Racking the wine

Tonight we "racked" the wine off the gross lees, in preparation for adding the MLF bacteria.  It is OK to have some sediment in the bottom, but you really don't want to leave your wine on too much of it.  It can create off odors down the line and you need to rack your wine periodically, anyway.  It needs to be as clear as possible when you go to bottle it.

After racking back into my clean carboy, I added the bacteria packet, put the stopper on and added a layer of inert gas to the small headspace, then put the airlock on to seal it.  A little oxygen exposure at this stage is OK, but you want to minimize it as much as possible.  I use "private reserve".  Most winemaking shops online sell it.