WineXpert Step 4 racking & clarification

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mcp

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Making a Chianti from the Selection Estate series and step 4 says to rack again into another Carboy. I only have 1 Carboy, therefore is it necessary to buy a second Carboy for this step? Can I skip this step and just leave this wine be for another few weeks before bottling? Also do you usually or find it necessary to add extra metabisulphite powder if you were going to age this wine between 6 mths to a year? Thanks!
 
1st WELCOME !
Is this your 1st batch?
Yes buy more carboys you will use them once you taste your wine.
Racking does a few things mostly helps clear the wine and mingles the flavor.. Racking also helps in degassing. Have you degassed yet?
Potassium Metabisulfite (1/4 tsp) should be added every 3 months even when aging.
 
Thanks and yes this is my first batch. To answer, have a degassed? No, not sure what that is. Also, can you explain how/why I would use more carboys once I taste the wine.
 
You will answer your question when you start drinking your wine.
We all started with our 1st then something strange happened. We liked it! We then realized we needed to make more. After waiting all that time to age and then bottle and waiting at least a month min (more like 6-12months) to drink. There is a need to have something fermenting all the time.
You will notice the 1st batch will disappear real fast.
Degassing is getting the traped air (gas) out. There are degassing tools at any wine store. If you have one of those long plastic spoond from a home brew/wine store stick the end in the carboy and spin the wine 2 minutes.
The directions should have said to degas.
 
When and how often do you degas/stir the wine. The instructions say during step 3 stabilizing and clearing. I'm guessing its belore the wine is stablized, 0.996 or less 2 straight days? Therefore, I should stir the wine after it goes into the Carboy (the first time) but before I put in the metabisulphite and sorbate with water. If this is correct how often do I degas. The directions say it should be in the carboy for 10 days. Thanks.
 
Degas before adding the clearing agent. You can degas before or after k-meta and sorbate. I degas every time I rack as long you add k-meta every 3 months
 
No need to buy another carboy ... although if you are like me, you will soon own 7 or 8 of them.

When I first started, I would "rack" from the carboy back to the fermenting bucket, clean the carboy, and then rack back into the original carboy.

That's two steps instead of one ... but it works.
 
No need to buy another carboy ... although if you are like me, you will soon own 7 or 8 of them.

When I first started, I would "rack" from the carboy back to the fermenting bucket, clean the carboy, and then rack back into the original carboy.

That's two steps instead of one ... but it works.

I have done the same and every now and then still have to do it if I am out of carboys. It does expose your wine to more oxygen but if it is properly sulfited and you are fairly quick there is no real problem doing this. I will rack wine to my fermenting bucket if it is a full carboy to stir to degas as well, clean the carboy and then rack back. I have made some huge messes trying to stir a too full carboy.
 

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