Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
The secondary fermentation in this vessel is almost complete.
7. Now it is a waiting game. Over weeks and months your
wine will ultimately cease to ferment, and the haze within the
wine will settle onto the bottom of the container. Keep an eye
on the wine. Anytime a substantial sediment develops, rack
the wine again and top up with sterilized water. Make sure the
airlock doesn't go dry and permit foreign organisms to enter.
Depending on ingredients, you may not have to rack again or
you could have to rack one to three more times.
8. Once the wine has gone at least three months without
requiring racking and is crystal clear, it is ready for bottling.
You can allow it to age in the fermenter as long as you'd
like—even several years.
Bottling Your Wine
1. Gather, clean, and sanitize the wine bottles that will be
accepting the wine. You will need five bottles per gallon of
wine. Boil an equal number of corks for 15 minutes, and then
allow them to sit in a covered pot. Clean and sanitize your
corker.
2. Rack the wine, but do not add water to top off on this
final racking. Add one Campden tablet per gallon by crushing
the tablet and dissolving in a bit of wine and then adding that
wine into the new vessel.
3. If you want to add potassium sorbate to prevent
re-fermentation, dissolve that also in the wine and add back
into the new vessel. Use ¼ tsp per gallon of wine.
