Racking/Carbing Mead

I made a Raspberry/Blackberry Melomel on 1/18 with the following recipe:
1 Gallon Batch
2 1/2lbs clover honey
4oz fresh raspberries
4oz fresh blackberries
1 juice of lemon
1 juice of lime
1/2c Earl Grey Tea
Yeast:Lalvin D47

I racked into secondary on 1/26 and off of the fruit because fermentation was complete (1.000 hydrometer reading for 2 days). The recipe claims 60day secondary, or until clear. Today on 1/29, I noticed it has cleared quite nicely and will be completely cleared within the next 2 days.
I plan to carb the mead, Once it is completely cleared, I plan to rack off the bit of lees that is at the bottom. (im not the best at racking yet). My issue is...should i rack to a tertiary for a few weeks/month and then bottle/carb? Or should I just go right into bottles and carb. AND how much dextrose should be used in each bottle? (12oz bottles)

Thanks for any help.
-Dave

I typically rack the melomel at a 60 day schedule until clear AND no longer dropping sediment in between rackings. It will drop sediment for a while. No need to rush it. In all reality you will want to wait 6+ months before even considering bottling.

For priming 1 oz per gallon to a dry must is pretty common.

So 60 days until I should rack into a tertiary? My only issue is the whole off flavor things from the lees if it happens. its my first melomel so i dont really want to mess it up lol

DaveVanO said:

So 60 days until I should rack into a tertiary? My only issue is the whole off flavor things from the lees if it happens. its my first melomel so i dont really want to mess it up lol

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If you have gross lees that you have not yet racked off of you definitely want to go ahead and rack sooner than later. Ideally you would then just have development of fine lees. Decent read in WinemakerMag--- http://www.winemakermag.com/stories...es/8-10-winemaking-techniques-you-should-know

Since you are using D47 be sure to keep must temp in range of 59-68F as exceeding the upper range will allow development of off tastes.

saramc said:

If you have gross lees that you have not yet racked off of you definitely want to go ahead and rack sooner than later. Ideally you would then just have development of fine lees. Decent read in WinemakerMag--- http://www.winemakermag.com/stories...es/8-10-winemaking-techniques-you-should-know

Since you are using D47 be sure to keep must temp in range of 59-68F as exceeding the upper range will allow development of off tastes.

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I have racked it once into a secondary. So the majority of the lees are gone. just dont want the small lees/sediment at the bottom of the carboy to affect it. And my house is consistently at a 67*F temp, so that shouldnt be an issue at all. Hopefully

Today I racked it into a tertiary, mainly because it is crystal clear, and i can read right through it. Gonna let it bulk age for now because when racking I could smell the alcohol within the mead anyways. Do I need to keep an airlock on it for the aging process?? (I didnt stabilize this mead with sulphites or anything because I want to carb it in the end) Or is it ok to put a cap onto the carboy and leave it at that? Or should i just bottle and carb right now. pasteurize, then let it age while carbed? Open to opinions and looking for some