RJ Spagnols 14 Day primary advice

[Trubador]

I am making a Winery Series Super Tuscan. I have decided to go with the 14 days in the primary route. I have not opened up the bucket since Day 7.

Can someone give me modified instructions from Day 14 on? The instructions I have are for the 6-8 day primary method where it is transferred to secondary and allowed to sit until about day 28 or so.

Basically, I am asking this: On Day 14, should I transfer to secondary and leave it be until Day 28 and degass, etc..then or should I degass on Day 14 upon transferring to secondary?

 

[Wade E]

You could do either as there is no wrong answer. I would rack and add sulfites and sorbate at this time if it is done fermenting.

 

[cpfan]

Trubador:


I am NEVER in a hurry to work on my wine. My own person al schedule for this kit would be approximately....


Day 7-10: to carboy
Day 28 (or later): rack off sediment, stabilize, clear
After another 14 -28 days: rack off sediment
Whenever: filter (maybe) and bottle


Not a very precise schedule, I know. But time is the most important additive that the wine maker cangive to their wine.


Wade's comment is not wrong, but I would allow the kit more settling time before stabilizing & clearing.


Steve

 

[Trubador]

I plan on bulk aging the wine for at least 9 months. I am at Day 14 in the primary bucket, so I want to at least get it off the gross lees.I would love to just be able to rack it to a carboy and let it sit as is for another 4 weeks without doing anything; however, if I do that there will be too much space at the top of the carboy, I'd have to top it up.

Then if I top it up, how would I degass later with only 2 inches below the bung?

 

[Wade E]

I always degas right when racking from primary as you can do it in stages so when you get close to the top you are already pretty much degassed and I always add my k-meta and sorbate to protect my wine while it sits. Sometimes Ill add the fining agent at this time also but usually I save that for later or dont even use it at all. My wines always bulk age for at least 4 months min but usually much longer.

 

[Trubador]

I racked last night to secondary. Went great. I squeezed as much juice as I could out of the paint strainer/merlot skins bag. That method worked great BTW, with the strainer around the outside of the bucket, the skins floated free and cleanup was just lifting it out.

I degassed and added k-meta. This morning I am holding over 20 inches on the bleeder and not even one bubble.

Just curious, when adding k-meta to a wine that is saturated with CO2, how does the k-meta dissolve into it? I would think there would be no room and it would just bubble out of solution? Thereby making it a better addition to the wine once it is already thoroughly degassed.

 

[PeterZ]

Like CO2, K-meta exists in many forms in the wine. CO2 exists, depending on pH, as CO2, H2CO3, HCO3-, and CO3--. K-meta can exist as SO2, H2SO3, HSO3-, and SO3--. The saturation with CO2 does not inhibit any of the SO3 forms. As the wine is degassed, the H2SO3 converts back to SO2 and H2O. Over time the SO2 will also degass out of the wine, which is why we add 1/4 tsp of K-meta every three months or so.

 

[RickC]

Trubador,
I plan to do 2 or 3 of these winery series kits this fall so would love to see the 14 day schedule you ended up using and suggestions for improvement.


On days 7-14 do you snap the lid down and add airlock?

 

[Wade E]

Make sure you lock the lid down before it stops fermenting so that you trap some gas from fermentation in there to protect it.

 

[Wild Duk]

So, what is the advantage of doing a 14 day primary rather than racking to secondary at 1.020??

 

[vcasey]

If the wine is a grape skin kit you will get more extraction from the skins. The biggest advantage for me is that it makes degassing the wine so much easier.
VC

 

[Wild Duk]

I think I might try the 14 day primary with the EP Cab. Sav. kit as I feel i'll get the most out of the grape skins pack....So when you say 14 days, do you rack at that point, or rack when the S.G. get down to .998 or less......

 

[vcasey]

Depends, I don't check the SG everyday and once the must is no longer in danger of erupting (not a pretty site) I'll just snap the lid on or if I have a grape skin pack I'll just push down the cap and close the lid. I really try to keep the must on the skins as long as possible which can be challenging since our weather really helps the yeasts stay wide awake and munching. One thing you can do is put the grape skins in a large paint strainer bag and wedge it under the must so it stays covered and then you can snap on the lid and not worry. But to answer your question I try and keep the wine in the primary as long as possible.
VC