WineXpert BUTTERY CHARD QUESTION

[rgecaprock]

I am finished with the 1 month of stirring every 3 days and now I am at the point where it will settle for two weeks. The next directions says to rack to clean sanitized carboy and follow the remaining instructions.


Question is: Do I rack the sediment too? The remaining steps in thestabilizing and fining processsay donot rack before that step as the sediment needs to be back in suspension for clearing.Why rack to a clean carboy if we need the sedimentthat is already there?


RamonaEdited by: rgecaprock

 

[masta]

Good question Ramona as I am in the middle of the process myself. I have sent an e-mail to Tim and asked him for better explanation.

 

[rgecaprock]

Thanks Scott

 

[geocorn]

Per Tim,


You want to bring over some sediment, but not all. You need some sediment for the clarifiers to work properly, as you still need to add the remaining packets. The wine will clear again and you will be ready to bottle.

 

[rgecaprock]

Thanks George,


I stabilized my Cherry/Pomegranate and Green Tea/Ginger. Very surprised at how good they are. Next time I'll make bigger batches!!!


Started the Trio Blanco today too!


Ramona

 

[Angell Wine]

I raked mine, but not being careful about the sediment. Suck up quite a bit. Add the remaining packets and it clear up fine.

 

[jobe05]

I did the same as angell wine, just racked without much concern for sediment. I would guess I sucked up about 5% of the lees, cleared great. But then again, as you probably noticed during you 30 days of stiring, that with every stir, it cleared much quicker on it own, mine did. Stir up everything and toward the end, within minutes, it was starting to clear.


Once I added the clearing agent, I went strickly by the directions, but what a difference that 30days made.

 

[OilnH2O]

I racked after the 30 days of stirring, then started to rack after theclearing and stabilizing period anddidn't pay attention for about a half-sec, and dropped the racking cane into the bottom just enough to send up a mushroom cloud of sediment and a few...uh...coase words into the room!

Now, I'm at the end of my second 20-30 days to let it all settle again! But it's looking good!

 

[masta]

Thanks George....

 

[OilnH2O]

Racked yesterday, after the fiasco of several weeks ago (see above) and was VERY careful and was able to get NO lees/sediment at all. Just a carboy of wonderfully smelling, beautifully golden, young buttery chardonay.


Then, I re-read these posts, especially the one from George "...per Tim" and added some of the(bottled separately) settled wine -- maybe another cup, and about 1/2 cup of the sediments -- OOOHHH did it hurt! I hope it's enough! But, it was a "detail, however slight" that had to be followed.


Now it's cloudy again, but in the end I'm sure it will be super!

 

[Pepere]

I've been paying close attention to this thread as my Chard kit should arrive today or tomorrow. Like OilnH20 I think I might have racked improperly had it not been for the "Forum." Once again the members come through before I mess up.

Thanks!

 

[OldWino1]

hey if you get some lees put it back and let them settle out. I have had to do it a few times. I like to take no chances . The whites are easy but the reds are harder They are pretty dark.

 

[geocorn]

Tim says not to worry about the sediment. TIm's reply was:


"
Ah, but now you have mannoproteins and amino acids providing a fining matrix!

Trust me!"

 

[OilnH2O]

Racked the 'buttery' chardonnay in the last step ("racking and clarification") prior to bottling -- was careful to not disturb sediment but got JUST A LITTLE anyway, but, nonetheless,here's what it looks like!

Mind you, a little bit of sediment was sucked up right at the end -- but I feel pretty good about this! Of course, won't REALLY know how it is for about 6 more months!

 

[masta]

Sweet.......I can just taste the butta!

Let it settle a while and the very little of sediment will fall out to the bottom but it looks clear enough to me for bottling!

 

[peterCooper]

so, what does filtering do to a butter Chard? Does it change the taste?

 

[masta]

I have to assume filtering a buttery chard would not change it since most of the data I have read supports the idea that filtering does not affect the taste of wine due to the micron size of the filters.

 

[OilnH2O]

Buttery Chardonnay Update!
I bottled the chardonnay today -- and got 30 and 1/2 bottles with NO VISIBLE SEDIMENT!(I left about two tablespoons in the carboy)


I did have one observation though -- I had a lot of foam in each bottle as I filled, and then,during corking (after the 7th corked bottle) noticedthat several of the bottles still had some foam on top and bubbles just below the surface. See below, right at the neck:

Now, this bottle had been sitting, waiting to be corked, about 10 minutes (we fill all bottles, then cork). I tasted a glass of what was the specific gravity sample and it did NOT taste anything but wonderful! I even asked SWMBO to taste it and she was impressed (important in this business, if you know what I mean...

)


My concern was, could this be CO2?


I looked over the record -- done completely according the the WE kit directions and the "buttery chardonnay" directions that are on this site(this was WE's Aussie chardonnay for those who haven't been following this thread). Racked several times and stirred (drill-mounted mix-stir)more than 3 minutes each time the directions called for it. Last rack was in August.


I tried the vacu-vin and it pulled up small, tiny bubbles (although you can't seem them in the picture below) which gathered into bigger bubbles and foam at the top.

I had not run into this before, and knew I could get good info on the forum, but I was in the middle of bottling and couldn't wait! So, I called George! And, he was great in helping me think through this

(thanks, George)


I first thought about putting all the wine back into the carboy (not yours, Waldo!) and stirring -- thinking it was CO2. George thought the bubbles were too large, and that the TASTE TEST should have detected the fizzyness and, as said above, the sample tasted great! We talked about just going ahead and corking, or vacu-vin-ing each bottle and then cork.


I decided to "vacu-vin" each bottle for two or three minutes before corking. In almost every instance bubbles came out of suspension, but insome bottles the bubbles were bigger -- not the tiny, CO2 size and in one or two, almost no bubbles appeared, no matter how much vacuum I applied.


It took a little -- well, a lot -- longer to cork, but I feel better about it and really didn't relish putting it all back into the carboy, stirring, and starting the bottling process over!


I welcome any input or comment on this course of action, or my observations-- George suggested I post it for the educational value and I know several who are doing the "buttery" process would want to be updated!


I must say, the wine tastes great -- and I'm sipping some of that "almost 31st" bottle now

and about to have some more with the venison stroganoff!


Dave

 

[Wade E]

Ya know I ran into something similar the other day bottling a batch of
Welches melomel. I believe my problem was I was getting a little air
where the siphoning hose meets the racking cane plus the hose was a
little kinked which did not help either. Since I dont have a vaccuvin I
had really no choice but to bottle it. I did give it the shake and lift
finger test and there was little or no Pffft.

 

[sangwitch]

wine looks great! I recently bottled a chard that I did the buttery technique with. I felt a bit sadistic every time I stirred up those lees!


I've bottled some wine in the past that had residual C02 bubbles thatyou couldfeelin your mouth when you took a sip, but I was never too concerned about it. I actually like that feel in whites, especially a riesling.