as mention 2 weeks ago but a guy got their before I did and swiped 90% of all the concord grapes, but what he didn't get was the Niagara grapes. So I picked 15 gallons worth of grapes and got just under 5 gallons of juice. Any other recommendations on the Niagara wine? I here it makes a get wine, but the shelf life is short on it.

 

[grapeman]

Last year the Niagara I made was the best one I have ever made. The grapes were slightly under ripe when picked, so the acid was better than usual. I finished it drier than usual instead of the normal sweet desert style. It is reminiscent of Sauvignon Blanc, with just a touch of herbaceous character. The shelf life is fine with it as long as you use metabisulfite in it.