Whats left in the Carboy?

PolishWineP · Oct 30, 2005

Shot top to bottom of carboy

We racked our Choke Cherry this morning. It's been in process for over a year now. Along most of the sides and on the bottom was this almost crystal material. It certainly had structure to it but it wasn't grainy like sugar. None of it racked into the clean carboy, but it's sure tossed us something new.

Bottom of carboy. Liquid would go under the mass on the bottom. When I took the sink hose to it the thickest stuff on the bottom came off in chunks. It didn't instantly disolve and I poured some into my hand. It felt dry.

peterCooper · Oct 30, 2005

Did you taste IT?

PolishWineP · Oct 30, 2005

Uh..... duh..... no......

(Crap!) I don't know why I didn't think of that! Why weren't you here helping! (There. Put blame on someone else.)

Hippie · Oct 30, 2005

It is tartaric acid crystals. The wine is alot better off by leaving it behind. It had too much so had to get rid of some. You will probably have more fallout. If you have a spare fridge or a cold garage, you can get rid of alot more. This is called cold stabilization. some wineries and homewinemakers chill the wine as low as 25 degrees, depending on the alcohol content. Alot of stuff will precipitate when the wine is chilled. One just keeps racking off it. Wine clears alot faster in lower temps, as long as it is degassed and stable.

Good job!