Sediment at clearing stage?

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jdaniels9

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It looks like my wines are dropping sediment during the clearing stage.

I can't tell for sure if the white is, but my blush is definately dropping "sediment"

It is not as thick as the other sediments though. It is more fluffy looking. It almost looks rotten.

Is it normal for quite a bit of sediment to fall during the clearing stage??
 
Yes this is normal. You might want to tip your carboys on 2x4's during this stage. That will make it easier to rack from one side without disturbing the sediment then as you get close to the bottom you can tip the carboy the other direction to get as much wine as possible without picking up any of the sediment.
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As Dan said, perfectly normal. It's the whole point of the clearing stage in fact. The sediment drops down so that you can collect the clear wine from on top of it.
 
Running Wolf-

I've been doing what you describe (or attempting to). So I angle my auto-siphon into the "uphill" side of the carboy while racking, then when it gets nearly to the bottom I tip the carboy the other way. The problem I had with the last one is that the sediment all slide along the bottom when I tipped the carboy, so I did end up sucking up some of the pink stuff.

So two questions:

1) I hope getting a little sediment into your clearing carboy isn't an issue? I'm two weeks into clearing my W.E. Lodi Cab Sav, so this was my first racking after adding the clearing agents. There was a thick layer of lees I was racking off. I already have some sediment at the bottom of the new carboy.

2) The wine still looks very cloudy to me but I'm not worried yet since the instructions say to leave it for another month now before checking for clarity. I don't really know how to check these dark reds for clarity. For my previous kits I've been shining my big flashlight through it and looking from the other side. On this kit right now I can't see it at all yet, but in the past I've been able to see the light pretty clearly by the end of the clearing. Not shining brightly, but you can see the light, sort of like looking through a tinted lense or a welding helmet. Does that sound right?
 
You're fine. As time moves on you will notice your wine clearing and you will have a nice crisp color to your wine. Having a small amount of lees is okay. Be patient. I clear for around 6 weeks, then rack and add oak to some.

When I rack my wine I will take the remaining wine and some lees and pour them into a gallon carboy. After a day or two in the refer. (with airlock) I get another bottle (more/less) of wine as the lees have settled again. Then I'll pitch the lees.

Why waste a little wine? We usually sample this rather than cork it.
 
I check clarity by drawing a sample into a wine glass and holding it up to a bare incandescent bulb.
 

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