Milkyness

[skitter]

First time making wine so bear with me.

Made a batch of Dragons Blood, wanted to start cheap to learn the process. Right now it is a very pink wine, like if you took fruit punch and added a scoop of vanilla ice cream to it.

My question is if this will become clear with the additions of a finning product? The only thing I did not add from the recipe was the Pectic Enzyme, which may lead to the resulting cloudiness.

I just vacuum racked last night and added my K-Sorbate and K-Meta as fermentation had almost completed (per the directions). I was having some H2S issues so I found a vacuum rack tutorial using a shopvac.

Hoping this clears up, was not intending on having a wine that looked like pink sherbert...

Thanks,

 

[Arne]

It should clear with time. Add the pectic enzime if it has quit fermenting. You really ought to let it finish fermenting before you add the k-meta and sorbate. You can make sure it is done with the ferment by taking specific gravity readings. If it stays the same for 3 or more days it should be done. The cloudy issue comes with fermenting, and maybe you got a bunch of the sediment from the ferment mixed in when you racked it. Let it sit for a while, a few days at least. If it starts clearing, let it sit some more and it should clear on its own. You can hit it with a fining ageant and see if that helps. (super kleer or sparkaloid are two of the clearing agents, there are many more.) Winemakeing takes time. I know it is hard to wait when you are starting out, but patience is what makes things happen with winemaking. Good luck with it, Arne.

 

[skitter]

I waited until it hit the 1.000 like the directions said before adding the KMeta and KSorbate. I was mostly concerned about the milkiness.

Ill add my finning agent in a week if it doesnt clear.

 

[Boatboy24]

That cloudiness/milkiness is just all the yeast and 'chewed up' fruit. It will settle out.

 

[skitter]

I looked at it today and it does seem to be clearing out now that the stabilizers have been added. Looking forward to how this will taste when it's done and aged.

 

[skitter]

Random Q... So i racked it on Sunday. Had half inch sediment by Wednesday. How often is too often to rack?

 

[Stressbaby]

For DB, you are pretty safe just following the directions.

However, two things may keep this wine cloudy: 1) lack of pectic enzyme; 2) vacuum racking once may not be enough to completely degas and this could lead to trouble clearing.

Both of these issues can still be fixed.

As a point of reference, here is DB I started 3 weeks ago. Fermentation finished slowly due to cold temps in the basement, it has not been degassed nor have I added fining agents. I'll rack and do that tomorrow.

Edit: sorry, pic is pretty blurry. There is about an inch of fluffy sediment.

 

[skitter]

Mine is very much pink and not red...

 

[skitter]

Plastic 3 gallon carboy.

 

[Floandgary]

The Pectic enzyme aids in breaking down the fruit skins which may account for a darker juice. Conversely, the lack of may account for a lighter juice. How's it taste??

 

[Julie]

My concern would be adding sorbet when it is almost done fermenting. You really need to let it complete fermentation before adding sorbate.

 

[skitter]

My concern would be adding sorbet when it is almost done fermenting. You really need to let it complete fermentation before adding sorbate.

This is the second person who has chastised me on this when I explicitly stated I followed the directions adding sorbate when almost done at 1.000 and less? Are the directions on the Dragons blood incorrect?

 

[bkisel]

This is the second person who has chastised me on this when I explicitly stated I followed the directions adding sorbate when almost done at 1.000 and less? Are the directions on the Dragons blood incorrect?

Wine should be "stabilized" as per DB directions. Yes below 1.000 BUT also [from Step 4 instructions] "Proceed from here only when the wine’s SG has stabilized below 1.000. A stable SG means that the SG for three consecutive days reveals no change in the SG.". Was the wine stabilized, i.e finished fermenting?

 

[skitter]

I thought the intent as mentioned in the original article was to stabilize slightly before completion so that the remaining few degrees of gravity kept the C02 blanket in place.

 

[sour_grapes]

I thought the intent as mentioned in the original article was to stabilize slightly before completion so that the remaining few degrees of gravity kept the C02 blanket in place.

No, I believe you have misread that. As bkisel points out, the instructions explicitly say to wait until completion before adding sorbate:

Proceed from here only when the wine’s SG has stabilized below 1.000. A stable SG means that the SG for three consecutive days reveals no change in the SG.

And, secondly, there is no such thing as a CO2 blanket. It is true that if CO2 is actively being produced, the evolution of gas from the must will displace air in the space above it. However, it is not true that CO2 will remain on top of the wine. Instead, air and CO2 interdiffuse on the time scale of minutes.

 

[Arne]

But what is done is done. Don't give up on it, you will probably have to let it sit for longer now. Let it sit, see if it clears, monitor your s.g. and see if it is still fermenting or if you wacked the yeast. The s.g. is still likely to go down some, but it will probably get really slow so you are going to have to wait more than 3 days in a row to confirm it is done fermenting. Going to take some time, but you should be able tosalvage this. Good luck with it, Arne.

 

[skitter]

Sorry I may have been mixing information from the Dragons Blood and the Super Sugar Welch's method...