WineXpert Eclipse Sonoma Dry Creek Chardonnay Clearing

[btmcdavid]

Never made a white before so quick question on if everything's ok. I am in the clearing phase of the kit, degassed and added the K meta and Chitosan per the instructions. Now strange in the carboy its been 2 days since and the top 1/3 is pretty clear with a distinct line and the bottom 2/3's is completely cloudy. I don't ever remember the 2 reds I've done do this. Normal or no?

 

[ceeaton]

Hopefully the image I just uploaded will post. I just racked a Viognier out of the primary on Sunday and I think it looks to me what you describe in your post, so I hope it is normal. I think you didn't see it with your reds as much because there isn't as much of a color differentiation as there is with the lighter whites.

 

[btmcdavid]

That is exactly what it looks like. Thank you! So either we both screwed up or there is nothing to worry about

 

[cimbaliw]

Fellas, I pitched this kit last October and bottled in January. No tweaks. It's very good. Rest easy, the lees will fall out in good time. Just curious what temperature are your clearing wines at? Mine seem to clear slower at cooler temps.

 

[jgmann67]

I moved mine (a WE Selection Aussie Chard) to clear on Sunday morning, it's at about 0.992 and 72* F, and getting a nice brightness to it. It's not clearing like yours though. Wish it were. Supposed to look shiny and clear in 8 days.

We'll see...

 

[ceeaton]

Jim,

I didn't add the clarifier yet, only the kmeta. I'm leaving tomorrow and won't return until late Sunday night, so I figured I'd degass better and add the clarifiers next week.

When I added everything (ie. actually followed the directions) it settled so fast that I missed any sudden color boundaries. I think the Orchard Mist kit I did cleared in two days or less.

Oh, basement temperature is 62.8 deg F.

 

[jgmann67]

Mine is about 63*. Heating pad keeps the carboy in the low 70's.

I can finally see light on the other side (can see the outline of my hand when I look thru it). Guessing it will take a couple weeks before a move to the next step.

 

[Wineaviator]

Moved to another more appropriate thread

 

[Johnd]

When I've done this one, it's behaved exactly the same. When degassed well and in the mid 70's, I've seen it clear in just a few days. There is typically a very clear line of demarcation between the clear and cloudy wine. You've probably never seen it in reds because you can't see through them.

Once it clears to the bottom, rack off of the sediment and let it sit a while longer, it'll get crystal clear and leave a little more sediment behind after another 30 days or so.

 

[AZMDTed]

Here's a shot I just took of the instructions through my Chardonnay. It does clear in a distinct line on the way down. Before that it's an orange haze. I filtered this yesterday but it was this clear before that too.

This batch is about five months old now and this is through a 3 gallon carboy, so not as much wine to shoot thru as a six gallon carboy.

 

[wineh]

Because I'm more of a red wine fan, I get impatient with my white wines, as they never seem to clear according to the schedule, and it puts me behind in my red wine production. The solution finally was, I bought another carboy, so the current Luna Bianca that is slow to clear can take as long as it wants!