What does "clear" wine look like?

[karrlot]

This sounds dumb, but since I'm on my first batch of wine ( coke cherry) I have nothing to compare my wine to. I am trying to figure out if my wine is " clear". It does not look hazy, but I can not see through the carboy. When I pull it out in the wine theif it looks clear, like a store bought blush wine. If I were to pour it into a glass I think I could see through it.

So what does clear wine and not clear wine look like?

 

[TonyP]

A wine is considered clear when no suspended particles can be seen. In white wines there should be some amount of transparency - more or less depending on other characteristics. A good way to determine clarity is to put some wine in a glass, hold the glass near a light, and examine the wine with the light going sideways (across the glass from side to side) - rather than looking into the light through the glass. Non-clear wine could look similar to seeing dust when sunlight comes through a window, but not as extreme. Make certain the glass you use is perfectly clean. Try it with a glass of commercial wine to get an idea of what to look for.

 

[robie]

Yep, that's a good explanation. One certainly should not see any particles suspended in the wine.

I find that reds, which are not clear, tend to have a cloudy, or hazy aspect to them. They lack the sparkle a truly clear, clean wine has.

 

[JohnT]

I use the flame test. Light a bic lighter. Hold it behind a carboy or demi filled with wine. Look at the flame from the front of the demi or carboy. If the flame looks clear and crisp as you look through the wine, your wine is clear. If it is hazy or muddled, then your wine is not clear.

 

[Noontime]

I'd say the carboy is a better place to test because you have a lot more liquid to see through (and thus a better chance of seeing haze). If it doesn't look like colored glass, it's not clear. How long has it been in the carboy aging?

 

[Duster]

http://skeeterpee.com/wp-content/gallery/sp-being-made/picture-8.png

Complements of Lon

 

[winemaker_3352]

I use a flashlight - point it thru the carboy - move it side to side and up and down - make sure i cannot see a light beam in any direction..