RJ Spagnols Almost ready to bottle - but a couple questions

[UglyJohn]

Hey all. I'm almost ready to bottle my first kit - a Grand Cru Cabernet. It has been cleared and stabilized for about a month. I know a lot of you recommend waiting longer to bottle, but I am looking at this as an early drinker, knowing it won't be spectacular. I want to free up the carboy for my next higher end kit.

It is now sitting happily in it's carboy, but it has a 1" layer of thick dense sediment at the bottom, and another 1/2 - 3/4 inch layer of looser sediment. I guess that is a sign that I got it degassed pretty well and it cleared adequately, right?

I'm afraid that if I bottle now from the carboy, I will end up with a lot of unused wine at the bottom when avoiding the sediment. But, If I rack, I will need a lot of extra wine to top off with - maybe even a couple bottles.

Should I bottle what I can get clear, then throw the rest in a gallon jug in the fridge to let settle out? Should I rack and top with a couple bottle of cheap store wine? If I rack, how long should I wait for it to settle before bottling?

 

[REDBOATNY]

Everyone has their own method. I rack and top off (using wine from a previous batch) until there is no sediment in the carboy. That is when you know it has finished dropping, even then you sometimes get a wisp of sediment in the bottle.

 

[olusteebus]

If you have a gallon jug, you could rack all the wine but the last gallon and rack that gallon to the jug to allow it to clear more.

It is really helpful to have a gallon and 1/2 gallon jug or two.

 

[roblloyd]

I agree. Don't rush to bottle UNLESS you really need that empty carboy. Rack it and let that clear. Then if there is no sediment after that go ahead and bottle if you want.
Or rack it now and then run it through a filter if you have one.
For topping off you could use a smaller carboy - 5gal instead of a 6 if you really are missing a full gallon. Or a full 5 and a 1/2 gallon jug. I'm not a fan of using other wine especially if you need a full bottle or more. You're changing YOUR wine with something else and also increasing the cost of that batch.

 

[Dugger]

Being your first kit, I'm sure you are anxious to get to it and start another one, so if you have access to a filter, my suggestion would be to filter as is, directly into your bottles, starting with the racking cane high in the carboy and lowering it as needed. Tilt the carboy as you near the bottom to avoid sediment as long as possible. At some point you will get sediment and plug your filter pads but by then you should have, say, 25 bottles or more of clear wine to enjoy. Put the remaining liquid in a smaller bottle/jug and let it settle out some more and you should get another gallon or so. This can be bottled and you can save it for topping up your next wine and let that one sit a little longer.
If you can wait, follow the advice others have given.

 

[UglyJohn]

Thanks for the advice. Now another add-on question:

When I bought the wine making kit for my ex years ago, they sold me a 6.5 gallon glass carboy for a primary fermenter. After reading here before starting, I did buy a regular plastic bucket as a primary, and the 6.5 gallon carboy has remained unused.

How would that 6.5 gallon carboy work as a secondary fermenter? I just bought an Eclipse Marlorough Sauv Blanc that I would like to start, and would leave it in the larger carboy for a longer period. Would the CO2 produced during secondary protect it? The instructions tell you to stir up the sediment before clarifying - could I stir up the sediment then immediately rack to the regular 6 gallon carboy for aging?

 

[Boatboy24]

How would that 6.5 gallon carboy work as a secondary fermenter? I just bought an Eclipse Marlorough Sauv Blanc that I would like to start, and would leave it in the larger carboy for a longer period. Would the CO2 produced during secondary protect it? The instructions tell you to stir up the sediment before clarifying - could I stir up the sediment then immediately rack to the regular 6 gallon carboy for aging?

I think that's a good plan, but wouldn't let it sit in that larger carboy for too long. Since it won't be topped off, you don't want it to sit long after secondary is complete. You can stir in your stabilizers and clarifiers while in the 6.5, then rack to the smaller carboy.

I just stabilized and cleared my Eclipse Marl Sauv Blanc a few days ago. I think I'm really going to like it.