Bottling + Sediment

[100LL]

So i have a VR Gewurztraminer that i have been letting age in a carboy for about a week now, and plan to bulk age until the end of the month before bottling. The sediment has nicely gathered at the bottom of the carboy, and per a suggestion i received i tilted the carboy.

My question has to do with the sediment. I noticed that some of it has accumulated on the side of the carboy that is angled, and i was wondering if this will mix back into the wine as i go to bottle.

Also...when you go to bottle a wine from the carboy, should you rack the wine off of the sediment and then bottle, or filter it into another carboy and then bottle? Im trying to make it as painless as possible, but i still want the wine to come out tasting good.

Thanks

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Sediment will sometimes cling to the sides of a carboy. With the carboy flat on a counter (no wedge to angle it), give the carboy a quick twist. This will make the glass rotate and the wine inside will not really move at all. This is usually enough to knock the particles loose and you'll see them very slowly start to decend.

I rack into a clean bucket or carboy first, and then bottle. Trying to do it in one step without disturbing the sediment is pretty hard to do. I filter some wines, and others I do not. Your wine should be very clear before filtering, so the filter should be just to add a "polish" to the clarity. Filtering shouldn't change the flavor a whole lot.

 

[Wade E]

Twist and Shout! Cmon cmon cmon baby now, it will all work itself out! Sorry, follow what Minnmaker said as thats how most if not all of us do it. It may require a few times though and still try to keep all the sediment to that corner by moving the carboy towards that side after do the twist.

 

[Runningwolf]

I agree with Lon and do the same thing. A quick twist will release those fine less clinging to the sides. I siphon from the high side of the tilted carboy then when the carboy is nearly empty I slowly tilt it the other way trying to get most of the wine before the lees fall over there also. The longer you wait to rack the easier it is as the lees will compact and not move as easily.

 

[100LL]

thanks for the advice guys...and talk about quick!! wow...anyway i will give that a try.

as far as letting the lees compact, the wine will have been sitting in the carboy for about 1 1/2 months by the time i bottle so i think ill be good there.

im looking forward to tryint it since its the first wine i have tried to make....and i already have a second fermenting

 

[Green Mountains]

im looking forward to tryint it since its the first wine i have tried to make....and i already have a second fermenting

It's just the beginning of a beautiful obsess.........er.......hobby.

 

[ffemt128]

I generally rack into a second carboy and allow to sit for a week or two prior to bottleing. This leaves any heavy sediment in the original carboy and there is minimal sediment to deal with at bottleing time.

 

[100LL]

I generally rack into a second carboy and allow to sit for a week or two prior to bottleing. This leaves any heavy sediment in the original carboy and there is minimal sediment to deal with at bottleing time.

been thinking of doing that, any tips on how to avoid getting the sediment siphoned up? or just make sure to hold the siphon off of the bottom of the carboy?

 

[winemaker_3352]

Little sediment won't hurt - as i imagine you will be racking again while aging. I usually rack mine at least 2-3 times, adding a fining agent on one of the racking, before bulk aging. Once bulk aging is done - i will run it through the filter.

 

[ffemt128]

been thinking of doing that, any tips on how to avoid getting the sediment siphoned up? or just make sure to hold the siphon off of the bottom of the carboy?

Your racking cane should have a black cap on the end of it. A small amount of sediment is unavoidable in my opinion. As others have mentioned else where. Put a board under one side of the carboy to put it on a tilt. This causes the sediment to fall to one side then rack from the other side.

 

[Tom]

It wouldn't hurt to rack it one or two more times. It is so easy to disturb the sediment I would rather rack again just in case.

 

[100LL]

Little sediment won't hurt - as i imagine you will be racking again while aging. I usually rack mine at least 2-3 times, adding a fining agent on one of the racking, before bulk aging. Once bulk aging is done - i will run it through the filter.

2-3 times? i thought that you wanted to limit the exposure of the wine to the air, so less racking was the way to go....

this is my first kit, although a second is being racked to secondary today

 

[Tom]

Yes its OK to rack as long as you keep up the meta. When racking you do that with no splashing and keepping it toped off till bottling.
Racking is the only way to clear some wines like fruit and grape wines. Kits normally dont need alot of racking..

 

[100LL]

rookie question tom....keep up the meta?

at this point in the process (after secondary, clearing, etc) im just bulk aging, can you still top off with a like wine after racking off of the sediment without changing the flavors too much?

 

[winemaker_3352]

If i am not mistaken - i believe you still add the k-meta during bulk aging - every 3-4 months 1/16 tsp per gallon.

 

[Dugger]

If you are planning on filtering this kit wine and it is now clear, I would simply filter as is to another carboy and let it sit ( topped up) until you are ready to bottle. You can filter with the sediment in place; just keep your racking cane above the sediment and lower it as needed while filtering. Even if you pick up some sediment at the very end it will not be a problem - the filtering will slow down and the pads may plug but you will be finished by then. Don't forget to add an extra 1/4 tsp of Kmeta if you plan on keeping the wine for any length of time.

 

[Tom]

If i am not mistaken - i believe you still add the k-meta during bulk aging - every 3-4 months 1/16 tsp per gallon.

Yep thats what I meant

 

[100LL]

ok i've already added 1/4 tsp for the 6 gals that i have aging, i like the idea of the filtering, ill have to use that because i want to avoid having sediment in the bottles

 

[Wade E]

I add approximately 1/4 tsp per 6 gallon batch about every 4 months depending on what S02 test tells me but thats about right.

 

[BMac]

I'm gonna hijack this thread. I have a similar question posted in the "RJ Spagnols" section.

I'm doing a 4 week Grand Cru Pinot Gris kit. Everything is going great, but at the 3 week mark (1 week since racking into carboy) I racked off the lees into another carboy. Should I have waited the full 4 weeks before doing that? I don't plan on any real bulk aging (maybe 2 or 3 weeks extra (6-7 weeks total). It tasted good, so I prob don't have any major problems to worry about do I?

Thanks for any info