clearing

[johnthemc]

Hi everyone,
Problem clearing apple wine and pear. pear is the worst. Pear minced with blender. Tried pressing it through after a week through a strainer. After all the work, it looks like I'm going to end up with a gallon of wine. Whats the best way with natural fruit because the same thing is going on with apple cranberry and raspberry? Is this going to be a problem to clear all of the wines? I appreciate any info. thank you

 

[Julie]

johnthemc,

did you add any peptic enzyme when you started? this will help in clearing, if you didn't go ahead and add now.

 

[johnthemc]

I checked my notes and did not.
Thank you!

 

[Arne]

I don't know for sure, but have read on here the pectic enzime does not work during your fermentation. You can add it before it ferments and after fermentation and it will work. Not sure of this, but it is what others have posted. Arne.

 

[Turock]

We add pectic enzyme--always at primary fermentation. You need it to break down the fruit.

There are other pectinases out there that seem to work better on white wine. One of those is Lallzyme C Max--it's specifically for clearing whites. We used it last year on our Niagara and it seems to work better than pectic enzyme.

Apple and pear can be a bear to clear. What you can do now, is to use some bentonite. Follow the directions--mix it up on day and add it the next. It almost ALWAYS does a great job because it charges the particulate matter so it has an attraction which makes it clump together, get heavy and fall out. You can also use bentonite at the primary for your whites--it works even better in the primary.

it seems your clearing problems are due to not using pectic enzyme--the only time you don't have to use it is when working with juice. But fruit always needs SOME kind of pectinase.