Sediment

In November and December I made several kits. Mostly big reds and a couple of whites.

After stabilizing and fining, I waited the recommended time and racked. I have recently passed the recommended bottling time, as I plan to bulk age 2-3 months.

When I checked the carboys with a flashlight today, I was surprised to see nearly a 1/4 inch of sediment in the bottoms of the reds. Hard to see exactly . Should I rack again, or is it ok to age on this for a couple of months?

Very little if any sediment on the bottom of the whites.

Kev

Just my Opinion, rack it.

You didn't say what fining you did so you could rack it now or soon. Add sulfite , sorbate and back sweeten now even if just a bit. Let it continue to age until time to bottle.

If its very fine sediment you could leave it a little longer. Some of that could be tartaric acid flakes.

djrockinsteve said:

You didn't say what fining you did so you could rack it now or soon. Add sulfite , sorbate and back sweeten now even if just a bit. Let it continue to age until time to bottle.

If its very fine sediment you could leave it a little longer. Some of that could be tartaric acid flakes.

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Potassium sorbate then Chitosan were added at the stabilizing stage and the wine was degassed with a vacuum pump. These are WE kits, no F paks.

After a few weeks the wines were racked. Now here we are 3-4 weeks later and there is still sediment forming.

I guess there is no harm in racking again, but I have about 12 carboys to do, so it is a bit of work.

Does the sediment need to be all gone before I filter and bottle with my whole home filter, or will the filter just catch any that gets sucked up.

I was hoping to filter and bottle at the same time, and run through as many batches as I could at once, for filter efficiency. 5 micron poly filter. Hope it will do 4-5 batches.

Kev

I agree with Duster. I'd rack it. You'll probably need another racking before filtering. You'll want to filter with virtually no sediment in it.

Yup - go ahead and rack it. Let it sit for another 2-3 months to see if there is any more sediment - if none - then filter it.

Hey Duster, it looks like you are playing a Steelhead guitar!!!! LOL

Another little lesson for this Newbie.

So I vacuum racked the WE Chilean Malbec Shiraz, and the WK Amarone.

What I thought was a lot of sediment was just a paper thin coating that came up the sides a bit where it curves, making it look much thicker. Might not have been worth the loss of a cup of wine to get rid of that small an amount of sediment.

I will let the rest sit a month or two, then rack just before I filter to bottle..

Just so you know, its fine to let your wine sit on a very fine sediment. Just not the heavy sediment from primary or if its from a fining agent. Its good to rack it off to a clean vessel before bottling though.

Wade E said:

Just so you know, its fine to let your wine sit on a very fine sediment. Just not the heavy sediment from primary or if its from a fining agent. Its good to rack it off to a clean vessel before bottling though.

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I racked after I thought the fining had settled per kit instructions.
If I am going to filter and bottle at the same time with a vacuum pump, and I am careful not to stir up this very fine sediment, can I save the step of an extra racking?

Yep, keep the racking can up a little until the very last second when filtering and youll skip that step no problem.

I rack less than most because I hate giving the wine gods to much as racking always losses some wine

mmadmikes1 said:

I rack less than most because I hate giving the wine gods to much as racking always losses some wine

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You and me both. Once when its thru fermenting. 2nd when it's clear. 3rd time back sweetening then bottle.

sorry to hijack this thread, but what is the reason behind clearing this lees.

is it just for the appearance so that when we drink, it is not some hazy drink or is it because there would be some weird taste when we drink because it is fermented left overs?

Espoir said:

sorry to hijack this thread, but what is the reason behind clearing this lees.

is it just for the appearance so that when we drink, it is not some hazy drink or is it because there would be some weird taste when we drink because it is fermented left overs?

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A wine left on the bulk of the lees too long will develop off flavors and it'll eventually ruin it. There is also the aesthetics of it though as well, as you mentioned.

Some wines, like the occasional chardonnay, are intentionally left on the finer lees (they are still racked the first & maybe second times, removing probably 90% of the lees) in a process called battonage. This is a seperate process unto itself and is generally only considered for certain styles of wines.

So to answer your question in short form, its a bit of both

oh i see. thanks for the clarification! getting really impatient to drink my wine. feels like a forbidden fruit before the aging process is done!

Espoir said:

oh i see. thanks for the clarification! getting really impatient to drink my wine. feels like a forbidden fruit before the aging process is done!

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Have you tried it yet? It is not against the law to taste it, or even try a glass full. Just have to be careful with the tasting or there will not be anything left to bottle. LOL, Arne.