Ok guys

I racked it from the plastic jug into this, should I let it age abut a week and rack it again? And also in the first and last pic on top it looks a little watered down but I used no water, when I rack it next time should I start below that?

gtgirl20 said:

I racked it from the plastic jug into this, should I let it age abut a week and rack it again? And also in the first and last pic on top it looks a little watered down but I used no water, when I rack it next time should I start below that?

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That is a lot of head space. Rack into a smaller container/s.

Rack when you get a decent amount of sediment on the bottom. Usually I let mine set a few weeks.

Ok I'll try to get a smaller glass container from now on I will just rack into a smaller plastic one

Is there an airlock on the glass container?

The watered down appearance is that it is starting to clear.

saramc said:

The watered down appearance is that it is starting to clear.

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No the glass container does not have an air lock! It's aging now I just pulled the air lock off the plastic bottle last night and racked it into a glass container to age a bit then I am gonna rack it, it had a very strong alcoholic smell and I am gonna test the alcohol content later after I rack it a few more times

What's the purpose of racking it so many times? I haven't made wine, but I imagine it's similar to beer in the sense that it doesn't like oxygen exposure

m_stodd said:

What's the purpose of racking it so many times? I haven't made wine, but I imagine it's similar to beer in the sense that it doesn't like oxygen exposure

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Rack it to help it clear and help keep the yeast/other stuff out

I don't understand how racking would help keep it clear. One fermentation is complete, everything more dense than wine is on it's way to the bottom. Racking it to another container will just mix it up and make the process take longer.

How does racking keep yeast/other stuff out?

m_stodd said:

What's the purpose of racking it so many times? I haven't made wine, but I imagine it's similar to beer in the sense that it doesn't like oxygen exposure

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You just rack it off of the lees every 45-60 days or whenever there are lees 1/4" thick or more. After 60 days with no new lees formed, and if it's clear, it's ready to bottle.

It's really important to minimize oxygen exposure so it's crucial to top up the wine and leave no headspace and many winemakers recommend and use campden tablets (sulfites) at every other racking since it is an antioxidant.

Racking the wine often and needlessly will harm the wine, especially if sulfites (antioxidants) aren't used.

And an airlock should always be used, except for perhaps bulk long-term aging (but even then it's a good idea to avoid carboys blowing up if the weather gets warmer and c02 comes out of the wine).

Yoop has probably seen this happen before. I used to make my meads and wait for them to clear. Then I would rack and put a screw top them and let them age for a couple months. Then, proudly, I opened them at my bachelor party and my guests all got sprayed with mead.

Put an airlock on that thing bucko .

CreamyGoodness said:

Yoop has probably seen this happen before. I used to make my meads and wait for them to clear. Then I would rack and put a screw top them and let them age for a couple months. Then, proudly, I opened them at my bachelor party and my guests all got sprayed with mead.

Put an airlock on that thing bucko .

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So I need to put an air lock on the glass bottle now? And not the cap?

Well as some of the other posters mentioned you should definitely rack to a smaller jug to cut down on all that headspace. After that, yes, I would say you should airlock it. No matter how much the airlock bubbled or didnt bubble, at a few weeks in (and cloudy like that) you definitely still have fermentation still going on.

CreamyGoodness said:

Well as some of the other posters mentioned you should definitely rack to a smaller jug to cut down on all that headspace. After that, yes, I would say you should airlock it. No matter how much the airlock bubbled or didnt bubble, at a few weeks in (and cloudy like that) you definitely still have fermentation still going on.

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Ok I'll rack it later into a smaller container and air lock it it smells real real strong now!

gtgirl20 said:

Ok I'll rack it later into a smaller container and air lock it it smells real real strong now!

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Well, in this case I think it's very important to move it to a smaller container ASAP because of the huge amount of headspace. You want about an inch of headspace, where the container is most narrow. A wide headspace will ruin the wine pretty quickly.

I left too much airspace in the jugs I had housing my wedding mead. They tasted like straight up vinegar when we got around to drinking it .

CreamyGoodness said:

I left too much airspace in the jugs I had housing my wedding mead. They tasted like straight up vinegar when we got around to drinking it .

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Ok I racked it into the original container but now it will not burp with the air lock on

The airlock is installed correctly and you just arent getting any bubbles? If that is the case you are aok fine. Dont forget, the airlock bubbles are nothing more than kinda fun to watch. They dont prove anything at all.

CreamyGoodness said:

The airlock is installed correctly and you just arent getting any bubbles? If that is the case you are aok fine. Dont forget, the airlock bubbles are nothing more than kinda fun to watch. They dont prove anything at all.

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Oh lol my carboy is on air lock on its got water it just is not burping haha I guess I'm just creaking out to early

Lol please define "burping"

CreamyGoodness said:

Lol please define "burping"

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When it bubbles its called burping well what I call it lol

ah. Well as I was saying, even if it never "burps" from here on that is not a reason to worry.

CreamyGoodness said:

ah. Well as I was saying, even if it never "burps" from here on that is not a reason to worry.

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Bout how long should I let it go? I had it fermenting for a week before I racked it into the glass

***Please see Yooper's response***

CreamyGoodness said:

Oh my, you have at least another 3 weeks of fermenting and several months of clearing to look forward to.

In the future, not that a week's ferment is far too soon to start racking.

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Well, normally for fruit wines you'd ferment on the fruit for about 5 days or so, then rack to a carboy and airlock it. The first racking is commonly done by the 10th day. After that, it's racked only when there are lees 1/4" thick, or any lees at all after 60 days.

Once it's completely clear, and not dropping any lees at all after 60 days, then it's ok to bottle. The airlock should remain in place until bottling, unless the wine is being bulk aged at that point (but even then I'd airlock, though not strictly necessary). That's when the wine is about 6 months old, typically.

ALWAYS listen to Yooper instead of me! .

For whatever reason I thought you were making a mead. Thats my fault.

Yooper said:

Well, normally for fruit wines you'd ferment on the fruit for about 5 days or so, then rack to a carboy and airlock it. The first racking is commonly done by the 10th day. After that, it's racked only when there are lees 1/4" thick, or any lees at all after 60 days.

Once it's completely clear, and not dropping any lees at all after 60 days, then it's ok to bottle. The airlock should remain in place until bottling, unless the wine is being bulk aged at that point (but even then I'd airlock, though not strictly necessary). That's when the wine is about 6 months old, typically.

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Ty I put the air lock back on and put it back in the original container