It's crystal clear till you take a close look... What is it?

[crabjoe]

I've got an Apple wine that I thought was crystal clear... I racked it and somehow it ended up slightly cloudy. Because of this, I added some Sparkolloid.

It's been a few days now that the Sparkolloid has been added and there's about a 1/2 inch of loose fine lees. I was thinking about racking it because it looked crystal clear, but upon closer inspection, it looks like there's dead yeast suspended in the wine and it's not sinking.

What can I do to settle these floaters in my wine? The stuff is mostly translucent and it's not moving. It's like gravity has no effect on it... it just sits there suspended... HELP!

Thanks!

 

[Rice_Guy]

* yeast is heavier than wine and will settle.
* you said apple, pectin level is high in apple so that is the guess. Pectin is notorious for not settling unless you give two plus years to settle. Pectic enzyme will break this molecule so it is translucent. Pectin doesn’t harm the flavor it is cosmetic.

 

[crabjoe]

* yeast is heavier than wine and will settle.
* you said apple, pectin level is high in apple so that is the guess. Pectin is notorious for not settling unless you give two plus years to settle. Pectic enzyme will break this molecule so it is translucent. Pectin doesn’t harm the flavor it is cosmetic.

I doused it with pectic enzyme over a week ago.. I guess it's going to need more.

Thanks!

 

[mainshipfred]

I doused it with pectic enzyme over a week ago.. I guess it's going to need more.

Thanks!

Don't be afraid to overdose it. Whether it's pectic, sparkolliod or bentonite it will fall out of suspension.

 

[Johnd]

Don't be afraid to overdose it. Whether it's pectic, sparkolliod or bentonite it will fall out of suspension.

Fred, while I agree with your statement regarding the use of pectic enzyme, I don't believe that the same can be said for bentonite, and I don't know about sparkolloid. Below is a clip from Purdue Extension regarding the use of bentonite in wine:

"Potential problems with bentonite fining:

Excess amounts of bentonite added to wine can bind not only proteins but also desirable aroma compounds or colloidal materials. Proper bench testing to determine the minimal effective amount to add is important, as that will not have a detrimental effect on the wine. Each individual wine has separate dosage requirements. Routine additions of bentonite will certainly lead to over- or under-dosing, as the requirements may vary by more than an order of magnitude (60 to 1,800 mg/L = 0.5 to 15 lb/1,000 gal). In addition, oxidative damage to the wine may occur if the mixing in of the bentonite slurry allows for air exposure during transfer operations, from the tank headspace, or via subsequent filtration steps"

 

[mainshipfred]

Fred, while I agree with your statement regarding the use of pectic enzyme, I don't believe that the same can be said for bentonite, and I don't know about sparkolloid. Below is a clip from Purdue Extension regarding the use of bentonite in wine:

"Potential problems with bentonite fining:

Excess amounts of bentonite added to wine can bind not only proteins but also desirable aroma compounds or colloidal materials. Proper bench testing to determine the minimal effective amount to add is important, as that will not have a detrimental effect on the wine. Each individual wine has separate dosage requirements. Routine additions of bentonite will certainly lead to over- or under-dosing, as the requirements may vary by more than an order of magnitude (60 to 1,800 mg/L = 0.5 to 15 lb/1,000 gal). In addition, oxidative damage to the wine may occur if the mixing in of the bentonite slurry allows for air exposure during transfer operations, from the tank headspace, or via subsequent filtration steps"

I didn't know that and started researching it. On different sites the low end seems to vary a bit. The low end of what you posted is .06g/l but I found others at high as .3g/l, quite a difference but they all caution using too much. Another new learning experience.