Pre bottling / racking questions.

[Noodleman]

Evening all,

I've only gone and started to over think everything again, which usually ends in confusion, so just looking for some guidance to de-clutter my thought process :)

I've got a couple different wines which are currently sat in DJ's. They were started on the 10th of August. Both are made using off the shelf supermarket non concentrate fruit juices.

Both have been racked once since they were started, and both have cleared naturally. Fermentation ended quite some time ago. During the racking of each I did not add a campden tablet as people suggest you should do, I didn't see any need to in all honesty.

Question 1: Was not adding a campden tablet at this point a mistake?

Both of these wines have now got a small, white sediment layer at the bottom of the DJ, I have moved them into the kitchen and I am intending to rack them again tomorrow into clean DJ's.

Question 2: Should I add a campden tablet during the next racking (this weekend)?

Question 3: I do not intend to "back sweeten" these wines, they will be dry. am I correct in thinking that this removes the need to add something such as potassium sorbate?

Question 4: After the racking this weekend would it be wise to leave both wines to sit again for a few more weeks to see if any more sediment drops and keep racking until no more sediment appears?

So, lets jump forward a bit in time now. The wine is in the DJ, no sediment has dropped over a 3 week period and I want to bottle the wine.

Question 5: Should I add anything to the wine prior to bottling such as a preservative, and if so what would be suggested?

Thanks in advance for any answers. :)

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Question 1: Was not adding a campden tablet at this point a mistake?

Both of these wines have now got a small, white sediment layer at the bottom of the DJ, I have moved them into the kitchen and I am intending to rack them again tomorrow into clean DJ's.

Its not a mistake but in future i would do it on the first rack as supermarket juices don't need a second one.

Its just more sediment settling because you haven't added stabiliser which drops it much faster.

Question 2: Should I add a campden tablet during the next racking (this weekend)?

Yes.

Question 3: I do not intend to "back sweeten" these wines, they will be dry. am I correct in thinking that this removes the need to add something such as potassium sorbate?

No stabiliser is required if you want it dry

Question 4: After the racking this weekend would it be wise to leave both wines to sit again for a few more weeks to see if any more sediment drops and keep racking until no more sediment appears?

The more you rack it the more chance you have of spoiling it, i ack onto a campden, degass add stabiliser and add finingsr, i then bottle when it is clear, there is always a slight amount of sediment but if you are careful it will not enter the bottles.

So, lets jump forward a bit in time now. The wine is in the DJ, no sediment has dropped over a 3 week period and I want to bottle the wine.

Question 5: Should I add anything to the wine prior to bottling such as a preservative, and if so what would be suggested?

You are making this hard work for yourself , i use this method for my supermarket juice wine, usually 7 - 10 days fermentation to finish sometimes a little more, leave 7 days for the nasties to get sorted, rack onto a campden, degass add stabiliser and add finings, wait a couple of days and it is usually clear, bottle, drink. (i find Pomegranate or Cranberry wines taste great straight from the DJ so no ageing required)

Have a read of the thread in my signature below, there are a couple of good tutorial videos that are worth watching.

 

[Noodleman]

thanks for your reply, I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

Would there be any reason why I could not skip the racking I had planned for tomorrow, and just add directly to bottles?

Assuming I rack as planned tomorrow and I add a campden tablet, should I wait a while before transferring to bottles?

Cheers again :)

 

[Chippy_Tea]

You can go directly to bottles but there is a risk your wine might spoil. (see below)

If you do rack to a DJ onto a crushed campden you will have to wait for it to settle for a short period as you haven't added finings, wait until it is clear and then bottle.

The reason these tablets were used in wine making is to keep the wine from spoiling after it has been bottled, by adding these tablets you virtually eliminate any chance of your wine falling victim to mold, bacteria and other foreign enemies.

 

[Noodleman]

racking + campden it is :)

Thank you for your information.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

:

 

[Noodleman]

nope, I got back to thinking again :wha: *head explodes* hehe.

Just a final (I hope) follow up question. I know the answer to this may vary, but I am trying to get an idea of "short period" from your earlier answer. My assumption was 24-48 hours, but I just wanted to check :)

cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeers :whistle: :drunk:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Once it is clear drink it as you made it over a month ago it will be fine.

This is from the wow guide and is the reason i leave my wine 7 days after fermentation has stopped -

Yeast turns sugar into alcohol plus carbon dioxide, but in between it makes other chemicals called aldehydes. If you try to rush it you will get an alcoholic drink which will get you plastered but might upset your guts and leave you with a headache. Give it a bit more time and the yeasties will finish clearing away those aldehydes and you should end up with a wine which you can be proud to share with your family and friends.