Merlot Update

I racked the VR Merlot today. I split it between a full 5 gallon carboy and most of a 1 gallon jug. The jug didn't get full because a lot of sediment started passing through the racking tube. So I stopped that one and racked the remainder of the sediment to a half-gallon jug. Hopefully the sediment in there will compact more and I'll be able to get more of the wine out to fill up the gallong jug. I'm going to let this sit for a short while and then it should be bottling time!

I'll need to check to make sure it's been thoroughly degassed though. I must not have degassed properly the first time I tried, and ever since then, I always got bubbles to come up when I would shake the carboy. I decided to finally go ahead and rack to see if that might aid in get the rest of the CO2 out.

2 things still on the horizon - my LE Chilean Maipo Valley Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenere, and now, Strawberry Wine! Harris Teeter had a great sale on Strawberries, so I bouoght 24 pounds. I've chopped the caps off of the berries, and put them in the freezer, where they will stay until it's time to start that wine! I'll post more on why I chose to freeze them later. That's all for now!

Salud!