Forgot the Bentonite

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rebusify

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Made a mistake before fermentation. I forgot to add the Bentonite. This is not a kit. Pressed from pinot noir grapes and went straight to fermentation (Added potassium metabisulfite) without the bentonite. I plan on adding kieselsol and chitosan after fermentation is done. Should I worry about the bentonite?
 
Made a mistake before fermentation. I forgot to add the Bentonite. This is not a kit. Pressed from pinot noir grapes and went straight to fermentation (Added potassium metabisulfite) without the bentonite. I plan on adding kieselsol and chitosan after fermentation is done. Should I worry about the bentonite?

I wouldn't worry about adding it. It is to clear protein hazes and you don't always have one of those.
 
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Bentonite can be added at any time before, during or after fermentation. It is very effective during fermentation since the agitation helps it mix well and remove protein. Bentonite removes the positively charged proteins like kieselsol or tannins.

However the kieselsol and chitosan are protein removal agents themselves and so should do the job fine. (Get it, "fine"?! Ha ha! Yeah, yeah too much wine for me tonight)
 
No worries. You can use it or kieselsol and chitosan later, or even use nothing at all if you like.

Until last year's chardonnay (first white wine I've made), I had never used any kind of fining agents at all. We let our reds bulk age for about a year before bottling, and rack 2-3 times during that year, and the wine seems to clear well enough on its own.
 

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