Strawberry Wine - First Racking Question

[PCharles]

After a week in the primary fermenter, as per the procedure, I have removed the nylon bag full of strawberries and moved the must to my carboy. I driped the bag of strawberries into a bowl and added that to the carboy also. Now, I find the 6 gallon carboy is about 3/4 gallon short. The SG of the must is 1.010 and is continuing to work. The recipie calls for several racking followed by stabilization and bottling in about 4 months, followed by 9 months of bottle aging.

No to my question. My carboy is now 3/4 of a gallon short. The must continues to work. Is it ok to leave that air gap in the carboy now? My inclination is to purchase a smaller carboy. I have a batch of 1 gallon bottles, but don't want to split it into 5 gallon fermenters. A 4 gallon and a 1 gallon sounds better to me. I don't want to dilute with water and am hesitant to add another wine.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Paul

 

[Runningwolf]

Paul it sounds like you are currently in a 6 gallon carboy which is actually 6.25 gallons if it is newer. I would purchase a 5 gallon carboy and possibly a half gallon jug if you need to. Just ensure you have enough bungs and air locks for your smaller containers and wine bottles as you can also use those for aging.

 

[winemaker_3352]

That should be enough head room to finish fermentation. By the time you backsweeten and add your f-pac - that should give the amount you need to fill the carboy.

But you will run into the same issue with the next racking.

So as Dan suggested - get a 5 gallon carboy - you will have a gallon left over - but this will allow you to top off with in future rackings.

 

[closetwine]

I agree with above... The only other option is to top up with another wine, and you said you don't want to do that...

 

[Ken914]

I agree with she above me who agrees. (...flashback to a Blazing Saddles scene with the Johnsons.)

In the secondary, my strawberry dropped a lot of sediment. In fact, I watched the process happen daily. It's almost like the stuff was falling in layers.

IMO, give your strawberry wine some good time in the secondary and lots of your sediment will fall and compact in the first few weeks. You'll have less racking (and waste) in the long-term.

P.S. Set aside some berries for your fpac, too!

Good luck!

 

[Tom]

U R fine. You will need the extra room for your f-pac and when you back sweeten