[tcavan01]

How much wine do you lose each time you rack? From start to finish how much do you lose? Someone told me I should expect to lose 20 percent. I that about right?

[Duster]

20% sounds a bit high to me, I never really measured it out but I would guess it around 10%. I guess this may depend on the size of the batch your making

[robie]

I save the sediment, let it settle, then extract the clean wine off the top. I use this to top off.

As a result, for a typical kit, I don't have to add more than about 2 bottles of additional wine. That's approx 7%.
This can vary some.

[Chiumanfu]

You can minimize the losses if you store your carboys tilted with a chunk of 2x4 or wedge. This helps a lot especially for the first and second racking where there are a lot of lees. The lees will settle in the corner of the carboy. During racking, when the wine level drops to a point where you are going to lose suction, you slowly smoothly tilt it the opposite way. If you do it properly, there is minimal disturbance of the lees and you get the most wine transferred.

Using this method you will pick up slightly more of the fine sediment than a traditional rack but it all falls out eventually especially if your bulk ageing.

[Minnesotamaker]

My answer depends on the wine I'm making. If I start a batch with fruit, and you count the fruit solids as part of the loss, it will be higher. If you are making a grape juice wine from a kit, I'd guess about 10% loss in volume overall.

When I make a batch of wine with fruit, I always try to start with some extra volume so that after a couple rackings, I still have 5 or 6 gallons to fill a carboy.

[Boatboy24]

Originally Posted by robie

I save the sediment, let it settle, then extract the clean wine off the top. I use this to top off.

As a result, for a typical kit, I don't have to add more than about 2 bottles of additional wine. That's approx 7%.
This can vary some.

Robie,

I did this recently with my CC Showcase Old vine Zin. I have two bottles now, both about one third sediment at the bottom. How do you extract it? My autosiphon won't fit in the bottle opening.

[DoctorCAD]

Kit wines are made for a 4% loss. Less than 1 additional bottle required.

Fruit wines have much more pulp and stuff, so more loss.

[tchuklobrau]

This is why like with beer, I account for this loss and have like a 1/2 g over my desired volume. this way after all loss Im usually right at my desired volume(or over over is good)

[joeswine]

Depending of the wine structure and the yeast you choose or is chosen foryou ,say in a kit,i for one don't believe there is a set amount of boil off....it is what it is ,yeast ,temp and style of wine have a barring on it...but that's just my thoughts.

[Rocky]

My yield depends on what wine I am making and what I started with (i.e. kit, juice, grapes). In general I would say I get a better yield from white kits or juice than I do from most reds and a better yield from juice buckets than kits. I am not a "topper offer" and I reduce the size of the containers as I rack down. From a typical kit of red, I will get 26-28 bottles (750 ml) which would be 85% to 91% yield (of 9% to 15% loss) and from a white kit I will get 27 to 29 bottles which would be 88% to 95% yield. (Yields are based on an assumed starting point of 23 liters)