Extra wine in fridge from lees

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

silverbullet07

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2020
Messages
471
Reaction score
351
The extra wine I have accumulated from the Lee’s is in the fridge for topping up. Does it age in the fridge like it does car boys, in the wine room?
 
Have you siphoned or poured the wine off the lees? If not, you need to. Then move the wine a container that the wine fills, e.g., you want very little air space. If the wine is 100% done with fermentation this can go into a screwcap bottle, but it's recommended to use an airlock or a solid bung/stopper. [I have a few 200 ml bottles from a wedding that I keep around for tiny amounts. Waste not, want not!]

While it doesn't hurt it to remain refrigerated, most store the topup with the wine.
 
This is an issue that I have been wondering about. When I rack out of the primary, I want to save the extra wine to top off at the next racking. I have tried several methods:

1. Store it in the fridge. For this I need to include very little lees and minimal air space.
2. Store it in the freezer. This is a suggestion I read about making hard cider. I have successfully stored extra cider must in the freezer for the next racking. I also tried it with a batch of pear wine.
3. Store it on the counter with the carboy. Advantage: it continues to ferment and clear along with the wine. To do this, I need a smaller container with an airlock. Since I use 1-gallon carboys, I need several smaller containers that will take an airlock. I have been trying to find suitable containers.

What have other people tried?
 
Raptor, We store ours in 750 ml & 375 ml wine bottles. The 750’s are clear ones so we can easily see what’s going on. They all have air locks on them. And stored in our wine room ( 68*) next to the carboy and barrels that need topping off. Roy
 
I also use 200 ml and 1.5 liter bottles. IIRC, a #3 drilled stopper fits standard wine bottles.

I don't freeze wine -- it's not the same afterward (friend left a case of wine in his car overnight, didn't break any bottles, but the wine was not good when defrosted).

Other than settling out lees, I keep topup on the counter next to the carboys and barrels.
 
I also use 200 ml and 1.5 liter bottles. IIRC, a #3 drilled stopper fits standard wine bottles.

I don't freeze wine -- it's not the same afterward (friend left a case of wine in his car overnight, didn't break any bottles, but the wine was not good when defrosted).

1. This is a great idea. I found some #3 drilled stoppers on Amazon. I'm going to try this.

2. I don't want to freeze wine either. For cider, I have been freezing unfermented must taken out before I pitch the yeast.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top