Yield from "23 litres"

[Rocky]

I have two wines on right now that I made from the Mosti Mondiale AllJuice 23 litre buckets. Looking at what I have in a 5 gallon carboy and a 1 gallon jug, once the sediment is removed, I don't think I will yield anywhere near 30 bottles of wine. Looks more like 25 or so. Is this typical, i.e. to lose that much to sediment (and tasting!)


One of the wines is a Sauvignon Blanc and it is particularly heavily sedimented. I would say in the bottom of the 5 gallon carboy, close to 1" of sediment.


Not complaining, just asking. I will be very happy with 25 good bottles of wine from each batch. As always, I am grateful for your guidance.

 

[robie]

You might get 27 or 28 bottles. It's about 5 bottles per gallon. Your 5-gallon carboy holds a little over 5 gallons, maybe 5.4 gallons.

A full 5 gallon carboy and a full gallon jug, if you had no sediment, will give you very close to 30 to 31 bottles.


One thing that helps is as you rack each time, save your sediment in a sealed glass container; let it settle for from a few days to a week; then siphon off of it the clear wine and put back into the wine. You will be surprised at how must wine you can recover this way.

 

[Rocky]

Richard,


Thank you for your reply and the great idea about the sediment. I really did not think of that withthe Sangiovese that I just made and I do remember that even after I siphoned off the good wine and the sediment was sitting there, the wine started to clear. Thanks again.

 

[ibglowin]

I save every last drop I can using a sep funnel to separate the fines from the wine. I still need to add 2 bottles to top off after all is said and done.

No way you could add water to top off!

 

[Wade E]

Another trick is to keep your carboys tilted while clearing so all the sediment falls to 1 side letting you rack off the clear side. It helps you get more wine out of there as you can get the racking cane right down there. When you are ready yo rack it keep the carboy like that till the last minute and right near the end gently spin your carboy around so that the sediment is on the high side. Some people buy the carboy wedges and some just use a book or small pce of 2 x 4

 

[bcfryer]

I changed from the1/2 inch siphon pump to a 3/8 basic racking cane and hose . I feel I have better control as the transfer is getting to the end. The tip end is smaller and I can get the last bit of clear juice then pull out to prevent sediment from going all the way up the tube. Works for me.

 

[Bartman]

In my experience with about 10 AllJuice 23-liter buckets, I consistently get 29-30 bottles. The lowest was 28 bottles, the most was 30.5. The Sangiovese I made yieelded such a large volume at the first racking that I had a very full, 6 gal. italian carboy, a full 750mL bottle for topping up, and a small glass to taste (with some sediment in it, of course

). I always rack a good bit of the sediment from the primary at the first racking, but I also bulk age at least six months and rack 3-4 times before bottling.

Also, it's helpful to note that the sediment is "fluffier" when it first settles at the bottom and will compact itself after a few months. In my experience, the sediment often forms a sort of meniscus at the bottom (a lip rising up the side of the carboy 1/4" or so), so it looks like there is more sediment piled up at the bottom than there really is.

 

[robie]

.

Also, it's helpful to note that the sediment is "fluffier" when it first settles at the bottom and will compact itself after a few months. In my experience, the sediment often forms a sort of meniscus at the bottom (a lip rising up the side of the carboy 1/4" or so), so it looks like there is more sediment piled up at the bottom than there really is.

Very true. It is never as deep as it looks.

Like Mike said, even after recovering as much as possible, one sometimes still has to top off with some wine.

 

[Runningwolf]

I also do as Richard and Wade do. Keep carboys tilted on a 2x4 and rack the sediment into another bottle such as a large wine bottle and let er sit for a week or two and then salvage any wine you can out of that.

 

[Dean]

I use 3 packs of mini-jet filters to keep the carboys tilted! LOL, whatever is at hand works.

 

[andy123]

Some times the sediment rolls up the side of the carboy and appears thinker than it actually is