Secondary questions

[Twintrades]

How long should i let my wine sit in secondary ? How soon is to soon to rack again ? I have my strawberry and i racked it now after only 1 day there is a lot of lees on the bottom. And i didnt get any when i racked the first time lol.

Whats does sitting in secondary do to wine?

 

[robie]

Secondary is the second stage in fermenting. The wine is still fermenting when in secondary, just a lot slower than in primary. When it is time for secondary, it is important to keep all air (oxygen) away from the wine. This is why most people generally will put wine in a sealed carboy with an air lock attached.

The wine should stay in secondary until the specific gravity (SG) stops dropping. One can judge this by observing that the SG has not dropped for 3 days in a row.

For kit wines, the wine should stay in secondary AT LEAST the number of days recommended in the instructions. Lots of good things happen to the wine during that period.

 

[Twintrades]

So is there a general rule of thumb for when wines go into a secondary. Like all fruit would go in on the 4th day or like when the sg drops to say 1.010 ?

Also should all small 1 gallon batches just ferment dry in primary so they don't get stuck ?

 

[Turock]

In the secondary, the yeast no longer has any food to continue an active ferment, but those yeast add the flavor to the wine. That's why it improves with time. There is no need to rack if there is only fine lees on the bottom. Infact, you want those fine lees, the inactive yeat cells, to remain in the wine. We let our strawberry age for about 9 months before we bottle. The flavors firm up much better, and all the CO2 comes out of the wine.

Don't rack obessively---this is actually one of my pet peeves of winemaking. Far too many people are doing far too much racking and it's not necessary. Let your young wines sit undisturbed and don't keep taking the airlock off for tasting,etc. Rack ONLY when you have thick lees. We make wine from grapes and fruit--and we only ever rack ONE TIME.

 

[Twintrades]

Hmm well that sounds great i was always told that if there is 1/4 inch or more to rack. And ive read that if it sits on lees that it will get some off flavors or worse it could ruin the wine.

 

[robie]

Hmm well that sounds great i was always told that if there is 1/4 inch or more to rack. And ive read that if it sits on lees that it will get some off flavors or worse it could ruin the wine.

I see a lot of what I describe as over racking. When a little "dust" settles in the bottom of the carboy doesn't mean it has to be immediately racked off. That really light material is not going to harm your wine like the heavier materials that are present right after fermentation ends.

Think of lees as the heavier material present right after fermentation. After that, about all you get is lighter sediment, which is mostly yeast, and the tiny suspended material that falls out when clearing and the even lighter material that falls over the next several months in bulk aging.

For instances, if you use clearing agent(s), be diligent to rack after the wine is clear. After that, you really don't need to rack again for 4 to 6 months or right before bottling, whichever comes first. After the 4 to 6 months racking, very little sediment (if any) will fall out again. Of course every batch is a little different, but after the racking, which follows clearing, the material that falls out is not going to hurt your wine.

If you don't use clearing agents, rack before you let the wine set to clear. Once clearing starts, don't rack again until the wine is clear.

All this changes if one is doing what is called "aging on the lees", which is popular with some non-aromatic white grape wines and a few of the lighter red grape wines. In this case, one wants the dead yeast to stay in the wine for an extended period of time. This process adds complexity to the wine; it also adds a yeasty, biscuity flavor, which many people really enjoy. If these lees are periodically stirred, the yeasty, biscuity flavor becomes even more enhanced.

 

[HillbillyTom]

Also learning here...so let's say the SG has stopped dropping and there is a good one inch or so of sediment in my 3-gal raspberry batch. If I rack it into the second 3-gal carboy for aging, what do I use to top off to compensate for the sediment I left in the first carboy?

 

[robie]

Also learning here...so let's say the SG has stopped dropping and there is a good one inch or so of sediment in my 3-gal raspberry batch. If I rack it into the second 3-gal carboy for aging, what do I use to top off to compensate for the sediment I left in the first carboy?

Good question.

Many of us save the sediment in a small, clear container, seal it, and let it settle. Within a few days, a layer of clean wine will be on top of the sediment. You can siphon this layer of wine off and use it for topping off.

Especially after primary, when racking 6 gallons of wine, one can salvage as much as a full 750ml bottle. Do this after each racking and you can save a lot of wine that would otherwise be lost.

There will still be enough loss that you may have to either use marbles, use a smaller carboy, or add a like wine for topping off. Some of the fruit wine makers should be able to tell you what type of wine to use for raspberry wine.

 

[Buckmaster40]

Also learning here...so let's say the SG has stopped dropping and there is a good one inch or so of sediment in my 3-gal raspberry batch. If I rack it into the second 3-gal carboy for aging, what do I use to top off to compensate for the sediment I left in the first carboy?

I've been using a product called private preserve. It's a can of inert gasses that you spray in short bursts into the headspace of your carboy and it purges the oxygen out. I picked it up at my local grocery store in the wine section. Was surprised to see it there but its also used to preserve half empty bottles of wine....haven't had that problem though.

 

[HillbillyTom]

Good ideas...and Thanks Robie and Buck. I have a batch of Peach in my primary going on 4 days now. I mixed six gallons for the initial batch. Once ready for the secondary (a 5-gal carboy) I had intended to first rack a half gallon growler full, then fill the carboy. I was figuring this half gallon can run alongside the 5-gal and later I could use that to top up once it's ready to rack into the second carboy. Just wondering if I'm off track, bad idea, etc. Thanks!

 

[Turock]

You can top up the secondary with marbles, too. This helps you avoid adulterating your wine with something else. Marbles can be expensive. Go to the Dollar Store and pick up some 1 pound bags of glass spheres used for decorating glass jars.

Yes, you can top up with the extra gallon, but you still might have some left over. It pays to have all sizes of glassware, and you can use wine bottles too. Wine bottles take a #2 cork so you can fit an airlock to it.

 

[ibglowin]

Wanted to correct this. Unless you have fermented to completely dry (0.998 or less) in primary, there is still a pretty fair amount of sugar for the yeast to convert into EEOH during secondary fermentation. This is why you still need to keep it warm and happy until it does reach 0.998 (or less).

In the secondary, the yeast no longer has any food to continue an active ferment, but those yeast add the flavor to the wine.