I am thinking of racking a second time from a carboy into the original 6 gallon pail. ( i don''t have enough carboys to rack). Then once it is in the pail - immediately pour it back into the carboy with a large mouth funnel. I am not sure how the O2 will effect the wine going back into the carboy using the funnel. Any concerns with this process? Actually when I rack from carboy to the 6 gallon pail I intend to add bentonite as well.
Racking - O2
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Don't pour wine, that introduces a bunch of O2. Rack it from carboy to bucket, clean carboy, rack from bucket to carboy, add bentonite (if you absolutely have to). Most wines will clear with time.
Lately I've been doing rack and returns. May racking schedule always involves multiple wines. Using the AIO and a 7 gallon carboy. I rack the wine to the 7, rinse the carboy, return the wine and top it up. Then rinse the 7 gallon and on to the next. This way I only need one carboy and only one to clean in the end. I normally check sulfite levels after each racking as well.
Although Steve doesn't say it directly he does mention it was designed for the first 8 weeks. I don't think it is meant to be used for long term storage. Or maybe I just feel more comfortable with a topped up wine.
So what is the concern about introducing a bunch of O2
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GaDawg
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Y'all will probably throw rocks, but here goes anyway. I don't age wine in a carboy. I don't see the advantage once you are finished. We are talking about a big bottle vs several small bottles.
When I use the head space eliminator the vac pulls CO2 out of the wine. So isn't my wine head space CO2 in a vacuum. I have never had my wine oxidize.
Scooter68
Fruit "Wine" Maker
If it works for you nothing to argue with. For me, I know that pretty much every batch is going to require some sweetening to bring out the flavor. (I've made three batches that didn't need it but one was unintentional). The one just happened to stop fermenting at the perfect point and after 9 months I bottled because the taste was good and the SG wasn't moving. The other two batches worked out to be good to go at the original point - BUT I didn't know that would be the case so I aged them both in a carboy. For me there really isn't a practical "bottle then age" option that works. That just my best solution.
