| Racking
the wine Cold stabilization and fining inshelp@kamiljuices.com |
| Once the specific gravity (S.G.), is below 1000, siphon the wine off of its sediments into sterilized pails or another carboy (this is called racking). |
Stabilize the wine using the stabilizer (80% potassium metabisulphite and 20% ascorbic acid (a.k.a Vit C)). A dosage of one level teaspoon of stabilizer (dissolved in 90ml (3 oz.) of hot water) per 5 gallons of wine is used. This helps to prevent oxidation and bacterial infection of the wine. The optional addition of oak chips can be done now at the end of the racking, to add a new dimension to the taste of the wine. Or the oak chips can be added with the yeast prior to the start of fermentation. The fermenting vessels should be cleaned and the wine siphoned back into them. Now the carboy is filled right to the top. Never top up your carboy with water. This dilutes the wine and makes it thin. We provide you with a volume of juice that is more than a 20 L (5 gallon) carboy can hold. It allows you to top up the carboy with the extra volume of wine in your gallon jug. After the carboy is topped up a smaller container such as a wine bottle is necessary for the left over wine you have. This smaller bottle must also be filled to the top. The airlocks must have fresh water added. The wine should be placed in a very cold spot, like the garage (in the winter) or a fruit cellar, but not lower than 0oC (32o F). It sits at this low temperature until the next racking which occurs 3 - 4 weeks later.
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After three weeks in the cold, the wine is siphoned again. This is known as the second racking. On the left you can see the accumulation of sediment on the bottom of the carboy. It is also quite normal to see crystal deposition on the sides of the carboy. This is the percipitation of potassium bitartrate which is a naturally occuring substance in grape juice. The longer a wine is aged in the cold, the more crystals will fall out. This means fewer crystals will percipitate in your wine bottles. To achieve clarity in a shorter period of time you can use gelatine (1/2 level tsp dissolved in 2 oz. of boiling water per 5 gallons) and kieselsol finings (1 oz. per 5 gallons added 10 minutes after gelatine) in the white wines. They are added to the freshly siphoned wine at the second racking. After one additional racking (3 - 4 weeks later), the white wine will be visibly clearer. If you do not wish to add finings, the white wine can take as long as 6 to 7 months (with rackings every 4 weeks) to clear, when stored at 5oC (40o F). Racking every 3 - 4 weeks, red wine will clarify without the addition of finings in about 6 months at a storage temperature of 5oC (40o F) .The picture above illustrates the state of the wine before (with only the finings added) and after filtration. Both wines are three months old.
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