RACKING YOUR WINES
The When's, Why's & How's

Racking is an essential part to making any sound wine. It is a
process that, on average, should be performed 2 to 4 times
throughout the winemaking process. Doing so in a timely manner
will aid in the clarification of the wine and help to inhibit the
production of unwanted off-flavors.


- What Is Racking?

Many home winemakers that are new to the hobby are sometimes
thrown off by the term, at times, confusing it with meaning to
bottle the wine, or worse yet, interpreting it to mean that
they need to seal up the fermentation vessel air-tight in some
fashion. Both misinterpretations can lead to disastrous results.

There are some variations on the definition of "racking" that can
be found from one winemaking book to the next. But put very
simply, racking means to siphon the wine must from one container
to the next, so as to leave any sediment behind. In fact that is
the sole purpose of racking, "to leave the sediment behind."


- When To Rack

The First Racking:
The first racking should normally be done around 5 to 7 days into
the fermentation. This is an optimum time to rack a must for
several reasons.

The first being, this is the time you will need to put the
fermentation under the protection of an air-lock. And, this
usually means moving the must to another container, anyway. The
reason an air-lock is needed at this point is because this is
when the fermentation will dramatically slow down. When the yeast
becomes less active, the must is no longer able to sufficiently
protect itself from the continuous, long-term threats posed by
outside contaminants. The must needs the protection of an air-
lock.

Secondly, it is at this slowing period that you will usually find
that around 70 to 80 percent of the sediment will have already
occurred. It will take much longer for the last 30 percent to
show up. So, racking the wine on the 5th to 7th day is a good
idea from a timing standpoint--an optimum time to get the bulk of
the sediment out of the way.

The third reason for racking a must at 5 to 7 days is to remove
any pulp that may be present. If you are dealing with fresh
fruits as opposed to packaged juices, you will want to get the
pulp out of the must at this time. Leaving the pulp in the must
for a longer period of time could result in a wine that is too
harsh tasting; and any shorter period of time could result in a
wine that has less body and character than you may prefer.

The Second Racking:
The second racking should be done when the fermentation activity
is complete. This could be just a few days after the first
racking, or it could be up to 4 or 5 weeks after the first
racking. It simply depends on how fast your fermentation has come
along.

Once the racking has been done, you will want to put the air-lock
right back on. The must will now need more time to become
completely clear.

The Third Racking:
The third and--quite often--the last racking should be done after
the wine has completely cleared up. Again, this is an opportune
time to get the sediment away from the wine. It only makes sense
to rack the wine away from the sediment as soon as all of it has
occurred.

Other Rackings:
Other rackings may need to be performed in certain situations,
such as when bulk aging a heavy red wine, for example. Every 3 to
4 months it would be wise to rack the wine off any sediment that
may have occurred over the coarse of long-term bulk storage.
Sediment can occur throughout this storage time due to
instabilities that may exist in the wine.

Another time that an additional racking would be required is if
you decide to use finings or clarifiers in your wine such as
Bentonite or Kitosol 40. This would require you to do a racking
once before treating the wine and once again after the effects of
the fining or clarifying process are complete.

Too Many Rackings:
It is possible to rack a wine too many times. The additional
disruptions to a resting wine can work as a negative by way of
over oxidation and/or the general deterioration of the wine's
flavor. So, please do not get the idea that more is better when
it comes to racking your wine.


- Why Is Racking Necessary?

Why are we concerned about getting the sediment away from the
must in such an timely manner?

With the exception of some solids that may have settled from the
fruit, most of the sediment is the result of dead or inactive
yeast cells falling out of the must. The yeast that is initially
introduced into a must at the beginning of a fermentation, will
multiply itself to anywhere from 100 to 200 times the original
amount that was put in. Generation after generation of dead yeast
cells is the bulk of what you see lying at the bottom of the
fermenter.

Towards the end of fermentation there is a fairly sizeable group
of healthy, active yeast cells floating throughout the must that
are running out of food (sugar). Once all of the sugars have been
consumed, this active, now-starving group of yeast will start a
process that can only be described as cannibalization.

The active yeast will instinctively start producing an enzyme
that will break-down the dead yeast cells that lay on the bottom.
This is done so that dead yeast's nutrients can be released and
utilized by the still-active yeast. This break-down process is
known as "autolysis" and its effects can eventually ruin a wine.
If given enough time--weeks, not days--this process can produce
off-flavors in a wine that range from bitter, to rubber, to even
metallic.

Another reason for racking a wine is to aid in the clarification
process. If no rackings where ever performed, what you would
eventually have is a container of wine that was clear on top, but
with a thick, hazy layer at the bottom. In a typical five gallon
batch, this hazy layer could be anywhere from 1 to 5 inches
thick. This would be in addition to the heavy layer of sediment
that would lay solid on the bottom.


- How To Rack A Must

The process of racking your must is fairly straight forward. You
simply start a siphon. The real trick is to do the siphoning
without stirring up the sediment. You need to siphon the must
"quietly," as I like to say.

You can rack your wine with nothing more than a length of food-
grade hose, but this can get a little tricky, especially when you
get down to the end of the siphon. A hose will have a tendency to
move around and draw from places you don't want it to--like in
the sediment. Or worse yet, the hose may curl up out of the
liquid causing you to loose your siphon all together.

This is why many people prefer using a Racking Tube on the end
of their hose. A Racking Tube is simply a rigid piece of clear
tubing around two feet long. It acts as a wand allowing you to
point where you are drawing from within the container. The end of
the Racking Tube has a diversion cap that helps you to draw away
from the sediment, instead of in the sediment.

Starting the siphon can be done can be done by sucking on the end
of the hose--the old fashion way. However, we do not recommend
this for obvious reasons. But, another alternative to this would
be to use The Automatic Siphon.

The Auto Siphon is pretty slick to use. It is a Racking Tube and
priming pump all in one. You simply put it into the must. Slowly
pump the Auto Siphon up and down one time, like a bicycle pump,
and your siphon is started.

We also offer Siphoning Kits that will work with either 1 gallon
jugs and 5 gallon glass carboys. These kits come with all the
hoses and tubing you will need to complete a siphon. With the
siphon kits you can easily start the siphon by puffing into a
small tube to create pressure within the jug. This pressure will
start the siphon for you.


- How To Rack Efficiently

When doing the first 2 or 3 rackings, don't worry about leaving
all of the sediment behind. Get as much of the liquid as you can,
even if it some of the sediment comes with it. It is when you do
your final racking that you will want to leave all of the
sediment behind at the expense of some wine. By racking your wine
in this way you will experience less loss of wine with no
consequence to quality.


- Using Sulfites When Racking

After racking a must that has completed its fermentation, it is
recommended that a 1/2 dose of either Campden Tablets or Sodium
Bisulfite be added to the wine. The sulfite gases that are
released from these products will drive out any air that may have
been introduced to the wine during racking. This will help to
reduce the effects of oxidation on the wine.

During a fermentation this is not an issue. The CO2 gas that is
produced by even a slow fermentation will quickly drive out any
oxygen that may have gotten into the wine.

NOTE: Do not add sulfites to an active fermentation. This will
cause the fermentation to slow down and become sluggish. It may
possibly even stop the fermentation all together.


- Related Articles:
"Fermentation 101"
"Controlling Oxidation In Your Wines"

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E. C. Kraus

Home Wine & Beer Making Supplies

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