racking question

[lari]

hi all,

so I have a few different wines made from scratch. they have all been stabilized, sulphited, degassed and finings added to them. they all have cleared really well but obviously theres stuff at the bottom so need to rack into another demijohn at some point.
so question nr 1 - when should I actually rack it? as soon as its cleared?
question nr 2 - do i need to add sulphite or campden every time i rack the wine?
question nr 3 - if back sweetening do i need to leave in the demijohn for some time or can i rack it, sweeten it and bottle it straight away?

thanks

[NorthernWiner]

To answer your question, wine should be racked.... well, when it needs it.

I don't mean to sound glib, but there aren't always clear signs (pun intended) when to do so. The rule of thumb I use is this: if it's clearing naturally (i.e. you haven't added any finings) and there is a centimeter or more of dust on the bottom of the DJ, then I rack it. If you have added finings like two-step or bentonite, which speed up the clearing process, then I wait until it's completely clear before racking.

You don't have to add Campden every time you rack, but it really depends on how often you are racking. Assuming you don't have any way to measure SO2 levels, you can again apply a rule of thumb. When sitting in glass containers, very little SO2 dissipates over time. In fact, you really only lose it during the racking process. And even then it's not a lot if you use some caution and don't splash much during racking. What I would suggest is adding a half dose of campden every other time you rack. But no more than one full dose over the course of a year.

I hope that makes sense. Unless you have a kit for measuring SO2 and can replace only the amount that's lost during each racking, it's not an exact science.

[Original Mac]

question 1, as you have already fined the wine if you are sure it is clear then by all means rack. Shining a torch through the demi john will pick up any hazes not immediately apparent. Any haze and leave for a couple more days. I generally leave a fined wine for at least a week then rack off to my long term storage containers. However even then I still find a sediment drop when I rack again at 3 and 6 months and even when I bottle at one year. These are red wines.
question 2, wot Steve said. Also too much SO2 gives your wine a horribly metallic aftertaste so careful as you go.
question 3, either, it all depends on how quick you want to drink it. If a variant of wine#1 or 2 which is designed to be enjoyed young then by all means backsweeten and bottle. If a fruit wine like a gooseberry or rhubarb then it may well benefit from some demijohn time before bottling. However if you backsweeten and leave in the demijohn, if the yeast manages to restart then you have a problem you can easily deal with. No bubbling activity for a month you are reasonably sure it is safe to bottle. If the yeasties kick back in in the bottle, well lets just say bottle grenades are dangerous.

What have you made? (curious!)

[lari]

thanks Steve and Mac.

so I have 3 gallons of pudding wine and 5 gallons blackberry, plus a few nr 1 & 2 wines. i want to sweeten pudding wine with some honey and have it ready to drink for christmas (it tasted rather nice that way a week ago)
i had problems with blackberry wine though, it had stopped at 1.008 ish. the good thing is the sweetness level is perfect for my taste and at 17%abv = happy days.

im not planning to mature any of them tho, i cant remember any wine lasting me more than 6 months im just gonna rack, sweeten and bottle straight away to minimize air contact and save myself some time in the future. i don't mind a little sediment in the bottle..

cheers

[fatbloke]

thanks Steve and Mac.

so I have 3 gallons of pudding wine and 5 gallons blackberry, plus a few nr 1 & 2 wines. i want to sweeten pudding wine with some honey and have it ready to drink for christmas (it tasted rather nice that way a week ago)
i had problems with blackberry wine though, it had stopped at 1.008 ish. the good thing is the sweetness level is perfect for my taste and at 17%abv = happy days.

im not planning to mature any of them tho, i cant remember any wine lasting me more than 6 months im just gonna rack, sweeten and bottle straight away to minimize air contact and save myself some time in the future. i don't mind a little sediment in the bottle..

cheers

When sweetening with honey, do it as you generally would (I like to mix the honey with an equal amount of the wine), but you may find that it hazes (honey can be like that). So you might have to either fine it again or try amylase or both or even just find the fridge space to cold crash it for 4 or 5 days to get any haze to drop out......

[NorthernWiner]

... im just gonna rack, sweeten and bottle straight away to minimize air contact and save myself some time in the future. i don't mind a little sediment in the bottle..

If you don't mind the sediment, that's fine. But I will caution you to use both sorbate and campden when you bottle a sweet wine, so as not to have wine grenades popping off in the cellar.

[SleepyDave]

i want to sweeten pudding wine with some honey and have it ready to drink for christmas

I have got away with sweetening Xmas Pudding Wine and adding a bit of Vodka. The yeast had already had a chance to ferment out all the sugar and gave up when the alcohol reached its tolerance limit - it was still at 1.010 when I gave up sugar feeding it. I reckon a bit more alcohol should prevent any re-fermentation problems and improves the flavour more than sorbate will. Also, mine won't last the month.