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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.