Wines I'm Making: Sangiovese Rosé Finished Fermenting (November 20, 2011)

Tiny bubbles continue to rise from the fermenting Sangiovese rosé, but a quick hydrometer test showed the specific gravity at 0.992, which indicates the fermentation is over (after a very long 26 days). I racked the wine off the lees today and sulfited it very lightly, using two Campden tablets in the three-gallon carboy, which should put it at about 43ppm. Now all that's left to do is wait a little longer for the wine to completely clear. I'll keep it in the garage now, where it's cool. In the past, a fine layer of tartaric acid crystals has always formed over whatever yeast was left at the bottom of the container, which makes the final racking a breeze (with all the remaining loose matter encapsulated under the crystals). It'll be ready to check again in a couple of weeks. So far, so good. Time to start thinking about a new label design.