Intheswamp
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2019
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Newbies, I'm a newbie, too. So, take the below with a grain of salt. I'm just trying to verify/clarify something that I've read.
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I've got something that I've been meaning to ask about. It regards the transfer/racking of must from the primary fermenting vessel to the secondary one. I have little experience with making mead/wine but I have thought that when transferring wine from the primary to the secondary that you try to not disturb the lees/pulp during the procedure. It seemed that care should be made to get as clear of a transfer/racking as possible from primary to secondary. But,...
In a section of Jack Keller's website, "WINEMAKING: THE BASIC STEPS - TRANSFER TO SECONDARY" Keller makes a lot of sense (to me) when he talks about stirring the must before transferring it from primary to secondary vessels. The basic idea being that live yeast are at the bottom of the primary resting in the lees and that stirring causes them to be suspended in the must. He goes on to talk about transferring by pouring the must through a funnel into the secondary...even mentions using a fine screen to stop the gross lees, thus only fine lees get transferred. Other tidbits of info included with the article (not a bad read).
It seems to me this might not be such a bad idea. What about stirring the must up a bit without a lot of agitation so as not to introduce a lot of oxygen to the must and then giving the must a bit of time for the heavier stuff to settled back down but still be cloudy from the stirring? Then "transfer" (as Jack states it being, rather than a racking) to the secondary?
Sure, stirring the must up would possibly add an extra racking later on but would it possibly insure a better, more complete fermentation? An extra racking seems worthwhile for a more complete fermentation.
Side Note, Terminology: To me, it seems that this article infers that "racking" is a conscious act of avoiding moving *any* lees (gross or fine) from one vessel to another. Whereas "transferring" isn't overly concerned with avoiding the lees. ???
Is my head all warped out of shape this morning????
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I've got something that I've been meaning to ask about. It regards the transfer/racking of must from the primary fermenting vessel to the secondary one. I have little experience with making mead/wine but I have thought that when transferring wine from the primary to the secondary that you try to not disturb the lees/pulp during the procedure. It seemed that care should be made to get as clear of a transfer/racking as possible from primary to secondary. But,...
In a section of Jack Keller's website, "WINEMAKING: THE BASIC STEPS - TRANSFER TO SECONDARY" Keller makes a lot of sense (to me) when he talks about stirring the must before transferring it from primary to secondary vessels. The basic idea being that live yeast are at the bottom of the primary resting in the lees and that stirring causes them to be suspended in the must. He goes on to talk about transferring by pouring the must through a funnel into the secondary...even mentions using a fine screen to stop the gross lees, thus only fine lees get transferred. Other tidbits of info included with the article (not a bad read).
It seems to me this might not be such a bad idea. What about stirring the must up a bit without a lot of agitation so as not to introduce a lot of oxygen to the must and then giving the must a bit of time for the heavier stuff to settled back down but still be cloudy from the stirring? Then "transfer" (as Jack states it being, rather than a racking) to the secondary?
Sure, stirring the must up would possibly add an extra racking later on but would it possibly insure a better, more complete fermentation? An extra racking seems worthwhile for a more complete fermentation.
Side Note, Terminology: To me, it seems that this article infers that "racking" is a conscious act of avoiding moving *any* lees (gross or fine) from one vessel to another. Whereas "transferring" isn't overly concerned with avoiding the lees. ???
Is my head all warped out of shape this morning????