On October 20, 2013 we did our first racking of the wine.

We took our readings before the racking, the temperature was 66 degrees and the hydrometer reading was 1.014 which is fine. When transferring the wine from one barrel to another leaving behind the sediment that rests on the bottom of the barrel. This is very important to do because as you rack it; it clears up the wine and allows all the dead yeast to fall to the bottom of the barrel.

As you can see in the picture the sediment lying on the bottom of the gallon this is what you do not want to transfer into the new container. Yes you will have some loss in wine but thats ok it will just make the wine clearer and not allow it to start to ferment again. The next racking will be on or about December but it is good to go once a month and take a reading so you know how the wine is progressing.