o.k, so I'm trying to educate myself to some extent to get a better understanding of what I'm doing however, at times it seems the more I read, the more confused I am...
I'm attempting to follow Jack Kellar's recipe for Peach and Grape Wine and the recipe says after 10 days in the primary, '...siphon off sediments into secondary and fit airlock. Rack every 30 days until fermentation completely ends and wine clears...'
Then I come across this other winemaking website and it says not to... (see below).
Your thoughts? experience?
Thank you,
Linda
http://www.home-winemaking.com/winemaking-2b.html
Occasionally one sees books which recommend racking as soon as one month after the wine has been placed in the demijohn - whether or not the fermentation is complete. This is bad winemaking practice. The bulk of the yeast colony forms a light sediment on the bottom of the fermentation vessel soon after it has been set up, and racking before the fermentation has ended will clearly leave only those yeast cells in suspension in the wine. This could deplete the colony to a point where it would almost certainly be inadequate to carry fermentation through to completion. So why do some books recommend such early racking? The answer seems to be that if fruit pulp and debris have passed into the demijohn, they may impart unpleasant flavors if they are left In the wine; hence the need for early racking. In my view, however, this problem should not arise if the pulp has been strained correctly. Therefore in general, once a fermenting must has been put under airlock, it should remain there until the fermentation has finished.
I'm attempting to follow Jack Kellar's recipe for Peach and Grape Wine and the recipe says after 10 days in the primary, '...siphon off sediments into secondary and fit airlock. Rack every 30 days until fermentation completely ends and wine clears...'
Then I come across this other winemaking website and it says not to... (see below).
Your thoughts? experience?
Thank you,
Linda
http://www.home-winemaking.com/winemaking-2b.html
Occasionally one sees books which recommend racking as soon as one month after the wine has been placed in the demijohn - whether or not the fermentation is complete. This is bad winemaking practice. The bulk of the yeast colony forms a light sediment on the bottom of the fermentation vessel soon after it has been set up, and racking before the fermentation has ended will clearly leave only those yeast cells in suspension in the wine. This could deplete the colony to a point where it would almost certainly be inadequate to carry fermentation through to completion. So why do some books recommend such early racking? The answer seems to be that if fruit pulp and debris have passed into the demijohn, they may impart unpleasant flavors if they are left In the wine; hence the need for early racking. In my view, however, this problem should not arise if the pulp has been strained correctly. Therefore in general, once a fermenting must has been put under airlock, it should remain there until the fermentation has finished.