Assuming you are using
whole crushed grapes less stems and
Lalvin K1 V1116 yeast and
transferred most of the sludge (less seeds and skins) to a 5 gallon
carboy secondary,,,, then
How many 1 gallon secondaries should I prepare for topping off the
carboy during racking (s) to wind up with 5 gallons at bottling ?

I read on Keller's site to move the sediment to the carboy when I
transferred the primary to the carboy secondary. Apparently there is a
lot of viable yeast in the sediment. Don't know if this made a
difference but the carboy is producing 20 big "gaaaloooop" bubbles a
minute in the airlock. The SG was 1.022 at 85F when the wine went into
the carboy yesterday on Wed the 22nd.

BTW a newbie "DUH"
I tried a neighbor's idea to use my 80 qt Coleman cooler as a primary.
36 hours after pitching the yeast I opened the cooler to punch the cap
down and my once 75F must was now 95 F !!
"DUH", coolers are good at retaining cold AND heat (smile,,,,)
Left the lid open and covered with a towel after cooling things down
to 85F with an ice pack.
Temp stayed right at 85F - 87F. Now that it is in the carboy not sure
what the temp is. The yeast did not seem to mind one bit.

K1V is practically indestructible...

You will probably need at least 1 gallon to replace what you rack out
once it settles down because K1V settles pretty nicely. There are a
lot more solids than you might expect in the first rack. It should
finish up in a few days and start to settle down. You will be better
able to predict how much you need then. The day before you rack take
the carboy and twist it sharply to get some of the sediment on the
walls to settle too.

Joe

I spin my first rack lees in a dedicated clothes washing machine for about
an hour, a la Tom S (I did not do his recommended speed improvements,
though). Thus, I reclaim a fair amount of wine from my lees, which can be up
to 75% for a few varietals.

I would typically be fine with a 1 gallon topper but am moving towards
topping up from the prior year so I don't have to bother with various 750,
1500ml and 3l bottles which turn more quickly.


Patrick

"Joe Sallustio" wrote in message
oups.com...
K1V is practically indestructible...

You will probably need at least 1 gallon to replace what you rack out
once it settles down because K1V settles pretty nicely. There are a
lot more solids than you might expect in the first rack. It should
finish up in a few days and start to settle down. You will be better
able to predict how much you need then. The day before you rack take
the carboy and twist it sharply to get some of the sediment on the
walls to settle too.

Joe

On Aug 23, 5:37 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:
K1V is practically indestructible...

You will probably need at least 1 gallon to replace what you rack out
once it settles down because K1V settles pretty nicely. There are a
lot more solids than you might expect in the first rack. It should
finish up in a few days and start to settle down. You will be better
able to predict how much you need then. The day before you rack take
the carboy and twist it sharply to get some of the sediment on the
walls to settle too.

Joe

How long do you suppose this K1V can crank ??
It is Sept 3rd and it has slowed down a little but is still going
strong.
By my reckoning it has been in the carboy for 12 days now.
Could the wine have gone into a second ferment ?
I suspect the alcohol content is getting up there considering I
started with a SG of 1.120
and went into the secondary at SG 1.022.
What do you all think is going on ?

On Sep 3, 4:20 pm, Kentucky wrote:
On Aug 23, 5:37 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:

K1V is practically indestructible...

You will probably need at least 1 gallon to replace what you rack out
once it settles down because K1V settles pretty nicely. There are a
lot more solids than you might expect in the first rack. It should
finish up in a few days and start to settle down. You will be better
able to predict how much you need then. The day before you rack take
the carboy and twist it sharply to get some of the sediment on the
walls to settle too.

Joe

How long do you suppose this K1V can crank ??
It is Sept 3rd and it has slowed down a little but is still going
strong.
By my reckoning it has been in the carboy for 12 days now.
Could the wine have gone into a second ferment ?
I suspect the alcohol content is getting up there considering I
started with a SG of 1.120
and went into the secondary at SG 1.022.
What do you all think is going on ?

K1 is a bayanus strain, i.e, stronger that regular wine yeast. Its
alcohol tolerance is 18% so at your starting sg, it will most likely
take the wine to dryness (sg 0.990 - 0.993). It's not a second
ferment, it's still the primary fermentation only in a carboy - the
vessel doesn't really matter to the yeast.

Pp

That's actually a good idea that I never thought of if you want to
increase fermentation temps on small batches.

