Hippie...Watch for that bottle

[Waldo]

It has a small layer of sediment as of 10am this morning Hippie. Should I go ahead and rack it or wait. It has been in the carboy for a little over 2 weeks now.

 

[MedPretzel]

what's the SG? if it's lower than 1.020, then rack.





If it's lower, rack.





If it's higher, wait a little bit.





No, it doesn't have to be EXACTLY 1.020, but thereabouts.

 

[Waldo]

Thanks Martina. I will check it and see where it is at.

 

[Hippie]

I thought it has already been racked to glass? Leave it alone and rack at 4 weeks like I said. You don't need to rack more than is necessary.

 

[Hippie]

Just went back and read the first part of this topic. The wine is stabilized and topped up. It will continue to drop lees and sediment so you might as well wait 4 weeks between rackings. If the lees get 2 inches deep before 4 weeks, go ahead and rack, add nothing, and top up well again.


Got it? You are getting impatient. Bad kharma.

 

[Waldo]

Got it Hippie....Grasshopper fights off the bad Karma and resolves to learn patience, practice patience and become known as "The Patient One"

 

[Hippie]

Now that is good to hear!

 

[Waldo]

Picture of lees in Blackberry as of this morning Hippie. Let er sit or rack it again?

 

[MedPretzel]

I'd say let 'er sit a couple of days and then rack again. Sediment's there, but not that much. You don't want it to sit on the sediment for weeks, but you don't have to rack constantly.

I'd say "It's your call"

Looks nice, by the way.

 

[masta]

Another tip: I always give my carboys agentle rocking back and forth to help knock the fines off the sides and also help settle the lees down.

 

[Hippie]

I concur with the above 2 posts.

 

[Waldo]

Now gosh dang it I dont mind singing to em and maybe caressing them a little but I be danged ifI am a gonna start holding em and rocking them

Thanks all for the advice.

 

[Hippie]

 

[Waldo]

Well, Sunday was a busy day for the Newbie. I Racked the blackberry to my fermenter. Rinsed the oak chips well. Cleaned and sterilized the carboy and racked it back to carboy. Topped it off with some store bought Blackberry wine attached airlock and set her back in the corner. Sang her a couple of tunes and( I swear I heard it burp so I quit singing

) covered

her with a towel.

Edited by: Waldo

 

[Waldo]

Checked the sg on my Vinters Harvest Peach. It was .098 so I went ahead and racked it to my fermenter. Cleaned and sterlized the carboy and racked the peach back to carboy. I dissolved 5 campden tablets and 2.5 tsp. of Potassium Sorbate ( Was a little confused here George. The description in the glossary says to add 1/4 tsp.pergallon and on the bottle it says to add 1/2 tsp. per gallon. )in warm water. Added it to the carboy and stirred with my whiz x.

 

[Waldo]

My "Frozen Strawberry Wine" was also racked from fermenter to bottles. It was a little shy of a two gallon batch so I got a full gallon, about a 2 liter bottle and some early early test sipping. Was actually pretty good. A little dryer than I like but good.

 

[MedPretzel]

Looks like you did everything right!



You might want to top up just a little more in the larger carboys, but that's just me.





Way to go, Waldo-Winemaker! You're half way to your diploma, I think!

 

[Hippie]

Maybe you have a different strength and maker of your sorbate, but mine says quarter tsp. per gallon. Don't worry about getting all the gas out of your scratch wines right now. They will naturally degas over time, and probably will not need finings. I think you meant to say SG .998, right? Everything looks and sounds good so far! Have a drink on me!

 

[Waldo]

Thanks Martina...Can I just use filtered water to top it off. Dont have any more wine. As for the diploma....Ima long ways from being ready to "gradiate" but I am learning.....lots


OOps..Your right Hippie. I even wrote it wrong in my log. It must have been the strawberry wine

On the sorbate, I went back to my notes from Jack Kellers Homepage and he says, "The potassium sorbate is not listed as a separate ingredient because some folks don't stabilize their wines and therefore don't need it, but if you "stabilize" a wine you'll need 1/2 teaspoon of the sorbate plus a crushed Campden tablet per gallon of wine.

Edited by: Waldo

 

[Hippie]

OK. I reckon what I have been using is a stronger concentration.