Cherry wine racking question

[Johnny Osbourne]

I got some cherries from Jamaica and made a gallon batch. It has been in the secondary stage for 3 weeks and it has settled. But close to a 1/4 of it is a lot of sediment. Should I let it continue to settle or siphon now and discard all that goodness?

 

[Blacksmith1]

reposting your question in the winemaking forum may get you a faster/ better response. I'm a noob myself and can't give you a definitive answer but I'd rack it asap to avoid it imparting any yeastiness to the brew. that's a lot of left overs right there

 

[Blacksmith1]

I assume you used Barbados cherries. if this is true, what did you do with the seeds? As I live in florida I might be able to grow them.

odd, I could have sworn this was in a different forum.....

 

[Johnny Osbourne]

I assume you used Barbados cherries. if this is true, what did you do with the seeds? As I live in florida I might be able to grow them.

odd, I could have sworn this was in a different forum.....

LOL it was but someone recommend I post it here. I actually left the seeds in as these particular cherries, the seeds are really soft and the "flesh" is embedded in between the grooves. I can try to get some more but I have to freeze them to get them in the States so they may not be any good for planting The stuff at the bottom is pretty loose so I don't think it has really settled, but it has certainly stopped regularly bubbling so fermentation has practically sopped and my hydrometer readings show .999

 

[Blacksmith1]

Are these ribbed top to bottom kinda like a mini pumpkin? some people call them tomato cherries.

 

[Johnny Osbourne]

Are these ribbed top to bottom kinda like a mini pumpkin? some people call them tomato cherries.

No the seeds are that way but the cherries are smooth on the outside

 

[Blacksmith1]

red and yellow fruit? about the same size a regular cherries? if so then that is what I was talking about first time around.

 

[hamiltonkiler]

Give it a month then rack off. I suggest topping up with brandy or bourbon.

 

[Johnny Osbourne]

Give it a month then rack off. I suggest topping up with brandy or bourbon.

OK thanks

 

[Johnny Osbourne]

red and yellow fruit? about the same size a regular cherries? if so then that is what I was talking about first time around.

Yep that's it

 

[Blacksmith1]

Cool, The wife looked them up and it turns out we can get the trees from a local nursery.

 

[Johnny Osbourne]

Cool, The wife looked them up and it turns out we can get the trees from a local nursery.

Ok nice what are the trees /cherries called?

 

[Blacksmith1]

Barbados (sp?) cherries.

 

[Johnny Osbourne]

ok thanks

 

[JimRausch]

If it's been in that jug for 3 weeks and has accumulated that much lees, then it's time to rerack. I would cold crash it for a couple days first to try and compact some of the sediment. And don't forget to add 1 crushed Camden tab when reracking- it helps scavenge O2.

 

[Blacksmith1]

try to filter it, the cost of a few coffee filters is worth saving that.

 

[JimRausch]

ry to filter it, the cost of a few coffee filters is worth saving that.

I'd be worried that running it through a coffee filter at this point would oxygenate the crap out of it. Do you have a technique to avoid that?

 

[Blacksmith1]

campden tabs. apparently the sulfite displaces the O2. I siphon off the major portion of liquid, then pour the last of it through a strainer lined with a coffee

filter​

and let it drip. that's the part that requires patience. I got lucky and have a 1 1/2 gallon container along with a strainer that has 2 protrusions on the round part of it's basket that with the handle let me just "set it and forget it" so I don't have tohold it. I could also use one of the wife's stock pots. The strainer came from a dollar store.
Get as much liquid as possible out of the fermentor/carboy then pour off the lees leaving as much lees as you can in the vessel. the filters clog pretty quickly and then take forever ( so it seems) to drain.

 

[JimRausch]

Thanks for the tips, Blacksmith! About what I figured, but it's always good to get results from someone that has done it. The Blackberry/Apricot melomel that I made back in the fall had a chit load of sediment and I lost probably a cup and a half from my 1 G jug the 1st time I racked. Luckily I had about a pint of leftover from original fermentation sitting in the fridge and used that to topoff.

 

[Blacksmith1]

I also try to keep some for top off, but my cider had only the original gallon with no added anything. so it's now a 3L due to racking spillage etc.

 

[JimRausch]

I also try to keep some for top off, but my cider had only the original gallon with no added anything. so it's now a 3L due to racking spillage etc.

I suppose you could topoff with some fresh apple juice. But that would rekick fermentation, so there's that. On occasion, I've topped off with a bottle from last year's batch, or even (gasp) a commercial product.

 

[Blacksmith1]

I topped it due to total inactivity. as for the filter method it seems it only works on the gross(large) lees. the fine lees on second racking went through the filter like, well, paper. sorry couldn't resist, but the filter trapped little to nothing off the second racking. did save a few oz on first tho', so I'm going to continue doing it then.

 

[Blacksmith1]

@Johnny Osbourne, look what I just found
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/barbados-cherry-wine.74026/

 

[Johnny Osbourne]

@Johnny Osbourne, look what I just found
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/barbados-cherry-wine.74026/

Yes I am on my last racking and it has really cleared up and tastes so good. I saved the sediment in a smaller bottle and refrigerated it where the sediment fell rapidly...and guess what? I drank the whole damn thing....it was sooooo tasty. I will buy a small tree and grown my own because this officially will be my wine of choice along with blackberry. There is a store called Sprouts that has 99 cents pineapple, I may try a batch of pineapple wine for gits and shiggles

 

[Blacksmith1]

Where are you? because those like tropic or sub tropic weather patterns.

 

[Johnny Osbourne]

@Johnny Osbourne, look what I just found
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/barbados-cherry-wine.74026/

Just read that thread wow, I will try the honey option on 1 gallon (I made 2 gallons)

 

[Johnny Osbourne]

Where are you? because those like tropic or sub tropic weather patterns.

North of Atlanta, I read that i can grow it on a porch lol, nothing below 12 degrees so I would leave it in a 5 gallon pot

 

[Blacksmith1]

that will work.

 

[Johnny Osbourne]

that will work.

did you get a plant?

 

[Blacksmith1]

Not yet. We have a Staffordshire Terrier/Catahoula/Bull Mastiff puppy here who has already eaten 4 tomato plants and half my lemon tree, as well as some other plants. For a carnivore he sure like vegetable matter. But we aren't planting anything till he out grows this phase.