Hello again!
Newbie here with another question.
The kits I have been using so far follow a pretty standard format: fermentation period, 14 days - followed by clearing period, another 14 days - bottle at the 28-day mark (they are called 28-day wine kits for a reason, I guess!).
If my wine looks beautifully clear in its glass carboy after 11 or 12 days, can I rack into the primary and bottle right away? Do I have to wait the 14 days for the clearing/fining/stabilizing agents to do their thing, if the wine looks nice and clear?
TIA -
Holly
First beer/wine cant read a calendar so donāt go by ādaysā. Second with alcohol you are much better off being a day late than a day early. Especially in wine. The longer it sits the more clear it will become and less problems youāll have later.
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Most wines need some time to develop its flavorā¦ heckā¦ same thing for some big brews tooā¦
Sneezles61
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For my first batch of kit wine, after a full 14 days of clearing/stabilizing, I racked into the primary (Big Mouth Bubbler) and then bottled right away, on day 28. (The wine was nice and clear with very little visible sediment at the bottom of the carboy in which it had been resting, undisturbed, for a full two weeks to clear.)
For this batch, since fermentation completed and it was racked into the glass carboy, it has been sitting undisturbed for 12 days and looks beautifully clear; however, there is a visible, thicker layer of sediment at the bottom of the carboy (maybe 3/4 of an inch?)
Is it better to rack it off that sediment now, or, will a day or two longer not risk development of off-flavors?
If I rack off the sediment then leave it another few days or week, then rack again and bottle, is it an unnecessary racking (risking unnecessary introduction of oxygen)?
As the wine above the sediment seems nice and clear already, Iām tempted to just rack into the primary and bottle immediately.
Practically speaking, it is only pushing the timeline up by a day and a half, but I know enough to understand that āI donāt know what I donāt knowā and it would be better to get more context than to make a pricey mistake and assume that a couple of days wonāt make a difference.
Some extra time will not hurtā¦ Kits want you to hurryā¦ The sooner you drink themā¦ the sooner you get another one!
Well, thatās my 2 cents worthā¦ There use to be a wine expert on hereā¦ I wonder if heās still aroundā¦ Regardlessā¦ Brew Cat is right up thereā¦
Sneezles61
Tim Vanderā¦
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Well Iām not an expert but I make quite Abit of wine. If your sitting on sediment I would rack it. For some reason oxidation is not as big a problem with wine as beer. I donāt know whatās involved with kits but with juice Iāll rack the first time after a few days then the second rack after a month. The I continue to rack whenever the sediment builds up. You never like to have your wine sit on spent yeast.
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Whatās the specific gravity. And what yeast did you use?
With wine sitting on the lees (sediment) is not so big a deal as with beer and mead.
Twenty four years ago I started a four gallon batch; it was working through primary fermentation. When I fell breaking two bones in my right foot and partially tearing my Achilles. I was hopping around on a walker for six weeks so the wine had to sit on the lees almost 8 weeks but the wine turned out PERFECT. The lees was somewhere between 1/8-1/4 inch thick on the bottom. I was expecting it to be poured down the drain but it surprised me!
I used Montrachet yeast at the time
I find it clears faster after racking as well as degass
