RACKING.
=The Racking of Wines=, or drawing off, is performed for the purpose
of freeing them from the lees. Some of the older writers recommend
that wine should be allowed to remain on the lees till February or
March, but the better practice is to draw it off as soon as it has
cleared. If it is allowed to remain long upon the lees, variations of
temperature and secondary fermentations, storms, etc., are apt to cause
it to become troubled and muddy, and acquire a flavor of the lees.
Boireau says that he has constantly observed that wines in general,
and especially those which have been fined, if racked as soon as well
cleared, say from two weeks to a month after fining, according to the
kind of finings used, place of storage, nature of the wine, etc., are
generally more limpid, have a cleaner taste, and are much less liable
to work than if left on the finings for six months, from one racking to
another. Wines not fined, which have become clear naturally by repose,
exhibit the same results; those which are racked as soon as bright,
are, in every respect, of a quality superior to those which have been
left upon their lees from one equinox to another.
=The Conditions Indispensable to Good Racking= are stated by Mr.
Machard as follows:
1. To perform the operation when the weather is dry and
clear, and if possible during a north wind, for it is
only during such weather that the precipitation of the
lees can be really complete.
2. To avoid the operation during damp and rainy
weather, and while violent winds are blowing from the
south.
3. Not to proceed during a storm, because then the
lighter parts of the lees rise and produce fermentive
movements which are always to be guarded against.
4. Never to draw off a troubled or muddy wine, for then
it must be racked again; and in that condition the
deposits are always mixed with the wine.
5. Moreover, never rack at the following periods of the
vegetation of the vine: when the buds begin to swell,
at the time of flowering, and especially at the time
when the fruit commences to change color, in ripening.
6. Never to proceed during the heat of the day, or a
south wind, but always in the cool of the morning and
during a north wind.
7. To always make use of the sulphur match.
8. Never to leave the wine long exposed to the air.
9. Not to allow the wine to fall too far, so as not
to deprive it of its carbonic acid, which exerts a
conservative effect, and thus also to avoid too great
agitation, which may be prejudicial.
10. Finally, to use the greatest care to free it from
the least traces of sediment.
I have repeated nearly the language of the author quoted, at the
expense of some repetition, because the rules are laid down by him more
minutely than by the other authors who agree with him in general terms.
It is agreed that the most critical periods for wine on the lees are
the different periods of the vegetation above mentioned, which vary
somewhat in different climates, and they should therefore be racked
before these epochs arrive.
=New Red Wines=, says Mr. Boireau, which have been properly made, which
are clear, which do not work, and which are kept in closed cellars,
should be drawn off four times during the first year; the first racking
is performed as soon as the insensible fermentation has ceased, and
the wine has become clear, _i. e._, during the first cold weather of
December; the second in March, before the sprouting of the vine, or
at the vernal equinox; the third before the flowering of the vine, in
June; and the fourth at the autumnal equinox, in September. Machard
considers that no racking is so important as that of March, and he
insists upon it that it should never be omitted, and that it should be
well done, for if the lees are all removed then, it may even go safely
till the next vintage, and the June or July racking be omitted, except
in warm climates; and then, as before observed, it should be done in
the cool of the day. Instead of waiting till September, the operation
is often performed in August, when the grape begins to turn. Of course,
the periods change somewhat in different climates, as already observed,
so that the cellar-man must familiarize himself with the conduct of the
wine in his locality, and govern himself accordingly, racking before
the period arrives when the wine usually works.
=Old Red Wines= are racked only twice a year, in the spring and fall,
before the equinoxes, except in case of their becoming turbid by
secondary fermentations, when they must be racked, whatever the time
of year, except also in case of certain diseases. If, however, the
wine has not been well made or properly cared for, it may show signs
of fermentation and alteration, and need racking at periods different
from those above mentioned. If the wine does not clear of itself by
the time it should be drawn off, it may be necessary to clarify it by
fining (which see). But if well made and properly cared for, it will
ordinarily clear itself.
=New White Wines= are racked as soon as they become clear, and no
precise epoch can be fixed for the operation, because the duration
of the fermentation depends essentially upon the density of the must
and the temperature. In any case, it is much more prolonged than
that of red wines. It often happens that it continues till the month
of February, when the must is very rich in sugar, especially if the
weather is cold late in the fall; while wines made of grapes from the
same vineyard, made in the same way, but less rich in the saccharine
principle, may terminate their fermentation in December.
The racking should always be performed before the weather becomes warm,
for the elevation of the temperature will set the wine working, and the
lees will become mixed with it. Ordinarily the most favorable time is
the month of February.
=Subsequent Rackings.=—White wine, new or old, requires to be racked
three times a year, as stated in the chapter on White Wine; _first_,
in March, at the time of the sprouting of the vine, before the equinox;
_secondly_, at the flowering of the vine, in June, before the summer
solstice; and _thirdly_, in September, at the ripening of the grape,
before the autumnal equinox. (See _White Wine, Racking_.)
