The instructions say after 7 days, check to see if the sg is 1010 or less.
Rack into clean carboy. Leave in carboy at 22-24c for 1o days.
After 10 days sg should be 0.996 or less.
Add meta bisulphate and sorbate.
It actually says do not rack as this kit requires that you stir the sediment back into suspension.
Also asks for degassing.
Add finings and leave 14 days. Before bottling.
It’s a World vineyard Vintners reserve Pinot Grigio.
Thanks for that.
The way I read it (others may have their own comments to make) :
1. At SG 1010 or less you should transfer to a closed vessel (they call it a carboy) with an airlock, to let it continue to ferment (a 'secondary fermentation') away from the presence of air. At that stage the manufacturer wants sediment to transfer across to the closed vessel because the fermentation is still continuing towards a final SG of 0.996 or less and much of the sediment will be yeast.
2. During this time, the fermentation will also continue to produce CO2 gas, which you'll see bubbling out of the airlock, but it will gradually reduce towards the end of the process. When it gets to (say) a bubble only every 90 seconds or so, it's going to be getting towards the final SG. At that stage, the yeast is running out of sugar and/or is being inhibited by the accumulation of alcohol.
3. You then check the SG. If it is 0.996 or less the wine is pretty much 'dry' but there's still sugar and live yeast in it, which you'll stop fermenting further by adding the sorbate and (to act as a preservative) the metabisulphite.
4. After this (usually just before you add the finings), you should 'de-gas' the wine to remove as much of the dissolved CO2 left over from fermentation as possible. This is done by vigorously stirring, or otherwise agitating, the wine until it goes 'flat'. Some people have special whisk attachments to their electric drills for this and others will spend up to 30 mins stirring the wine. I've generally found that five minutes strongly stirring alternately one way then the other is enough. De-gassing is supposed to help with fining the wine. It never used to be done but I've adopted the practice and it does make sense to do it.
5. Some kits then ask you to add the finings straight away, others a day or so later. Depending on the reagents the manufacturer has provided, fining may be in one or two stages (sometimes even 3), with time between each stage, to allow that stage to work. The effect of finings is to cause suspended material to fall to the bottom of the container and leave clear wine above it. The way this is achieved varies, depending on the type of fining being used, but clarity should occur 2-7 days later (your kit manufacturer says 14 days), provided the wine has been left alone in a cool place. If it's still hazy after a couple of weeks, further fining may be needed, but I've rarely had this problem.
6. Your wine should then be 'racked' (i.e. be removed from any sediment) by being carefully syphoned off into a closed container (still under an airlock, though) or directly into bottles. At that stage it's fairly important not to bring over any more sediment than you can avoid, although transferring a little is not fatal and some wine will 'drop' sediment (tannins etc.) weeks or even months after bottling, which can be unsettling when you come to open them. Other things might precipitate out as well, though not to cause any problems - one of my grape whites has just dropped crystals of 'struvite' which look like small glass needles and, though totally harmless, look pretty scary if you don't know what they are.
Hope that helps. Good luck and let us know how you get on.
