The Intrepid Wino

Part Four of the Intrepid Winemaking Sangiovese Project 2016 is racking the two component wines. Racking is the traditional filtration process of separating the wine from the solids in the vessel. The solids are sediment, essentially dead yeast lees and tannins, and as they are heavier than the wine, will settle at the bottom of the barrel or tank. The completely natural way to perform this is through gravity, but the vast majority of wines are racked using a mechanical pump, being far more efficient.

Bin X had completely finished both the primary fermentation and the malolactic fermentation. It looks more mellow, round and savoury. The wine was racked, the seven-year old barrel was cleaned, and the then the wine was returned to the barrel.

Bin Y had completed the primary fermentation in tank, but had not completely finished the malolactic fermentation. This made the wine look a bit crunchier, brighter and intense. The wine was racked from the 300L stainless steel tank into a 500L tank, but it was not returned as it was consolidated with 30+ litres that was in a demijohn. Hopefully the introduction of some air through the racking process, as well as warmer Spring temperatures, will help it complete the malolactic fermentation before the wine is blended and bottled in the next month.