=Care to be Observed.=—Contact with the air should be carefully avoided
during the operation. The same care should be observed as in racking
red wine, and the operation is performed in the same manner, always
keeping in view that what may be essential to keep a mellow wine in
condition, may to a certain extent be neglected where dryness is
desired.
A sulphur match ought always to be burned in the cask before wine,
either red or white, is racked into it, for thus the germs of
fermentation which may be in the cask will be rendered inactive by
the sulphurous acid formed, and which will also absorb with avidity
the oxygen, and thereby in two ways tend to prevent fermentation. The
cask, however, should not be sulphured till well drained, or the water
remaining will be impregnated with the gas, which is liable to give a
disagreeable sulphur taste to the wine which will not disappear for
some time. (See _Sulphuring_.) A cask which has been put away sulphured
must for the same reason be washed before using; and in fact no cask
should be used without washing.
=Other Precautions.=—Great care must be taken in all cases not to
disturb the sediment by moving the cask, by pounding on the stave to
loosen the bung, or by driving in the faucet. The latter ought to be
opened before inserting it, so as to allow the air contained in it to
escape, and not to force itself into the cask and trouble the wine,
which it is liable to do by contraction and expansion, forcing in the
faucet. It should be closed as soon as the wine begins to run. It is
hardly necessary to say that an empty bucket should be kept under, when
putting in the faucet, to catch the wine that may escape. Care must
also be taken that the cask to be filled, and all the utensils used
in and about the racking, are scrupulously clean, and buckets, hose,
funnels, siphons, etc., must be washed carefully every day, for if
allowed to stand with wine in them, they will become sour. Siphons and
short tubes can be scoured by means of a brush, such as is used for
cleaning bottles and lamp chimneys, by attaching it to a long, stiff
wire.
=Different Methods of Racking.=—The commonest way is to draw the wine
through a faucet into a bucket, and pour it into the empty cask by
means of a funnel. The faucet is placed in a hole bored in the end of
the cask, an inch or more above the lower stave. After the faucet has
been placed in position, vent the cask of wine, but not before. When
the wine no longer runs, the cask should be slightly tipped forward,
but by a very easy and gradual movement, so as not to disturb the lees.
This may be done by a man carefully lifting the rear end. A kind of
hoisting-jack (fig. 16) is used for this purpose. The lower end rests
on the ground, near the rear end of the cask, and the upper end of the
movable rod is placed under the upper chime. On turning the crank the
cask is tipped gently forward, and a ratchet catches the pinion and
prevents the return. If there is not sufficient space between the wall
and the cask to operate in the manner stated, one end of the jack is
placed against the wall above the cask, and the power is applied to
the upper forward part of the cask by placing the other end behind a
forward hoop.
[Illustration: _Fig. 16._ Jack for tipping a Cask.]
[Illustration: _Fig. 17._ Fork for tipping a Cask.]
The fork (fig. 17) is used in the same way, being lengthened by means
of the screw. Fig. 18 represents another contrivance for the same
purpose.
If only one man is employed, a lever supported above the cask by two
legs straddling it, and forming the fulcrum, the rear end provided
with a hook which hooks under the chime, and the other end extending
forward beyond the front, may be used (fig. 19). The workman, by
bearing down on the lever, or by pulling the strap at the end, tips
the cask forward. When the wine has nearly all run out, it should
frequently be examined by holding a small quantity to the light in a
small, thin glass, and as soon as the slightest appearance of lees
presents itself, the operation should cease, and none of the muddy wine
should be poured into the other cask. This method has its advantages,
in that the first appearance of cloudiness can be detected, for
the liquid is always under the eye of the operator, but it has the
disadvantage of greatly exposing the wine to the air.
[Illustration: _Fig. 18._ Implement for tipping a Cask.]
[Illustration: _Fig. 19._ Implement for tipping a Cask.]
Another method which avoids the last objection, is to securely connect
the faucet of the cask of wine with the faucet of the empty one, to
open them both, and let the wine run from one to the other. If they
are both on the same, or nearly the same level, a portion only will be
transferred, and then the rest may be forced over by connecting the
tube of a hand-bellows tightly with the bung-hole of the cask of wine,
and blowing into it. This is easily done by attaching the bellows by
means of a hose to a long, hollow, conical bung. (See fig. 20.) As soon
as the air is heard in the tube, close the faucet, and before removing
it, bung the cask tight. The remaining wine is removed as in the first
method.
[Illustration: _Fig. 20._ A Method of Racking.]
=Pumps and Siphons= are very useful where wine is to be merely
transferred from one cask to another, but they are not well suited
for racking it from the lees, for it is difficult to make use of them
without disturbing the sediment, and thereby troubling the liquid.
[Illustration: _Fig. 21._ Siphon.]
[Illustration: _Fig. 22._ Siphon.]
Figs. 21 and 22 represent two forms of siphons. They may also consist
simply of a bent tube.
Fig. 21 shows an exhausting tube attached, by which the air is sucked
out with the mouth.
Fig. 23 shows a rotary force pump for transferring wine from one cask
to another. Lever force pumps are also used for the same purpose.
[Illustration: _Fig. 23._ Rotary Force Pump.]