Last year didn't rack enough

[nik2]

About a year ago I made 4 gallons of blackberry wine, and racked once and then put into wine boxes. I'd normally rack more times than that but I must have been half asleep.

Now a year later I've tried some and it's quite murky. It tastes ok (a bit thin), but the appearance puts you off drinking it a bit.

Is the murkiness because something's happened to it, or because I didn't rack enough? Can I try racking it again?

 

[Bubbles2]

DO you have lees at the bottom of your bottles?

 

[nik2]

It was stored in a bag in a box rather than bottles, so couldn't really tell. By the time you've got the tap out of the box it's got fairly mixed around. I'm guessing I can just try and see what happens, and if it settles out then that's good. It just seems so murky that I can't believe I missed it when transferring into the bag.

 

[Seamonkey84]

The boxes dispense from the bottom where the lees are. Let it settle. A few glasses will be murky but then should pour clear.

 

[RPh_Guy]

It's not racking that makes wine clear. It's time, degassing/cold and/or clarifying agents

 

[Bubbles2]

It's not racking that makes wine clear. It's time, degassing/cold and/or clarifying agents

That is true. Yet if you have a 1/2" of mud or lees at the bottom, not only is it going to be nasty down the road from dead yeast BUT it will draw that mud out of the spigot.

 

[Bubbles2]

It was stored in a bag in a box rather than bottles, so couldn't really tell. By the time you've got the tap out of the box it's got fairly mixed around. I'm guessing I can just try and see what happens, and if it settles out then that's good. It just seems so murky that I can't believe I missed it when transferring into the bag.

I asked because if you do have Lees you ought to get through it fast or re rack for the dead yeast will not be any good addition. I would pull one of the boxes into a decanter or a jug like a gallon jug if that will hold the box. Chill it and check.

 

[RPh_Guy]

if you have a 1/2" of mud or lees at the bottom, not only is it going to be nasty down the road from dead yeast BUT it will draw that mud out of the spigot.

Absolutely! That's why it's good to wait until it's clear before packaging.

I was just saying racking itself doesn't actually do much to clarify (although it probably helps degas a little), and that there are methods/products to help it clear faster if you're impatient (like me).

Anyway, I hope the wine still tastes good!

 

[Miraculix]

It was stored in a bag in a box rather than bottles, so couldn't really tell. By the time you've got the tap out of the box it's got fairly mixed around. I'm guessing I can just try and see what happens, and if it settles out then that's good. It just seems so murky that I can't believe I missed it when transferring into the bag.

Aren't those bags prone to letting oxygen in over time, like pet bottles? After a year, a beer in a pet bottle is basically fully oxidised, maybe that is what happened to your wine.

 

[nik2]

Aren't those bags probe to letting oxygen in over time, like pet bottles? After a year, a beer in a pet bottle is basically fully oxidised, maybe that is what happened to your wine.

They're not as good as glass bottles with corks, but not terrible either. There's some research somewhere or other where they did a comparison over a year and had some oxidisation through the bag, but probably nothing my amateur palate would notice.

My first thought had been that I'd not put the tap in properly, but the other boxes (from the same batch) were the same. I've had other wines that have been fine for more than a year in boxes (that said I have switched to bottles for my latest wines).