barrel making my wine cloudy :(

[markb1983]

Hello!

I just ran my rosso fortosio (SP) through my barrel. Its been in there for about a month. My barrel is a brand new vadai. When I put the wine in, it was clear. now its kinda cloudy at the bottom. What can i do to make it clear again?

Filter?

 

[manvsvine]

Sounds like your wine wasn't as clear as you thought it was and suspended lees has settled .
You can let it settle some more and rack it , or filter .

 

[markb1983]

Funny thing is that it was clear. When I draw a sample from the top its clear but when i use the thief lower its not clear........

I had this bad boy bulk aging for a year. Filtering will work?

 

[ibglowin]

Sounds to me like you had some fines (dust) on the bottom that keep getting stirred up each time you move it. You can rack or filter it (whole house) to remove.

 

[markb1983]

super! I thought that there was a rule on filtering cloudy wine?

 

[ibglowin]

You should let it settle and clear once again and then try filtering. You can't filter a cloudy wine with a gravity filter as it will plug if you stir up any of the sediment but if your using a whole house filter with a vacuum pump you can filter a cloudy wine as long as everything is sealed well with the filter and housing. Always best to let it settle and filter though.

 

[markb1983]

How well do the gravity filters work? 50.00 vs 250.00 is a big difference! I was just a little perplexed on how it got cloudy. Oddly enough, its been in the barrel for 3 almost 4 weeks and its not oaky!

 

[ibglowin]

So your saying you currently have no way of filtering?

Gravity filterws work but the wine must be basically crystal clear or the filter will plug. If you stir up any sediment on the bottom during filtering the filter will plug. Look at the carboy the wrong way, the filter will plug. I used one for the first year or so and switched to a whole house filter setup. More expensive but less headaches and it works 100X better.

 

[markb1983]

Thanks for the tips! I've been looking at both types of filters along with testing s02 testing. Expensive. ... it's around 500.00 for the two items. Is there any s02 testing methods you recommend?

 

[ibglowin]

Either the $99 A/O Rig from More Wine or the Vinmetrica are your best options for accurate SO2 testing

 

[manvsvine]

Why not just settle and rack it , and if that and some time don't work , fine it?

I very rarely filter in a non commercial setting.

 

[markb1983]

I racked it to a clean glass carboy. All the particles inside fell to the bottom. Its kinda weird there was that much!