Bentonite?

[kaluba]

Ok i get that bentonite grabs onto left over pulp and make them fall quicker. Does a clarifier such as pectic enzyme have the same effect on a wine that didnt start with pulp. Or is it that fining is not just limited to pulling all the big stuff down. maybe im still alittle confused. Fining and clarifiing the same? Or not?

 

[Dean]

Pectic enzyme breaks down pectin. Pectin is in most fuit in variable quantities. This enzyme with take away pectic hazes in some fruit wines with high pectin. A pectic haze is a VERY slight haze in a wine that makes an almost clear wine just sort of cloudy, but not enough to prevent you to see through it. So it sort of clarifies the wine. It also serves another purpose, and that is to break down cell walls in the fruit so they release more juice, phenols (flavor and aroma), and color.

Clarifiers help to clear the wine.
Fining agents also help to clear the wine, but they also eliminate very tiny solids that we do not see, and give a wine a "Polish". In kit wines, these are typically one and the same. They help to clarify AND fine the wine.

I find that filtration, puts the final bit of fining on the wine that really makes it look good.

 

[kaluba]

That helps so i can just filter a few times and it should get better? Without the use of Bentonite?Edited by: kaluba

 

[Wade E]

You only have to filter once. You will want to either let it clear on its own or use something like SuperKleer before you filter or you will clog the filter very quickly and thats not fun. You will want to rack off any sediment right before filtering or hold the racking cane above the sediment until your almost done.

 

[Dean]

If the wine is not perfectly clear before filtering, you will be going through a LOT of filters as they clog very fast. Filters sizes start at 1 micron for a #1 and go down from there, so that gives you an idea of size of particles it is supposed to catch.

I have filtered out pectic haze though. Like I said earlier, even with a type of protein haze that pectic enzyme and bentonite help to remove, you can still see through the wine quite well. Filters fine, and polish the wine.

 

[mississippi mud]

I opened a kit today and the betonite pack had a hole in it about 1/2 x 1/4 .should i pick up a sealed pack?

 

[grapeman]

If you purchased the kit from George, give him a call. They carry replacements for a lot of components. If not from him, call or go where you bought it at and see if they will replace it. You could try to pick up a replacement locally, but they aren't necessarily the same as the opened one and might not give the same results.

 

[mississippi mud]

thanks appleman