How many people filter their wines?

[phermenter]

I'm just curious how many people filter their homemade wines. I've only done kits so far (11 kits, but only 7 are bottled) and they've usually been bulk aged for 3-4 months, but I've never filtered and never wished I had. So how about everyone else out there? Is there some extra level of clarity I'm missing?

Jim

 

[Tom]

I only filter whites and fruit wines as needed. If you took 3 of the 6 gallons you made and filter it you will see a difference. However, If you age long enough you do not need to.

 

[St Allie]

No,

I just rack a few times.. and bulk store in between..no need to use a clearing agent if you ensure you get the pectic/starch enzymes in the proper quantities in the first place.

Allie

 

[arcticsid]

I was gonna say the same thing, there are quite a few members in here who absolutely insist natural settling is the best way, albeit takes a lil longer.

 

[NSwiner]

Although I'm a newbie compared you guys but I wouldn't make wine without filtering after tasting the before & after of filtering plus it's a much better looking wine . Allie so you have never filtered your wine ? Now that to me would be fun to try some before it was filtered then filter some & try it again . But everyone has thier own way they like to do things , so each thier own .

 

[arcticsid]

NS, someone also was saying, that because they enter their wines in competitions, they are going for the clearest wine possible. Some of us "hippies" and "hillbillies", sorry HB, should have asked before I included you.LOL, aren't necessarily looking for clarity as much as we are quality.

I would be interested to hear if NOT clearing or filtering a wine could have a noticeable detrement when it comes to taste.

Anyone?

 

[Tom]

NS
Remember my 3 words?
Patience
Patience
Patience.
Time is on your side. The whites from a winery are aged up to a year before bottling.
If you want to bottle soon you will need to add clarifier's. then rack a few times till you have no sediment.

 

[St Allie]

Although I'm a newbie compared you guys but I wouldn't make wine without filtering after tasting the before & after of filtering plus it's a much better looking wine . Allie so you have never filtered your wine ? Now that to me would be fun to try some before it was filtered then filter some & try it again . But everyone has thier own way they like to do things , so each thier own .

Nope..Filtering is just clearing the wine isn't it?.. time does that anyway.. and anything that doesn't clear spectacularly and quickly on it's own.. I just leave it to bulk store til it does.. it might take 6 months to a year. There's no sediment in any of my bottles so far. I suppose the only difference between your wines and my wines would be yours are bottled sooner and age quicker..mine being bulk stored take a bit longer til drinkability. Also, I don't put my wines into competitions.. you can lose points for not having A+ clarity.. so many competitive winemakers filter theirs.

quote. But everyone has thier own way they like to do things , so each thier own .quote

Exactly.. everyone does things their own way.. and I've got well over 450 bottles in the cellar now, so time isn't an issue for me..

plus it's just more equipment cluttering up the place hehehhe

Allie

 

[TheTooth]

I don't filter any of mine. As a test, I filtered half a batch of my first mead when I was bottling. After all was said and done, I can't tell the difference between the filtered and unfiltered bottles in taste or appearance.

 

[Tom]

Filtering will not clear a wine. It will polish the wine. Your wine should be clear before filtering.
If you have a cloudy wine filtering will not help

 

[St Allie]

Filtering will not clear a wine. It will polish the wine. Your wine should be clear before filtering.
If you have a cloudy wine filtering will not help

if your wine is perfectly clear .. what's the point of filtering? It's not adding anything..

isn't filtering to remove the very, very, tiny specks of sediment that may remain? therefore clearing it?

what is this polishing you speak of?

hehehehe

Allie

 

[Runningwolf]

I have not filtered any of my wine and I make mostly whites. They are all very clear. With that said though, I understand Santa is bringing me one. I would like to start entering my wines in some local fairs next summer and just polish them up. Tom is absolutely right. If you wine isn't clear or has any sediment you're not ready to filter yet, unless you're using a course filter. I only plan on filtering once, not two or three steps.

 

[TheTooth]

I have not bottled any of my wine

Do you just put a straw in the carboy?

 

[St Allie]

Do you just put a straw in the carboy?

hehehehe..

can wolves drink out of straws?

( great visual for a bottle label by the way tooth)

Allie

( was just thinking.. people use those camel back systems when they are running long distance.. perhaps a wolf with a bottle strapped to his back and a sipping hose?)

 

[Midwest Vintner]

Exactly.. everyone does things their own way.. and I've got well over 450 bottles in the cellar now, so time isn't an issue for me..

plus it's just more equipment cluttering up the place hehehhe

Allie

wow, allie, you are almost out of wine!!! hurry and get some more going!!! lol

we actually have only 250 bottles left, since we give alot away and have not bottled any this year. have about 250 almost done though... still not enough!

I agree with allie totally. it's not needed. it will speed up the process some, but it is clutter and won't work miracles. i have done it with filtering and without. the taste difference is almost none, but i could tell the wine felt "thinner" in viscosity. flavor wasn't affected much, if any. i think the "polish" tom was talking about is some cloudiness that can be removed with a light filtering. it can also be removed by bulk aging and racking. both work, but bulk aging seems to leave more character in the wine. not a lot, but just enough to notice.

wine can be that way though. little things only slightly change the wine. it's these little things that can make the good wine, great. it seems the more care and time you put in, the better the result.

 

[Horkalugi]

Filtered absolutely.............after it passes my lips and hits my liver.

 

[Tom]

Filtering (polishing) is kinda like polishing a shoe, once you buff it is shines. I doo agree thou its not really needed except in competitions and "wine snobs" who know what it should like.. LOL

 

[Runningwolf]

hehehehe..

can wolves drink out of straws?

( great visual for a bottle label by the way tooth)

Allie

( was just thinking.. people use those camel back systems when they are running long distance.. perhaps a wolf with a bottle strapped to his back and a sipping hose?)

I always get in trouble at work for not proof reading also. Damn spell check needs to be upgraded!

 

[phermenter]

Tom, You're right; I could filter half a batch and compare, but with my minimalist approach I don't own filtering equipment, so I can't run that experiment.

I was basically sounding people out about whether I was making some big mistake I couldn't see. So far I'm inclined to stick with the path I'm on. As another member said, to each his own.

Jim

 

[TheTooth]

Filtering (polishing) is kinda like polishing a shoe, once you buff it is shines. I doo agree thou its not really needed except in competitions and "wine snobs" who know what it should like.. LOL

This is a debate even between "wine snobs" with commercial wines. A quick google search turned up these articles:

http://www.winespectator.com/magazine/show/id/6150

http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/20/unfiltered-wines-ten-lifestyle-wine-unfiltered-wine.html