4. Never to draw off a troubled or muddy wine, for then it must be racked again; and in that condition the deposits are always mixed with the wine.
5. Moreover, never rack at the following periods of the vegetation of the vine: when the buds begin to swell, at the time of flowering, and especially at the time when the fruit commences to change color, in ripening.
6. Never to proceed during the heat of the day, or a south wind, but always in the cool of the morning and during a north wind.
7. To always make use of the sulphur match.
8. Never to leave the wine long exposed to the air.
9. Not to allow the wine to fall too far, so as not to deprive it of its carbonic acid, which exerts a conservative effect, and thus also to avoid too great agitation, which may be prejudicial.
10. Finally, to use the greatest care to free it from the least traces of sediment.
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.