Bob


Kentucky wrote:
Assuming you are using
whole crushed grapes less stems and
Lalvin K1 V1116 yeast and
transferred most of the sludge (less seeds and skins) to a 5 gallon
carboy secondary,,,, then
How many 1 gallon secondaries should I prepare for topping off the
carboy during racking (s) to wind up with 5 gallons at bottling ?

I read on Keller's site to move the sediment to the carboy when I
transferred the primary to the carboy secondary. Apparently there is a
lot of viable yeast in the sediment. Don't know if this made a
difference but the carboy is producing 20 big "gaaaloooop" bubbles a
minute in the airlock. The SG was 1.022 at 85F when the wine went into
the carboy yesterday on Wed the 22nd.

BTW a newbie "DUH"
I tried a neighbor's idea to use my 80 qt Coleman cooler as a primary.
36 hours after pitching the yeast I opened the cooler to punch the cap
down and my once 75F must was now 95 F !!
"DUH", coolers are good at retaining cold AND heat (smile,,,,)
Left the lid open and covered with a towel after cooling things down
to 85F with an ice pack.
Temp stayed right at 85F - 87F. Now that it is in the carboy not sure
what the temp is. The yeast did not seem to mind one bit.

I'm surprised a yeast like that is still going "strong" after 12 days.
Not saying there's anything wrong just surprised. BTW, if your a
newbie, just make sure you top up after the airlock is done bubbling
and you'll have great wine.


Bob

On Sep 4, 11:46 am, pp wrote:
On Sep 3, 4:20 pm, Kentucky wrote:



On Aug 23, 5:37 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:

K1V is practically indestructible...

You will probably need at least 1 gallon to replace what you rack out
once it settles down because K1V settles pretty nicely. There are a
lot more solids than you might expect in the first rack. It should
finish up in a few days and start to settle down. You will be better
able to predict how much you need then. The day before you rack take
the carboy and twist it sharply to get some of the sediment on the
walls to settle too.

Joe

How long do you suppose this K1V can crank ??
It is Sept 3rd and it has slowed down a little but is still going
strong.
By my reckoning it has been in the carboy for 12 days now.
Could the wine have gone into a second ferment ?
I suspect the alcohol content is getting up there considering I
started with a SG of 1.120
and went into the secondary at SG 1.022.
What do you all think is going on ?

K1 is a bayanus strain, i.e, stronger that regular wine yeast. Its
alcohol tolerance is 18% so at your starting sg, it will most likely
take the wine to dryness (sg 0.990 - 0.993). It's not a second
ferment, it's still the primary fermentation only in a carboy - the
vessel doesn't really matter to the yeast.

Pp

On Sep 4, 10:35 pm, wrote:
I'm surprised a yeast like that is still going "strong" after 12 days.
Not saying there's anything wrong just surprised. BTW, if your a
newbie, just make sure you top up after the airlock is done bubbling
and you'll have great wine.

Bob

On Sep 4, 11:46 am, pp wrote:



On Sep 3, 4:20 pm, Kentucky wrote:

On Aug 23, 5:37 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:

K1V is practically indestructible...

You will probably need at least 1 gallon to replace what you rack out
once it settles down because K1V settles pretty nicely. There are a
lot more solids than you might expect in the first rack. It should
finish up in a few days and start to settle down. You will be better
able to predict how much you need then. The day before you rack take
the carboy and twist it sharply to get some of the sediment on the
walls to settle too.

Joe

How long do you suppose this K1V can crank ??
It is Sept 3rd and it has slowed down a little but is still going
strong.
By my reckoning it has been in the carboy for 12 days now.
Could the wine have gone into a second ferment ?
I suspect the alcohol content is getting up there considering I
started with a SG of 1.120
and went into the secondary at SG 1.022.
What do you all think is going on ?

K1 is a bayanus strain, i.e, stronger that regular wine yeast. Its
alcohol tolerance is 18% so at your starting sg, it will most likely
take the wine to dryness (sg 0.990 - 0.993). It's not a second
ferment, it's still the primary fermentation only in a carboy - the
vessel doesn't really matter to the yeast.

Pp- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks to all of you from this newbie.
Sounds like I may wind up with some "pop skull" wine as we say in
these parts.
The carboy is now "gaalloooping" 3 - 4 times a minute.
Looks like maybe the yeast are finishing up.
Dumb question,, what is a good (simple) way to tell the yeast is
really through with it work and it is time to rack the wine to a clean
carboy ?
( I am going to try Joe's twister idea a day or two before I rack)
Thanks again to all.