On Dec 18, 7:44 am, Jeff > wrote:
> Initially I did 5 gallon batches of beer, and wine is a bit new to me.
> I have a couple of wines beyond primary right now, and need to rack
> them to leave the sediment behind.
>
> My racking cane is stainless and about 3' long, and the tubing is
> rather large ID. I used it to rack the 1st time, but it was unwieldy.
> When you guys rack from 1gal to 1gal jugs, what do you use and how do
> you go about it? For that matter, when you finally go to bottle, how
> do you get it into the bottle - rack again?
>
> My process last time was - stick the racking cane with spring on the
> end into the 1 gallon jug, and try not to tip it over with 2 feet of
> metal tubing sticking out the top. Use a turkey baster to pull the
> wine through the tube and start the siphon. Once the siphon is going,
> drop the end in the other 1 gallon jug.
>
> It just seems to be too much splashing and messing for a small 1
> gallon batch. I'm a bit afraid of oxidizing my wines. I don't have
> sulfite test kits, so my sulfite level is going to be a crap shoot
> anyway, and I'm not certain I can rely on it to prevent oxidation.
>
> FWIW these are fruit wines so far - Pluot and Tomato.
>
> Thanks,
> --Jeff

You can get much smaller racking canes that self siphon. No need for
a baster. Don't worry about the splashing. Sometimes it is good to
get some Oxygen in there. I think there is often an over emphasis on
protecting wine from oxygen. Just manage your sulfite levels. I've
gone through the extremes of putting in 30ppm with each racking, and
now only put it in at crush and bottling. And, if you're planning to
drink it all in the near term, I would think the splashing and sulfite
is less of an issue.
Tomato, huh?