Darn you, Sparkalloid!!!

[dragonmaster42]

Have you tried degassing the wine? Wine with a lot of CO2 in it will hold the fine sedimentin suspension. Just a thought.

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Aha... something I have not tried yet...

 

[ibglowin]

Thanks, Wade. I have a Mac, but I think I've got it worked out.

Use Preview. Open the pic do a save as and then adjust the slider till it reaches 150kb or less.

Or use Preview. Open the pic, under Tools adjust the width down (usually 800 wide pixels will work then look at the resulting size as you tweak it down till its under 150kb

Glad to see another fruit lover!

 

[Wade E]

Oh man, I didnt even think of his because I would have assumed that it had been done as it was already clear and you said you stirred it.

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Hey, I'm a beginner. When I first started making wine I used kits and I degassed those because it was in the directions. In following wine recipes from "Making Wild Wines and Meads" though, the directions never said to degas so I didn't think it was necessary.

So! I just ran to Meijer and bought one of those vacuum things that Waldo posted the degassing video on. I degassed the heck out of the wine until the batteries overheated. There were still bubbles coming up, but the vast majority were, I am sure, sucked out of there.

Now (as always in wine-making I suppose) more waiting...

If this clears it by tomorrow (the last possible night I could bottle) I will do a cartwheel and dance like I did when I was a kid.

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Okay, I double-checked the wine after the vacuum thingy cooled down, and it is thoroughly degassed. Just a few tiny bubbles came up and then - silence.

I am going to go to sleep now and dream of clear wine...

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Okay, it's been only 8 hours but the wine is still murky. Unless a miracle occurs while I'm at work today, I won't be bottling the plumcot (sigh).

On a brighter note, I've learned some things about Sparkalloid and degassing wine. Also, I went through my homebrew stash last night and I still have some small bottles of decent things to bring along for my friends (sparkling mead, cherry melomel, apple wine, blueberry melomel) so all is not lost. Oh - and that little gallon of Ancient Orange I started has been bubbling away all week too, so I learned about that recipe. Happy happy things...

Thanks for all of the tips. If the wine changes while I'm at work I'll post again, otherwise I'm packing for the road trip tomorrow.

Cheers!
-Ellen

 

[grapeman]

Wine like all good things rarely happens over night. You have been tdoing all sorts of things to this poor wine for a week or so now. It never gets a chance to just settle out on it's own. Go visit the friends, bring them some other wine and when you get home it will probably be clear. When it is, bottle it up, pack a bottle up and send it to your friends then. They will have a nice surprise.


By the way, fruit wines will rarely be at their best right after making. Again practice patience and let it improve with time.

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Just got home. Wine is perfectly clear. If I have any energy tomorrow I will take a picture and post it. Also, I had plenty of random other batches of homebrew, meads and wines for my friends so we were not wanting for interesting, delicious drinks during the trip. Everything worked out. Ah...

Thanks for all of the tips. I've learned a lot during this adventure.

 

[Goodfella]

Good job.... I'm glad all went well for you.

 

[vcasey]

Patience works again! I'm glad the wine cleared for you.
VC

 

[ibglowin]

I have been told patience is a virtue....... Grasshopper !

Glad it finally cleared.

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Okay - here's a nice update. The Sparkalloid settled to the bottom and dropped out most of the sediment into a nice little layer at the bottom. So today I decided to filter and bottle the wine.

I suspected there might be more wine in the filter that I didn't want to waste...

Wow! You think wine is clear and then you filter it...

AHA! I knew it...!

Yuck!!!

YUM!!!

YAY!!!!!

So... it all worked out all right.

 

[Brewgrrrl]

P.S. Yield was two cases plus several small bottles I always do as testers (to monitor aging), plus the generous glass that gradually dripped out of the filter as I was bottling. :-D~

 

[Runningwolf]

Nice looking wine and I love the label.

 

[Tom]

Glad you waited... Patience is all you needed.
Love the label. What program did you use? Did you back sweeten it.

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Thanks!

I just used the free program from Avery labels - you can download it from their webpage. I didn't backsweeten because I thought it tasted just right (semi-dry). I just added some ascorbic acid to prevent browning and then the usual stabilizers (k-meta/potassium sorbate). I'm really pleased with how it came out! Also, if anyone's interested in making a plumcot wine I posted the recipe a week or so ago.

 

[uavwmn]

Brewgirl, just by leaving it alone to do its thing IS the best thing. Wine is pretty forgiving. Glad it all worked out for you.

Great pictures!! What is that red flying saucer thing?????

 

[Brewgrrrl]

The flying saucer thing is a gravity filter - it's an inexpensive way to really get a nice polish on a white wine or fruit wine. There is a good tutorial on using one here: http://www.finevinewines.com//Wiz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1117

For the record though, the only reason I expected the Sparkalloid to work in a week was because that is what the label on it said AND that's what the person selling it to me confirmed when I asked about it - and I was pretty peeved, since I specifically told him when I needed to bottle the wine by. In retrospect, I would have been completely fine just bottling the wine the way it was. Before, I've always let the wine clear on its own (which this wine had done well before I added the Sparkalloid but I was going for that added polish I'd heard you could get with so-called "finings").

Ugh.

Now that I have this forum, I am not reading ANY more labels!!!

 

[Tom]

Nothing like O J T (on the job training). Works everytime.