Glossary: Bulldog(ging)

How racking is accomplished

In a previous post, I explained why we rack wines a number of different times during the wine-making year.

Racking can be achieved simply by siphoning wine from one container to another using gravity (one container is higher than the other) using a pump of some sort or by using a bulldog pup. The difference between a pump and a bulldog is that instead of a pump-created vacuum sucking wine from one container to another, the bulldog uses nitrogen to “push” the wine from the old container to the new one.

The goal is the same, to decant the wine off of solids in the tank or barrel, and bring clarified wine to a new vessel, but the bulldog does it more gently with less agitation of the liquid. The pictures attached show the author using the bulldog and what happens when he forgets to open the valve before turning on the nitrogen.

The author bulldogging wine. The clear hose carries nitrogen to the bulldog pup to gently move wine from one container to another.

The author after having forgotten to open the valve of the filling wand before turning on the nitrogen. A safety mechanism allows wine to flow out (under pressure) so that even greater pressure does not build up. Everybody makes this mistake. Hopefully, they only make it once.