How to clear sparkling wine?

[JDesCotes]

I've made a couple of bottles of sparkling lemon (skeeterpee) and cider wine, and although they taste delicious they are always cloudy with sediment at the bottom of the bottle.

I make these in 1L pop bottles.

My current process is simple: follow whatever recipe I'm using for making wine using champaign yeast and at 1.050 transfer to pop bottles and add a teaspoon or two of sugar, seal, invert a couple times to dissolve sugar and then let sit for a couple of months in my furnace room. When I'm ready to drink I chill in a fridge or outside (it's cold outside) for a couple days.

It is absolsolutely crazy how effervescent these come out, you take one sip and it explodes into a cloud in your mouth. I absolutely LOVE them!

Please let me know how I can change my process to make the wine clear as the cloudiness isn't the most appetizing look...

Thanks!

 

[richmke]

"riddling" is the method to remove sediment from champagne. They actually make "riddling racks".

Basically, the rack holds the bottle neck down. The champagne in the neck of the bottle is allowed to freeze. The bottle is opened, and the frozen ice, with sediment, is removed. The bottle is then re-corked.

After the bottles have been inverted for a while (weeks to let the sediment settle), you can either let it freeze outside in the cold, or use a bucket of rock salt and ice water (like you are making ice cream). Ice bucket method: hold the neck in the ice water. It will freeze the wine in the neck.

You may have to do it in a glass bottle first, and then transfer the beverage to a 1L pop bottle.