Clearing wine

[banannabiker]

I've made a few batches of wine now-and I often make it with fruit. I recently made a batch of 'citrus' with Oranges, Lemons, and Grapefruit. I added a pack of Super-Kleer when it was through fermenting, bit I couldn't get the wine to come close to clearing, even a month after fermentation was long complete and after adding some Super Kleer. I found a small bottle of liquid pectic enzyme and added 1/4 teaspoon to 5 gallons, and about 7 drops to my one gallon jugs. The next day the wine was clear enough to see through fairly easily, and within a few days I think I could read a newspaper through the one gallon jug. Lesson learned-"When you use fresh fruit and nothing else clears it up, try some pectic enzyme".

 

[djrockinsteve]

You should always use pectic enzyme pre fermentation 12-24 hours. It breaks down the cell structure and usually assists in breaking down pectin. It will not work in an active fermentation.

 

[Turock]

I agree with Steve---always use pectic enzyme on fruit. And if you think the fruit is heavy enough that you may have clearing issues or pectin haze, bentonite in the primary works even better.

 

[banannabiker]

Thanks for the replies. I realized after some research that the pectic enzyme should be added earlier, but I didn't think about it during primary fermentation. I will definately remember in the future. It was nice that it did work so well in the secondary, but the fermentation had completely stopped by the time I added the enzyme.

 

[Turock]

biker---just to give you a little more info into how to use the pectic enzyme: What we do is get the must prepared in the vat then add meta and pectic enzyme on the first day. Second day, adjust the PH, brix, and pitch the culture. The day of waiting allows the fruit to begin breaking down. This also helps to get a little more accurate PH reading and brix reading of the fruit. Stir it up, on the second day, before taking your tests.

 

[banannabiker]

biker---just to give you a little more info into how to use the pectic enzyme: What we do is get the must prepared in the vat then add meta and pectic enzyme on the first day. Second day, adjust the PH, brix, and pitch the culture. The day of waiting allows the fruit to begin breaking down. This also helps to get a little more accurate PH reading and brix reading of the fruit. Stir it up, on the second day, before taking your tests.

Thanks for the info.