3 replies to this topic

[jmareci]

I am in the final racking stage of a BK port kit. I just completed the final racking, but in the process, I accidently sucked up some of the lees into the carboy. It has been about an hour and I now have about a 1/4 inch of lees at the bottom and I can still see some stuff fogging up the rest. Do I need to re-rack after it settles some more or will it be o.k.?

[Joel]

I'd let it sit another month and rack again. You may even be ok to re rack in just 2 weeks or so.

Either way, I'd play it safe and re-rack. Nothing worse than handing out bottle of your "famous" wine to someone and for their to be a layer of sediment in it. It happens though, as I've had wine completely clear and be in the bottle for 6 months, only to have a slight film of sediment on the bottom as it laid on its side in the cellar.

Good luck though, you could also filter the wine too.

Cheers,
Joel

PS.. welcome to the forum

[jmareci]

Thanks Joel,

So, if I understand this, leaving the sediment on the bottom won't hurt the flavor?

[P Cuthbert]

jmareci;

I would give it another few days to clear again. Then one more racking leaving the lees behind. You might place a piece of 1X2 under one side of the carboy to cause the lees to settle one one side of the carboy. This should help you get the remaining wine without sucking the lees.

With the amount of lees you have in there now, there should be no problem with autolysis. This happens when the lees are heavy and thick. It is the bursting of the yeast cells which comes from compaction and allows the poisons from the decaying yeast to be dispersed into the wine.

Your wine should be absolutely clear before bottling. You may also consider filtering the wine to clear it up. If you go this route, slowly lower the pickup tube as the level drops in the carboy.

If you have some k-meta (potassium sulphite) add 1/4 tsp (disolved in wine) to the carboy before racking the wine next time.

Hope this helps;

Pat