Racking off the lees

[Ricky]

Hello i`m shore this questions been asked a hundred times, but my time is short,just got power back yesterday and i have a lot of clean up....i just racked my amarone of the secondary, and i was checking out my super tuscan that has been bulk aging for 3 weeks now....lol i have about an inch and a half of fine lees at the bottom.....should i rack it now, or wait about 6 weeks and test it for so2 ...and rack it then....Thanks

P.S don`t forget to set your clocks back tonight

 

[TonyP]

I'm not entirely clear on your schedule and you didn't mention what you've done on sulfiting, but I'll try to answer. First, bulk aging for 3 weeks is not much time and I see no reason to rack now. Second, fine lees is, by and large, no big deal and shouldn't necessitate a racking at this time.

Having said that, though, one additional racking is also of little consequence. Thus, my overall answer is if you feel racking is best, go ahead but be mindful of where you are on sulfites.

Tony P.

 

[grapeman]

I usually let it go longer before racking. The lees tend to compact down and you will waste less wine if you let them settle down a bit before racking.

 

[Ricky]

sorry about that,i was just woundering if that lees would hurt the wine...and if i could wait to the 3 month check up....testing the so2 ...adding if needed...plan on going about a mininum of 9 month before bottling

 

[grapeman]

A few weeks certainly is not going to hurt the wine. I would get if off the lees after a month or two, check sulfite level and age a bit. If it drops more sediment, rack again in a few months. Each racking will leave it brighter- just don't overexpose to air and top up the sulfite amount if needed.

 

[Ricky]

Thanks for replying grapeman....i just noticed a layer of lees on the bottom of the carboy,didn`t know if i had the luxuary of waiting till the 3 month mark for and testing the sulfites...and racking at that time......i know gross lees is bad wasn`t shore about fine lees....this is my first kit..

 

[Impiryo]

I agree with grapeman, you should be fine.

Are you sure it's 1.5 inches? Typically the lees stick to any sloped part of a carboy, and especially with a red that's mostly opaque, it can be nearly impossible to differentiate between 1 mm and 1.5 in in a carboy. The only way to really know before you rack or stick something in there is by guessing from the color of the wine you racked into it. Something that dropped 3-4 cm would have been very pink and yeast colored.