How to Siphon Wine

Making wine at home is both fun and tasty.

Making your own wine is an adventurous undertaking. One key step in the process of winemaking is siphoning or racking. In this step you transfer the fermenting wine away from the sediment. You will need to effectively siphon your wine into a clean carboy. In recent years, kits have been made which allow siphoning to be done with the mere flip of a pump. However, for purists, the old-fashioned means of siphoning is still considered to be the best way.

Things You'll Need

• Racking wand
• Clean carboy

Instructions

1. Sanitize the siphon and carboy you are racking your wine into.

2. Push the racking wand end of the siphon into the main fermenter container.

3. Place the container you are siphoning from at a higher level than the one you are transferring the wine into. The height difference should be equivalent to one container being on a counter or table and the other being on the floor.

4. Suck on the end of the discharge end of the siphon hose.

5. Clamp the siphon closed with your fingers.

6. Insert the discharge end of the siphon into your wine carboy.

7. Release the clamp on the siphon to allow the wine to run out into the new container.

8. Wait until the wine level in the main container is nearing the bottom and then tip it to the side, allowing all of the wine to enter the siphon.

References

• Homemade Wine
• How To Siphon And Rack Wine