Difference in SG when racking to secondary

[45cal4life]

I'm on day number 4 of my first wine making experience. Making one can of SunCal White Zinfandell with one can of County Fair Peach. Followed the recipe on EC Kraus, well I added 1/2# additional sugar. Started at SG 1.085 and currently at 1.035 with the temp at a constant 74 degrees (gotta love basements). They say to follow the instructions on the SunCal can and it just says to rack to secondary in 5 days then rack again in 2 weeks. I've read people rack to secondary between 1.010 - 1.030-ish. So whats the difference if you rack at 1.010 versus 1.030? And the bonus question, with this combo when would you rack to secondary?

 

[Wade E]

Do not go by the number of days and rather the sg as fermentations can go very fast or very slow depending on way too many factors to list here. But anyways, racking at 1.030 or higher can be pretty risky as its still pretty active and that can be too much fpor the little bit of room that will be in your carboy and overflow out of yoiur airlock spraying your ceiling or just all over your floor. Most people rack around 1.015 -1.020 as its still a little active so all your yeast hasnt settled out. Tne reason I say this is if you leave too much viable yeast behind you can get a stuck fermentation. I ferment most of my wines to completion in the primary.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Yeah - Listen to Wade - go off of the SG readings and not the number of days - different yeasts can cause the SG to lower faster than others.

 

[cpfan]

Personally, I wouldn't rack until the sg is below about 1.005. Racking earlier can result in the wine bubbling up through the air-lock.

Steve