First Two Problems ???

[drgags]

First, did a Mosti AJ Amarone....started in may 2010, bulk aged 6 months, racked at 3 and 6 month intervals, filtered buon vino mini #2's, opened a bottle the other day and lots of sediment. any thoughts....how could it not be clear???? and yes used fining agents as provided and directed.
By the way thought it tasted pretty good, just a little gritty at the end...


Second, doing the Marsanne, rousane, viognier, after stabilizing and adding fining agents, there was a creamy substance, almost looked like yeast cells, but dont know floating at top of carboy....yes kmeta was added and fining agents, thought maybe since i just used a funnel and add fining agents maybe there was a higher concentration attop of carboy and with foam from stirring, it bonded right away and i got this residue...any ideas on this.....almost a year of winemaking and my first two issues....i thought i was perfect....lol.

 

[Runningwolf]

Dr. I think your first issue is "wine diamonds". The first picture is some in a glass poured from the bottom of a bottle. The second pictureis from a carboy after I cold stabilized and pouredthe last bitthrough a funnel. It is actually called tartaric acid. It is absolutely harmless. If your other bottles have it you have several choices; dump them back in a carboy and cold stabilize further and rack off of them, pour yourself the last glass each time and be careful to leave them behind in the bottle or pour into an areator to capture any that might escape the bottle.

 

[ibglowin]

Are you should its sediment and not wine diamonds that formed in the Amarone? Unless the filters tore or were not installed correctly/properly I can't imagine sediment making it through. Perhaps someone who owns a Buon Vino will chime in.


As for the MRV, I have that one in the box waiting till this Summer to start it.

Can you snap a pic? Is it only on top? Not distributed through out the wine?

Some of these grapes have loads of protein in the juice that are harder to clarify than others. I will keep an eye out later this Summer when I make mine.

 

[ibglowin]

Dang, you beat me by like 10 seconds Dan!

 

[Runningwolf]

Dang, you beat me by like 10 seconds Dan!

With pictures to boot!

 

[drgags]

i dont beliveve it is the T acid.....more grainy like sediment, dark in color...i did not open another bottle....


the other on the MVR was just on top, not through the wine, did not settle, but i racked it off most of it into a sanitized carboy....did not add any addl' kmeta or sorbate at all, just in case something bad was growing, but thought the extra kmeta from the carboy would help....there are a few "pieces" floating in carboy, but most is gone from racking.


did not notice any smell from wine and is clearing fine......or clear as is.....no other sediment in carboy and has been 3 days since that racking....

 

[drgags]

by the way i did not cold stabilize wine....will do that more with the fall wines.....just put them outside....here in PA.

 

[Runningwolf]

by the way i did not cold stabilize wine....will do that more with the fall wines.....just put them outside....here in PA.

I use my chest freezer with a thermostat for about 10 days. Then I don't have to carry the carboys up and back down from the basement. Either way works good.

 

[drgags]

i need to get some good carboy handles, and i will start to do the same....not sure mine has a thermostat....what temp do you do it at......

 

[Runningwolf]

Good call on the carboy handles. I have them on all of mine. I don't lift much with them asI keep one hand under them to support the weight but they do help. They are especially good when washing the carboys as they get so slippery.
This is the thermostat that I use. The lowest it'll take my freezer is 25* which is ok. I usually keep them in for about ten days with a solid bung. Make sure you replace the bung with an airlock within 30 minutes of removing the carboy from the freezer or the solid one will blow off as the wine warms up (experience here). Before I bought the thermostat I would put the carboys in the 0* freezer for 3-6 days without a problem.

 

[Dean]

Wines with lots of TDS (total dissolved solids) will throw sediment for a good long time. That looks like a combination of diamonds and sediment. I've had many wines drop tannins (looks like dark dust) and make crystals too, even after filtering! That's one of the main reasons why many of us bulk age too. Not just to prevent stronger temperature fluctuations, but also because rich red wines will drop sediment for a while. Since you've bulk aged for 6 months, this is mostly crystals and tannins that have dropped out.

 

[Wade E]

I agree with Dean. Scott labs makes products for this. A lot of the times with big reds the wines becomes slightly unstable due to additions of stuff or different emp fluctuations and some color molecules can fall out. Have you ever pulled a bottle off the shelf of yours or even a commercial bottle where the bottle is stained and is very hard to lean?

 

[Runningwolf]

For that very reason I use this on all of my wines just before bottling.
LGA30 (20% Gum Arabic) wine clarifier, liquid.

 

[Wade E]

Link dont work or their server is down but thats pretty much the same thing Scotts Labs is or was selling to help keep your wine stable so that color doesnt fall out. This can be a big problem wit bigger red wines especially from grapes.

 

[Runningwolf]

For that very reason I use this on all of my wines just before bottling.
LGA30 (20% Gum Arabic) wine clarifier, liquid.

Dr. look this up on Presque Isle's site. Heck it would be a nice saturday ride for you.

 

[drgags]

what is the site...link is not working for me....my browser doesnt like it...

 

[Dean]

Their site will not allow direct links if you don't already have a cookie from that site. Very VERY poor site design. Also, the link is missing the colon : after the HTTPS section. At any rate, if you just go to the main catalog on the site, under additives, you'll be looking for LGA20 (20% Gum Arabic) wine clarifier. Its a very gentle last step fining agent.

LGA20

 

[Randoneur]

You need a fork lift and a drive in freezer or you will need back surgery!!
Just kidding... Carboy handles help a lot, but I use a block and tackle and a SWMBO assist to move them in and out of the chest freezer.