Racking, often referred to as Soutirage or Soutirage traditionnel (meaning racking in French
), also filtering or fining, is the process of moving wine or beer from one container to another using gravity rather than a pump, which can be disruptive to the beverage.
The process is also known as ''Abstich'' in German and ''travaso'' in Italian.
''Alexis Lichine's Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits'' defines racking as "siphoning
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
or
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
off the
lees (in the case of wine) or
trub
Trub is one of the largest municipalities of Switzerland (62 km²) in size, but not in population. It is located in the Emmental region of the canton of Bern in the administrative district of Emmental.
History
Trub is first mentioned in ...
(in the case of beer), into a new, clean barrel or other vessel".
Racking allows
clarification and aids in
stabilization. Wine that is allowed to age on the lees often develops "off-tastes". A racking hose or tube is used and can be attached to a racking cane to make the task easier. The racking process is repeated several times during the
aging of wine
The aging of wine is potentially able to improve the quality of wine. This distinguishes wine from most other consumable goods. While wine is perishable and capable of deteriorating, complex chemical reactions involving a wine's sugars, acids an ...
.
[
]
Process
Racking or soutirage is a traditional method in wine production of moving wine from one barrel to another using gravity rather than a pump. The process is repeated when the casks are moved to the second-year cellar. Soutirage was developed in the Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
region of France in the 19th century at a time when there was no electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...
to power pumps. Many estates such in Bordeaux and some estates in Pomerol
Pomerol (; oc, Pomairòus) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine near Bordeaux in southwestern France.
Wine
With only . Pomerol is the smallest wine producing area in the Bordeaux region. It is more a community where t ...
and St. Emilion still employ this labor-intensive method. During aging, the wine is decanted several times from barrel to barrel. This process softens tannins
Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.
The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', f ...
, clarifies the wine and enhances aromatic qualities. According to Oz Clarke
Robert Owen Clarke (born 1949), known as Oz Clarke, is a British wine writer, actor, television presenter and broadcaster.
Early life
Clarke's parents were a chest physician and a nursing sister. He is of Irish descent and was brought up Roman ...
, "traditionally the wine is 'racked' or drawn from barrel or tank to another empty one on a number of occasions (called soutirage). This helps clarify and freshen the wine by removing the fine lees or sediment which forms and provides a tiny amount of oxygen to help the aging process. The wine may also be 'fined' (''collage'') using egg white or other materials to settle out particles in suspension which are then removed through further racking." Egg white is often applied to each barrel during the process.
Equipment
A racking hose is a flexible, plastic hose, used to siphon wine or beer from one vessel to another. It is used in both racking and bottling operations. A racking cane is a rigid tube, often bent or "L"-shaped, that is attached to the racking hose to make racking easier.[ A protective cap is placed over the lower end of the cane that allows liquid to be drawn into the cane from above rather than below while keeping most large solids out. The cap allows the tip of the cane to be lowered close to the lees without unduly disturbing them. The lower tip of the racking cane should initially be held about midway between the surface and the lees and gradually lowered as the volume decreases due to the siphoning.][
]
See also
*Clarification and stabilization of wine
In winemaking, clarification and stabilization are the processes by which insoluble matter suspended in the wine is removed before bottling. This matter may include dead yeast cells ( lees), bacteria, tartrates, proteins, pectins, various tannin ...
*Wine rack
A wine rack is a set of shelves for the organized storage of wine. Wine racks can be built out of a number of different materials. The size of the rack and the number of bottles it can hold can vary widely. Wine racks can be located in a win ...
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Racking
Winemaking
Brewing