2nd ferment - rack off or leave on sediment?

luciuslowe

Hi,

I'm new to winemaking, all is progressing well so far but I do have one question: I've read that the wine should be racked off during 2nd ferment if it throws a heavy sediment, so the wine doesn't pick up unpleasant tastes. My first batch has been in 2nd ferment for only 9 days and bubbling away merrily but I have almost 1/4" of sediment - should I rack it off to a clean demijohn or leave it on the sediment? Obviously I don't want to pick up any adverse tastes but nor do I want to halt the fermentation process.

Recipe:

3lb Fresh black/redcurrants

500ml natural black grape juice

3lb sugar (added incrementally to give SG of 1.100)

5L water

1 crushed campden (for 1st 24hrs)

1tsp granulated citric acid

Gervin GV2

Racked to 2nd ferment after 10 days, SG of 1.054

HBO_Staff

As the wine is fermenting away nicely it is probably best to leave it to complete, as it is doing what it should be and will produce sediment. Off flavours can be imparted into a brew if it is left to stand on the sediment for a while, for this reason it is advisable once the fermentation is complete not to leave a brew for too long on the dead yeast and move over into a clean vessel

soswinemaking

HBO_Staff said:

As the wine is fermenting away nicely it is probably best to leave it to complete, as it is doing what it should be and will produce sediment. Off flavours can be imparted into a brew if it is left to stand on the sediment for a while, for this reason it is advisable once the fermentation is complete not to leave a brew for too long on the dead yeast and move over into a clean vessel

When you say 'not to leave a brew for too long' - what is the longest you would recommend to leave it before racking again?

luciuslowe

Thanks for the reply, I was thinking this would be the answer but wanted to make absolutely sure first. I'll post a progress update when things eventually progress

HBO_Staff

Ideally once the fermentation is complete it would then be transferred on to the next stage and not left on the dead yeast. A few days doesn't usually do any harm as it is best to be sure it has finished fermenting, people often wait until the next weekend etc, to continue. Brews do get forgotten about and left for much longer, and there is usually no ill effects, but it's best not to risk it after the hard work of making your brew

luciuslowe

Thanks once again, I think it'll be a month or two before I reach that stage!

luciuslowe

Almost 6 weeks into 2nd ferment, we're down to one bubble every ten seconds, the suspense is killing me!

HBO_Staff

It can take a lot of patience sometimes but it sounds like it is slowly getting there! It should be worth it too!