Rack wine again?

[Justin_Sane]

Hello all, the night before last I degassed and stabilized my wine. Now it is clearing. I used Super-Kleer KC, and wow, it works great. The wine already looks really clear, but there is a thick layer of sediment on the bottom of my carboy. Which I fully expected. Should I go ahead and rack it off into another carboy for further clearing and aging now, or should I give it a few more days? The Super-Kleer says it will usually clear it up in 24-48 hrs. So I'm guessing I should go ahead with another racking?

Thanks,
- Justin Sane

 

[LoneStarLori]

Yes, that Super Kleer is pretty good stuff. I would let it sit at least 3-4 days before racking. There may be a lot of sediment right now, but its still fluffy and you would be losing lots wine. After a few days, it will get more compacted and solid so you will lose less wine when racking.

 

[Justin_Sane]

Ah ok, makes scene to me. Thank you for the timely response btw. Should I be concerned about racking it again in the future? I will probably be bulk aging the wine for at least a little while, so would additional racking be necessary before bottling?

Thanks,
- Justin Sane

 

[Julie]

Actually, I would wait 2 weeks after adding the superkleer before racking, then rack every three months and make sure you sulfite when you rack.

 

[Justin_Sane]

So while it's aging I need to add more Metabasulphite each time? Or is it each time I rack after stabilizing period?

 

[Arne]

Add a little k-meta every 3 months or so. If you have a bunch of lees, you should rack it then also. Arne.

 

[skipdonohue]

So while it's aging I need to add more Metabasulphite each time? Or is it each time I rack after stabilizing period?

The correct way is to adjust your so2 levels according to the wine's pH.. using a Vinmetrica… sulfite levels should not be a guessing game..

 

[LoneStarLori]

Justin, is this a kit? They are pretty hard to mess up and as long as you follow the directions, you'll be fine. When I said rack in 3-4 days I should have been more clear. 3-4 days is if you're anxious. It still wouldn't be time to bottle.
Ideally, you would wait 10 days or so to rack off the lees from the first clearing. Then, you will still need to rack again as more lees will fall in about 2 weeks before bottling. It won't hurt to add 1/4 tsp Kmeta at this time. I usually let that sit another week and transfer once more before bottling to make sure you don't stir up any remaining lees while bottling. It also helps to "blend" the wine one more time before it goes to sleep in the bottle.
These recommendations are just my experience with kits. If it's a juice, that is a whole another story, PH and So2 are a little more rigid.

 

[Justin_Sane]

It is store bought grape juice.