Cloudy after filtering?

[CountryDJ]

Sorry for the long post..

So I started my first wine kit on 9/27/2012. It is a R.J Spagnols Cellar Classic White Zinfandel. Starting Specific gravity was 1.090. I Racked it from the primary to secondary on 10/05/2012 with a specific gravity of .995 since it had seemed to stop fermenting. Added the stablizing and fining agents to the secondary as the instructions stated. Did the optional racking per the instruction on 10/14/2012 and got it off the sediment at the bottom into a clean carboy and topped up. Let it sit until 11/09/12 which was about the 6 week mark (since it was a 6 week kit)

At this point it looked crystal clear. I could shine a flashlight through it and not get any visible light dispersion on any particles in the wine - just the light visible on the wall on the other side.

So I decided just to make sure the wine was as clear as it could be in the bottle I would filter it just to be safe. I bought a Buon Vino Mini Jet and a set of coarse and polish filters.

I Racked it from the carboy to the primary just to make sure any extra sediment that may have been in the carboy was out of the equation. There was very little sediment in the bottom, and I don't think it would have even filled a teaspoon. I filtered it with the coarse filters into the carboy, then use the polish filters (#2's) and back into the cleaned and sanitized primary.

Then I added campden tablets to the wine. The winemaking store told me this would be the best time, after filtering and before bottling. Wine is bottled, but has a haze through it. It has been sitting in the bottles for a week and nothing has dropped out of it so I am trying to figure out the haze in the bottle, any help would be appreciated. I don't know if it could possibly be a pectic haze, or if the campden tablets added after filtering was the problem.

Figured I would try to get some input here before I start adding pectic enzyme or tranfer it all back to the carboy and try re-filtering it. It was degassed with a drill mounted degassing blade and doesn't seem at all carbonated.

Thanks for your help

 

[Wade E]

Did the wine come out of the filter and into the bottle with a haze? Did uou run water through the filter first as I believe you are supposed to do to get rid of any fine loose filter particles? Was the wine clear and in the bottle subjected to colder temps? The later is called a chill haze and cold stabilizing helps to rid the wine of this before bottling but zive never heard of this probllem with a kit wine.

 

[CountryDJ]

I Filtered into my primary bucket and bottled from there after I mixed in the campden tablets. Temperature hasn't changed. Instructions on the filter unit say to soak the filters for 2 minutes, but doesn't say anything about running water through it except for cleaning.

 

[winemaker_3352]

The instructions do not say it - but they should.

I run 3 gallons of warm acilidated water through my filters before filtering the wine.

Just make sure you get the acilidated water from the input line so it doesn't go into the wine - and discard the first 500ml that comes out - as this will be acilidated water as well....

 

[CountryDJ]

I'll give it a shot this weekend when I have time. Will try a pectin test first. refilter if that fails. Thank you

 

[ffemt128]

I Filtered into my primary bucket and bottled from there after I mixed in the campden tablets. Temperature hasn't changed. Instructions on the filter unit say to soak the filters for 2 minutes, but doesn't say anything about running water through it except for cleaning.

Did you add the campden tablets after filtering? Could there be undisolved particles from the tablets? I would have added these prior to filtering.

 

[CountryDJ]

Yea, I added them after filtering. The home brew shop I went to suggested adding them after filtering and being my first batch i took thier advice. They said the filtering would put alot of oxygen into the wine and the tablets would offset that. It's definitly a learning experience for me.

 

[Tom_S]

I have a Buon minijet filter and I've never ever experienced a haze in my wine after filtering. I've only ever used the #2 pads. I can't think what would cause a haze.

 

[winemaker_3352]

I always dissolve my k-meta in and then stir it into the wine to be filtered.

I don't add k-meta in post filtering.

 

[CountryDJ]

Thanks for everyones help. I did a pectin test and that wasn't the issue. So I refiltered it all and now it is crystal clear. Could have been the capden added after filtering or I could have screwed up the filters. anything is possible, but it is fixed now.

Thanks again.

 

[Wade E]

You really need to step away from Camden tablets and into kmeta powder. The tablets have a filler that holds the tablet together and it is what must have been the problem. Im guessing between that and a chemical imbalance between the filler and your wine.

 

[CountryDJ]

When I initially went and bought my winemaking kit I was looking for potassium metabisulfite or K-Meta powder. The homebrew place I had gone too was out of it though. So My choice was campden tablets or sodium metabisulfite. So I opted for the tablets since I didn't want to add the sodium to the wine. I'll get some K-meta if they have some next time I am there, Which I am sure will be very soon.

 

[LonelyMassachusetts]

Gosh darnit, I just ran into the same problem with campden tablets. I now have 8 gallons of finished apple wine that turned cloudy again.
The next time I'm at a wine shop, I'm definitely buying kmeta powder.