Clarifiers, etc.

[PrincessVintah]

Racked my WE Johannesburg Riesling into a second carboy three days ago to let it settle and age a bit more before bottling. When we racked it from the primary into the first carboy it started clearing right away and got gradually clearer over the 10 days before we racked into this second carboy. It seems a bit cloudy again, and doesn't seem to be clearing much, if at all. Should I add a fining/clearing agent? Or is this just part of the natural process? We plan to bottle towards the end of October.

 

[TonyP]

Princess, I'm not following what you did. I assume you started in primary, racked to a carboy after about a week (called secondary), waited 10 days or so and went to a second carboy. At that time you should have added the stabilizing and clarifying agents. Your kit should have included a fining agent and you should have added it at that time. If you did as instructed, your wine should be clearing - which apparently it is. There is no need to do anything extra at this time. In perhaps 5-7 days your wine should be ready to rack again. Don't hurray this part. A few extra days will help the wine.

Let me know if you have not yet added fining agents. Also, let us know if the wine is not clearing. Never bottle cloudy wine. It never clears in the bottle.

Tony P.

 

[PrincessVintah]

We followed the WE kit instructions: Primary fermenter for 5 days (SG was 1.000), racked into carboy, sat for 10 days, added clarifyers and stabilizers, degassed the carboy, sat for 8 days, racked into 2nd carboy. For some reason we forgot to write down the specific gravity when we racked it into the 2nd carboy, but I remember it was good- around .992 or so. Good and dry.

But the instructions didn't say anything about adding additional clarifiers, etc., at the 2nd racking. It only said to leave the wine for 14 days to finish clarifying before bottling,so we did not add anything. I'm just curious because it seems a bit cloudier than before, even though we were careful not to stir up the lees when racking. It cleared so quickly after the first racking, but perhaps that was due to the addition of the clarifier at that time.

 

[TonyP]

Princess, I see you didn't specifically mention adding k-meta, but I assume you did. Anyway, the cloudiness could be some additional fermenting, meaning the yeast is still around. (There could be other problems, but most likely not at this stage.) Keep in mind that instruction timing represents the minimums, not the maximums, and probably never the best. So, be patient. An extra week or so at this stage is no big deal.

There is the possibility you may need to kill off the yeast, but there's no need to address that now.

Also, when the wine clears you should degass again to take care of the CO2 created by the last of the yeast.

Tony P.

 

[PrincessVintah]

We dissolved the packets of metabisulphite and sorbate in 1/2 c. water, according to the instructions, then added them to the carboy. We then used the drill attachment to stir vigorously for a few minutes. Then we added the packet of chitosan (clarifier) to the carboy and stirred for about 15 minutes to degas. This was all done in the first carboy, then we let it sit for 8 days. It started clearing almost immediately, and looked bright and clear when we racked into the second carboy.

The airlock is not bubbling, and there is no longer any yeasty smell. In fact it smells amazing. But it is not clear, and I noticed some tiny little white specks floating in top.

 

[winemaker_3352]

When you racked - did you bring any of the sediment over - if so that could cloud the wine back up..

If it is still cloudy - give it some time - see if it settles back out - if not - add another round of clarifiers to drop it out..

Was it absolutely clear before racking??

 

[PrincessVintah]

Yes, it was beautifully clear before racking. And while we were careful while racking, it could be that some sediment was transferred. This is our attempt at winemaking, after all.

It's only day 4 after racking to the se one carboy, and I do know that patience is key here, but it cleared so fast the first time that I'm boggled now.

 

[bg7mm]

i've had this happen, don't panic, as you mentioned, be patient. it will clear and the instructions on a wine kit are not set in stone, variables can alter days the instructions specify. your wine will be fine, let time be your most important tool

 

[PrincessVintah]

Update:

We added sparkolloid and racked to another carboy 6 days ago, and it is looking much better. There's a bit of some type of floaties on the top of the wine now which wasn't there before, but I'm going to assume that's from the sparkolloid and not something to be concerned about. Gonna let her sit for another couple of weeks and keep an eye on her daily, and then bottle. Thanks again for all of the help.

 

[robie]

Update:

We added sparkolloid and racked to another carboy 6 days ago, and it is looking much better. There's a bit of some type of floaties on the top of the wine now which wasn't there before, but I'm going to assume that's from the sparkolloid and not something to be concerned about. Gonna let her sit for another couple of weeks and keep an eye on her daily, and then bottle. Thanks again for all of the help.

Sometimes the floaties are being held up by CO2 still in the wine. Did you degas the wine really well? You can tell by tasting it to determine if it creates a fizzy feel on your tongue.

Gently shake the top of the carboy, not enough to stir up the sediment in the bottom. Sometimes this is enough cause the floaties to drop to the bottom.

 

[Grapestumper]

A nice trick I learned after (fermentation and stabilized), put the carboy/wine in a very cool place for a week or so. The haze will get heavy and sink to the bottom at a much fast rate. Make sure you dont stir the sediment up again before you bottle, Ive been there many times.

Good luck!

 

[PrincessVintah]

Thanks, Robie. The quick shake method seems to be working. Lots of little flecks are slowly drifting to the bottom. There's a few left on top, so I'll give it a couple of days to make sure the others have settled and then maybe give it another jiggle to see if the rest drop.

We degassed it really well when we added the stabilizer and clarifier, per our kit's instructions. Thee hasn't been any activity in the airlock, so I don't think there's much going on in the way of fermentation.

We have tasted it, no fizziness. It's actually quite lovely, nice and dry. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

 

[PrincessVintah]

Grapestumper, thanks for the advice. I've read conflicting advice about keeping the wine in a cool vs. warm environment. Our "winery" is currently located in our dining room, due to a lack of a better space. Plus it maintains a pretty steady temperature of around 72 degrees.

This is our very first attempt at winemaking, so all advice is appreciated. I'm already hooked! I have visions of turning my very large laundry/storage room in the basement into a wine room. Mr. Wonderful may have other ideas, though.

 

[PrincessVintah]

Well, here's the finished product! The carboy jiggle really did the trick! Here's hoping our Spanish Rioja turns out as lovely as this one!

 

[robie]

Congratulations... I think! Cause like it or not, you are on your way to becoming helplessly hooked on wine making.

Looks great! Keep it up.