The bounce - vacuum racking and bottling issue

[cimbaliw]

I was racking 6 gallons of Chardonnay into 2-3 gallon carboys. The first transferred beautifully but when I cut the vacuum and raised the receiving cane some wine from the tubing moved back into the sending carboy and disturbed quite a bit of sediment on the bottom. It has happened when bottling too. I suppose my only solution is to rack off the sediment before dividing batches or bottling. I just wondered what others do and if this is a good application for filtering. Maybe I've just got crummy technique.

BC

 

[FABulousWines]

Yeah, I think racking first is the best idea. You will have more control over how much if any sediment you pick up. I always bottle after I've racked off the fine lees (by this time gross lees should be long gone). And because my technique sucks too, I always filter to remove what little sediment I may have picked up. On the next pass I bottle with the assurance I have clear wine.

I've never split a batch, but I don't see why the same technique wouldn't work. Just add an extra pass to get off the sediment first, then rack to the smaller containers. This has the added benefit of degassing under vacuum.

 

[Rocky]

Cimbal, I am not sure I understand what you did when you removed the racking cane. My method is to place the sending carboy high on a bench and the receiving carboy on the floor. I tilt the sending carboy with a 1 foot length of 2x4 before starting the racking (or one can buy those carboy wedges but I think that is a real waste of money and not as good as a length of 2x4) As I am nearing the ending of the siphoning process, I raise the tube out of the wine in the sending carboy and the wine left in the tubing flows into the receiving carboy. I am not anal about the little bit of wine that is left in the carboy with the fine lees. It is not more than a couple of ounces.

I don't always filter wines. If they have bulk aged (reds for a year, whites for 6 months) I just rack and then bottle. At this time I also adjust the Sulfite level in the wine in this last racking so it is correct as the wine goes into the bottle.

 

[cimbaliw]

Thanks Rocky. I have been vacuum racking with both carboys at the same level. It seems that if I leave both canes in solution as the vacuum is turned off, the hydrostatic pressure, or some other force, in the freshly filled carboy wants to push wine back into the unfilled, or in this case, partially filled carboy. I don't understand it but it's pretty consistent. I've got some racking and bottling to do in the next day or so, I'll pay better attention and see if I can figure this out.

 

[DoctorCAD]

That's just the air rushing back into the carboy to fill the space left by the vacuum pump. Nature will not allow low pressure to exist, it must fill it.

I only use a bottling bucket anymore, stirred up enough batches to make it worth the extra racking, and that's where I put my final K-meta solution, also.

 

[Arne]

If you are going to be racking into two smaller carboys like that, don't stick the cane so for in for the first one. Then when the first is full and it burps back a bit it won't hurt anything. Next shove the cane down and rack the second. If it burps when you are done with that one, no fowl. When you pick the cane up and the vac. has been broken, the level of the wine is higher in the receiving carboy than the donating one. They then change from the receiver to the donater. Same thing happens when you have the donar sitting on the floor. Good luck with it, Arne.

 

[Chiumanfu]

I've had the exact same issue. I used to use a hose clamp positioned near the sending carboy which works... as long as you remember to use it. I could never remember.

Now I just make it a rule to always vacuum rack the entire batch to an empty carboy before splitting/filtering/bottling.

 

[cimbaliw]

Thanks everyone, looks like the additional racking step is the way to go. Better safe than sorry.

Bill C.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Place a valve between the sending carboy and the recieving tube. Racking all at once is easier, an autosiphon is even easier, you just lift it out of the sending, transfer your other end to the next carboy, pump it up and start siphoning again. WVMJ

I was racking 6 gallons of Chardonnay into 2-3 gallon carboys. The first transferred beautifully but when I cut the vacuum and raised the receiving cane some wine from the tubing moved back into the sending carboy and disturbed quite a bit of sediment on the bottom. It has happened when bottling too. I suppose my only solution is to rack off the sediment before dividing batches or bottling. I just wondered what others do and if this is a good application for filtering. Maybe I've just got crummy technique.

BC

 

[Sammyk]

If you are racking to another carboy prior to bottling, how long can you let is in the new carboy before you begin to bottle without worrying? Letting it sit would allow the finer lees to settle out?

 

[tonyt]

I have a clamp on the tubing that i clamp shut prior to turning off the vacuum. I also have a plastic clamp that holds the racking cane secure to the carboy. I am sure most all LHBSs have both for just a few dollars.

 

[garymc]

After transferring from the primary to the secondary, I like to rack at least 2 more times before bottling. And it sits in the carboys for a month or two between rackings. I don't remember having your problem during the racking off lees, but I usually leave quite a bit of wine in the old carboy, then siphon or pour it off into a half gallon jug, let it settle for a few days, then bottle it for immediate use.