6 July 2007
[Epi 6] TintoTV - Blackberry's first racking
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Tinto TV marks the end of its primary fermentation with this show on the blackberry wine’s first racking! “Racking” refers to the practice of moving wine from one container to another, and in our case, it is from our primary fermenter (bucket) to our secondary fermenter (1-gallon glass carboy). During the winemaking process, a wine will be racked a few times (usually from carboy to carboy or carboy to barrel, etc…) in order to rid the wine of sediment (separate from the lees) and aid the wine’s clarifying process. Today, though, we end primary fermentation and move on to secondary fermentation!
The secondary fermentation will be less “violent” with less foaming and subtle micro-bubbles that will fizz on the wine. As the volume and intestity of carbon-dioxide expelled from the wine calms, it becomes more susceptible to over-oxidation with air-contact. For that reason, it is important to minimize this air exposure by filling up the carboy and capping it with a stopper and airlock; this will allow the carbon-dioxide to escape but prevent the ambient air from entering into contact with the wine.
Some thoughts in retrospect from the show:
So, our recipe did call for racking when our specific gravity reached 1.030, and even though our SG reached about 1.007, I have since read that many winemakers prefer to wait out their first racking till the SG drops to this range. With the fermentation still fairly active, the wine is not as sensitive to air exposure. I do not think our wine was in a risky state and I do think we had a successful racking!
Also, the horrible punchy “alky” taste: our fruit juice has undergone a very rigorous and violent transformation, and, based on my readings, it would be almost miraculous if it resembled anything even close to wine. I actually read somewhere that it could taste like jet fuel! Stephany and I were a little discouraged with the flavor profile at this point, but this news renewed our hopes for a great batch of blackberry wine! Readers, sage winemakers, what are your experiences here??? Comment below!
Any questions about what we did? Would you have racked differently? Advice for future batches? Want to say hi? Comment below please!
Very cool Nico. The one gallon cartboy looks sweet. On a side note, I highly recommend the automatic syphon pump. It’s inexpensive and works so well. Can’t wait to try the wine.
— Sergio Rodriguez Jul 7 #
You made no were near the mess that I had for my first racking, good job! The clamp that you had on the cane should have been near the dicharge end of the tubing. That way you can pinch the clamp to pause the syphon without losing it (think of an IV clamp). I am really glad that I found your website through Winemaker magazine.
— Bob Jul 9 #
lol ohhhh nico—- ur such a dork and i love it.. i jus caught up on the videos— they’re awesome and very clear to the viewers— especially us who dont know ANYTHING about wine making…. keep it up, kid
— Missy Jul 10 #
I wish I could have been with you on this one but school keeps getting in the way. Great job!
— Stephany Jul 10 #
Hi Nico. Great show.
One thing I found with the stoppers is that I have to twist them into the carboy in order for them to stay. If I just press them in, the seal isn’t very good and they tend to pop out. Also, if it’s hard to put the airlock into the stopper, you can twist it in as well.
— Obislob Jul 13 #
Great show! It’s great that you’re honest and I love the way you described the smell and flavor of the wine-in-progress!
— Juan Carlos Jul 25 #
I just started a batch of blackberry today. I’ve done things abit differently in that I’ve just read a bunch of recipe’s and made it up as I went along.
Instead of berries in a bag, I used steam extracted juice and I sweetened with Honey. I used a champagne yeast Lalvin 1118 which is very quick. The batch has a potential Alc of 22% and apparently the yeast survives until about 18 which should leave some sugar. I am also planning on stopping the fermentation with a little Brandy. Kinda a Blackberry Mead Port type thingy.
— Heinz Aug 27 #