Im going by the directions that say to rack into secondary @ 1.01. Will the fermentation have slowed down quite a bit by then? After a week thisd is still pretty active. I havent taking a reading yet, but I will later. If it is down @ 1.01 do I rack, or do I let the fermentation slow down first? Thanks.
WineXpert Racking into secondary
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peterCooper
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I agree with smurfe.
You want the fermentation to still be active when you rack to secondary. That way you get a CO2 buildup in the secondary which keeps the oxygen out. that's important to protect the wine from oxidation.
You want the fermentation to still be active when you rack to secondary. That way you get a CO2 buildup in the secondary which keeps the oxygen out. that's important to protect the wine from oxidation.
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Don't wait for the SG to be the same 2 days in a row before racking to secondary. You only do that when you want to make sure the fermentaion has stopped at about .990 to .994. That's not what you want at this stage. When it get's to the desired SG, rack it if you can that day.
smurfe
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appleman said:
This is correct. You only check the SG 2 days in a row at the end of fermentation to assure it is indeed time to stabilize. Even if you did rack now, if there is no foaming going on it would be OK. Just follow the directions and rack at the target SG the recipe says and you should be fine.
Smurfe
