"Ray Calvert" > wrote in message
m...
> It is true that if you leave the gross leas for several months you can
> have a problem with H2S. But a few weeks or up to a month is not going to
> cause a problem.

I beg to differ with you!

I've seen H2S arise from the lees as early as within a couple of days after
pressing. An early racking to get the wine off of the heaviest crud
forestalls this problem very easily and effectively. As an added benefit,
you can then age the bulk of the wine sur lie - a trend that seems to have
become very popular lately among boutique commercial wineries.

If you're concerned with losses, you always have the option to retain the
lees for subsequent resettling in a much smaller container.

The point is, dealing with an H2S problem is _much_ harder than simply
avoiding it.

Tom S