[isobel]

Hi - my first attempt at wine making - from neighbour's grapes last October. Have only just got round to bottling - hope I haven't left it too late! Tried this evening to siphon it into bottles but every time I started it dragged up loads of sediment... I am wondering how to avoid this - does anyone have any tips? Should I have done something to get rid of the sediment beforehand??

[crh75]

When bottling I always first syphon off into a bucket so I don't have to worry about the sediment while concentrating on bottling.

You can get seddiment traps that go on the end of the syphon to help, eg:
http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Latstock_Hard_Syphon_and_Sediment_Trap_14.html

[aelf]

I use a wine filter kit like this:

http://www.homewinemaking.co.uk/filter_kits.html

It works very well, provided the yeast has been well and truly killed off, otherwise it fills with bubbles and stops.

[crh75]

Those filters are very good but you need to remove all sediment (ie several rackings)otherwise they get clogged up very quickly.

[Kleftiwallah]

I use the Harris filter system, heck of a palaver, but the resultant sparkly clear wine cannot be bettered.    I also don't know how to put up the appropriate website!  But if you bung it in Gurgle I'm sure you will find it.         Cheers,    Tony.

[aelf]

Those filters are very good but you need to remove all sediment (ie several rackings)otherwise they get clogged up very quickly.

Very true, 

[Growster...]

Those filters are very good but you need to remove all sediment (ie several rackings)otherwise they get clogged up very quickly.

Very much so CRH.

These filters are better at 'polishing' the wine, than getting much more than the minimum sediment out.

Finings are probably the best way to get the sediment to stick on the bottom, but everyone  knows that.

[aelf]

I had assumed that, as isobel is bottling the wine, that it must have been racked a few times and just needed a final 'clean' 

[Kleftiwallah]

A point to remember when syphoning,              the greater the distance between the start and finish containers the greater the pressure differencial and the more likely that sediment will be drawn down.   Reduce the 'drop distance' to as little as possible, the process will take longer, but less chance of sedimant transfer.     Cheers,    Tony.

[bearhugger1972]

I have a couple of demijohns of wine that are close to finishing fermenting. Would I be better off to rack off into a fresh demijohn before adding the stabiliser and finnings so there is less sediment. the instructions say to add finngs and agitate at least 6 times in 24 hrs.

[crh75]

Probably follow the instructions.  A few days after finning a lot more sediment will drop out and you can rack it.

[isobel]

Gosh thanks everyone, lots of useful tips there - I am a total novice at this and no, I have not used finings and I have not racked the wine at all so far, it sounds as if I should have done! I feel much better informed now thank you!

[bearhugger1972]

I currently use a sediment trap, which is fine as long you're careful putting the end at the bottom of the demijohn. Those wine filters look very tempting though.

[crh75]

The wine filters are very good, but as has been mentioned they are for 'polishing' the wine not for removal of visible sediment.

[tadpole]

I have tried filters and the like in the past, but what I do now is I think simpler.  After moving the demijohn to my working in point (where I plan to siphon from) I leave it to rest for a few hours then Siphon from the demijohn in to a bucket until there is about an inch or inch and a half of wine left above the line of the sediment.  I shine a torch through the bottom of the demijohn so I can see if there is a risk of picking up sediment.  When I have as much of the wine as I can get without the risk of picking up sediment, I stop and siphon from the bucket into a clean demijohn.
The remaining wine in the original demijohn I get out by tilting the demijohn over at an angle and leaving it to settle before carefully siphoning into the now empty bucket, once I am sure I’ve got as much wine as I can without any sediment I transfer that to the demijohn with the rest of the wine. It’s a faf, but worth it, especially if you plan to give the wine as a gift. Leave it a week to settle and then I add finings and if necessary bentonite, and do the same all over again.