Filtering techniques- Does anyone filter?

[coulee29]

OK, I used fining agents and my wine is clear. I racked it a few times and its aged a few months now I'm might filter. I have only bottled one other wine (hard cider) that was racked and fined and it had some large solids that would spin around in the bottle (tasted bad too). Any suggestions?

 

[Sacalait]

Filtering IMHO will not alter the taste of wine but it will create a wine with more eye appeal. It will give the wine a sparkle that unfiltered wine doesn't have. All of my wines are filtered simply because I like the way it makes them look.

 

[cpfan]

I agree with Muscadine. It's appearance.

For most home wine makers I would recommend the Buon Vino Mini Jet.

Steve

 

[coulee29]

I agree with Muscadine. It's appearance.

For most home wine makers I would recommend the Buon Vino Mini Jet.

Steve

Great. After I filter, I degass, right? Then when bottling should I top off with CO2? What are my chances of spoilage if I don't?

 

[Sacalait]

Filtering (with a mini-jet) will remove most if not all of the gas however I believe the proper technique is to degas then filter. Add K-meta and sorbate, sweeten to your taste and bottle. It should not be necessary to add CO2.

 

[cpfan]

I agreed with Muscadine earlier, but this time I'm gonna have to diagree. Here's the process (for kits anyway)....

- add K-meta, stir well, stir some more, degas, degas, degas
- add K-sorbate, stir well, degas, degas
- add clearing/fining agents, stir, hopefully don't have to degas
- wait patiently (wait some more)
- filter
- bottle

Sweetening can be done right before botling or around the clearing agents.

Finally, IMHO, filtering will NOT degas the wine. If the wine contains a LOT of CO2 some will be removed by filtering but not all.

Steve

 

[Sacalait]

Steve,
The method I used was from personal experience, it could be my wines did not have as much gas as yours. But whatever the case I'll yield to the expert.

 

[cpfan]

Hey not sure that I'm an expert. Just that I've seen wine with CO2 in it that I know was filtered.

Steve

 

[coulee29]

So if the wine has been degassed a few times, filtering wont add gas and the wine can be bottled without degassing again? But it can't be bottled during filtration?

 

[cpfan]

'Degassed a few times'???? The wine either contains gas or it doesn't.

I do not degas after filtering.

Buon Vino recommends that you do NOT filter directly out of the filter. The start & stop actions are not good for the unit. I also heard somewhere that it can cause the filter pads & plates to shift and some of the sediment in the plates may become loose.

I do not know about other filters.

Steve

 

[coulee29]

I degassed after fermentation. Actually, I stopped fermentation early with K-sorbate (2.5% residual sugar), added fining agent, and degassed- all in one step. I have racked the wine a couple times since then and its been aging for 2 or 3 months now. It's a gooseberry wine. Clear with no sign of renewed fermentation.

Degassing is a one time thing? Just to get leftover CO2 out after fermentation?