Bentonite lees very fluffy after a week

[konradtacular]

I added some bentonite to clear up some peach wine I have sitting in some 55L demijohns. I did a 10g to 100ml filtered water ratio for it. I boiled the water placed that into a blender and slowly added the bentonite into the blender while the water was still hot. I let it sit in the blender closed for 24hr so that the bentonite had time to hydrate. After this I was left with a very smooth grey slurry. I weighted out the amount of slurry I needed for each demijohn. I then took some wine out and mixed it into the slurry so that I was fully suspended and wouldn't clump and this stirred it all into the demijohn.

The wine has cleared somewhat but I'm honestly disappointment in how little it cleared up my wine. To top it off I have a a very fluffy layer of bentonite lees sitting at the bottom of my glass container and I have no idea when that will settle down. I've read online it should take a week but it's been a week and it's still rather fluffy.

I have some sparkaloid since I assume the bentonite only took out the positively charged particles. When should I add that to my wine? Should I wait another week or so for the bentonite lees to compact a bit more?

Last year I used chitosan and kiesosl and that stuff cleared up super quick for the same recipe. Could I use chitsoan again instead of sparkaloid since it's supposed to be a positively charged fining agent?

 

[Rice_Guy]

Your basic question is which type of bentonite, sodium or calcium. Calcium produces more compact lees.
https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/would-you-use-sodium-bentonite.75666/#post-830335
At this point I would treat it like a kit and fine it with an opposite charge

 

[Ohio Bob]

Bentonite will produce a light, fluffy sediment. I would rack off these lees after a few weeks before doing anything else. If after that, the wine still looks cloudy then use an opposite charge agent.

 

[konradtacular]

Bentonite will produce a light, fluffy sediment. I would rack off these lees after a few weeks before doing anything else. If after that, the wine still looks cloudy then use an opposite charge agent.

so the lees are starting to compact some more and the wine is looking a bit clearer. I've looked at positively charged fining agents. Should I use sparkaloid, isinglass or gelatin or chitosan to finish fining my wine? I want to have minial effect on the tannin profile, since last year when I did fining I had to add tannin back since it had stripped out a lot of the body.

 

[Ohio Bob]

If you have the time, not pressured by a must-finish-by date, just let it bulk age. After 2-3 weeks, rack off of the fluffy lees produced by the bentonite. If after a month, you still have sediment, then consider sparkeloid.

 

[konradtacular]

If you have the time, not pressured by a must-finish-by date, just let it bulk age. After 2-3 weeks, rack off of the fluffy lees produced by the bentonite. If after a month, you still have sediment, then consider sparkeloid.

What's the reccomended dosage for Sparkaloid. Do I just follow the package advice of 1 tablespoon per 6 gallons, or is that too much?

 

[Retired teacher]

I’ve always followed the package directions with great success.

 

[Charles DeVier]

I guess I must look at wine making differently. I brew wine because I don't want all those "chemicals" in my wine. Otherwise, I could just purchase commercial
wine.

 

[Rice_Guy]

You should be able to make a good low chemical wine from most fruit that resembles the sugar and tannin level of red grapes. White grape will be hard to do without some form of antioxidant, usually metabisulphite. ,,, Are things like acid chemicals?

Watch your head space/ oxygen exposure. One can be sloppy and fix it with metabisulphite.