Wine Racking in larger carboy?

[Zule]

I got a ~3 gallon carboy and several carboys that are ~6 gallons. I am making some wine in the 3 gallon carboy from juice.

I was originally thinking of putting it back on the original 5 containers the juice came in (after about 5-6 weeks). But this would be extra work, and id have to re-rack at least one more time (based on my experience doing the fermentation directly in the juice bottles as a test).

If I rack the wine and move it into one of my larger carboys (the 6 gallon one) it would effectively be half wine and half air. Would this kill (oxidize?) the wine due to the large amount of oxygen or would the yeast produce enough carbon dioxide to push out the oxygen fast enough thru the air lock?

 

[Arne]

ONce you get past the primary ferment, you want to keep the 02 exposure down. I would rack em into the smaller carboys. You mite get by with the big one, but if it decides to oxidize you will loose it all. Arne.

 

[cpfan]

Zule:

Can't answer the question without knowledge of the specific gravity. If the sg is high enough, then sufficient CO2 might be produced. If the sg is lower (say 1.010 or less), then there isn't much fermentation left, so not as much CO2 being produced. Personally, I would think that the wine would become oxidized no matter what the sg.

Obviously, one solution is to acquire another 3 gallon carboy.

A second solution would be to rack one of the larger carboys, clean & sanitize the smaller one, and then rack back to it. Obviously, still an extra racking, but less fiddly than using the 5 original containers.

Steve

 

[Turock]

No matter what you put it in, it has to be topped up. Use marbles to bring the level up, if need be. O2 exposure not only causes oxidation, but favors vinegar production too.