Racking with a Primary Fermenter Bucket

[timothyg]

So I'm kind of stuck. I have 4 carboys and all of them are filled with wine. I do have an empty primary fermenter bucket. One of my wines (WE apple Riesling) will be ready to bottle tomorrow, however I really don't like bottling wines according to the kit instructions (I prefer if the wine sits in a clean carboy for 2+ weeks prior to bottling). So there is a considerable amount of sediment in this wine and I really want to rack it. Do you think I could rack the wine into the primary fermenter bucket then rack it back into the cleaned carboy (I'll add k-meta after racking to the clean carboy)? Will this processing through the primary fermenter bucket be bad for the wine?

I'm a bit less concerned with the other 3 wines, since all of them just need a rack within the next week to help the wine "clarify", so I'd imagine that letting them sit for a week or two prior to racking and just delaying a little bit won't be a big deal; correct me if I'm wrong though. I'd rather not do a double rack with these 3 other wines.

So am I going to make a mistake by racking wine into the primary fermenter bucket then rack it back into the cleaned carboy?

 

[cpfan]

So am I going to make a mistake by racking wine into the primary fermenter bucket then rack it back into the cleaned carboy?

Many people only have one carboy, so this is how they do every racking. While it will expose the wine to some extra O2, I don't think it's a huge deal. Obviously, don't let it sit for several hours (or days) in the primary, but don't rush so much that you drop and break a glass carboy.

Personally, I nearly always have a spare carboy at hand, so getting (yet another) carboy is the other choice.

Steve

 

[Eyeguy]

been there

I have done this with a kit wine also. It turned out fine. It is newly bottled so I cant say yet if the added air exposure hurt it any (it was a white)...I really doubt it though; esp with a kit that is that "young". Just my thoughts but I haven't been doing this long

 

[ibglowin]

Absolutely not! A primary is a perfect short term vessel for racking and transferring back. Just make sure its clean and sanitized as it should be. Try not to let the wine splash into primary. Let it hit the side of the primary or go directly into the wine. I will use this tomorrow to help me free up a carboy just long enough to filter a batch then I will rack right back.

Use what you got!

 

[Rocky]

As cpfan say, I don't believe you will have a problem. I would suggest, however, that you rack from the carboy into the primary and add the k-meta in the primary (I would dissolve the k-meta in about a cup of wine before adding it to the primary), cover the primary, clean out the carboy and then go from the primary back to the carboy. Work steadily but there is no need to rush.

 

[Flem]

+1 to what Rocky said. Add the K-meta to the bucket before you rack into it. Good Luck!

 

[pete1325]

Why add the K-meta to the bucket before racking in to it?

 

[Rocky]

Pete, a couple of reasons: the wine would begin to get protection from the sulfite immediately and you would be mixing it in at the same time as racking.

 

[Flem]

Again, +1 to what Rocky said. I really don't know how long it takes to provide protection, but I'd err on the side of caution.

 

[timothyg]

Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely add the meta-k in the primary too.