A few questions about fining/racking.

[shadow47]

I have two demijohns of wine that's finished fermenting and needs fining and have a few questions...

1) If I rack it off the sediment now into another demijohn then stick the finings in would it be OK to leave a little air space at the top? Because I have nothing to top it up with, it will be in there for about a week before it can be bottled so is there anything I can do to prevent oxidation or will it be OK?

2) If I don't rack it off the sediment and just stick the finings in the current DJ will it take longer to settle? (This is what it tells you to do in the kits that you buy).

3) I've read somewhere that chilling it to 2°C help it to settle quicker, is this true?

4) If there is residual sugar in the wine will it take longer to settle or just the same as a completely dry wine?

Thanks! :

EDIT: Also how long should I shake the demijohn for to completely degas the wine?

 

[grinchy]

1) If I rack it off the sediment now into another demijohn then stick the finings in would it be OK to leave a little air space at the top? Because I have nothing to top it up with, it will be in there for about a week before it can be bottled so is there anything I can do to prevent oxidation or will it be OK?

2) If I don't rack it off the sediment and just stick the finings in the current DJ will it take longer to settle? (This is what it tells you to do in the kits that you buy).

3) I've read somewhere that chilling it to 2°C help it to settle quicker, is this true?

4) If there is residual sugar in the wine will it take longer to settle or just the same as a completely dry wine?

1. Put your air lock back on ensuring there is water in it and it should be fine.

2. Most kits tell you to do this coz its the fastest way to get to drinkable wine!, so no it wont necessarily make the settling process any longer. However the temperature and ensuring fermentation has stopped will effect the clearing process. Personally i always rack off before fining.

3. As a general rule the cooler the air temperature the quicker it will clear, and it should kill of any remaining yeast in the mix if you have added before racking, but this also depends on whether there is any residual sugar in the mix; the presence of sugar can slow the clearning process or indeed prevent it.

4. see 3!

I am by no means an expert on this and would advise you to get more views on the subject before making your decision. The info i have provided here is from personal experience. Good luck.

 

[wurzel]

Broadly agree with grinchy.....

Your wine will be fine with some air space for several weeks.

Most kits these days come with 2 pack fining's and I rack off before fining what ever the instructions say, but with one pack fining's (chitosan or isinglass usually) they react with the sediment in the wine and so I follow the instructions in that case.

Chilling will make very little difference in my experience.

A dry wine will clear quicker than a sweet, again in my experience.