Organic eggshells as a clearing agent

[Kelli Jennings]

Good morning all. I started a ginger wine about a month ago and it was taking forever to start to clear. I read on the internet that it could take months to clear . I was impatient. I then asked the internet for a solution and came across an article about using cooked organic egg shells to clear the wine. It has been 2 days since I added the crushed egg shells and I don’t see any clearing. Am I being impatient again, or have I just ruined my wine. Thanks for your time.

 

[Arne]

Rather doubt you have ruined it. Biggest thing you have to use the 3 P's of winemaking. Patience, patience, patience. Make sure the wine is degassed. If not it might not clear at all. Get it warm and see if that helps. Usually has to be warm for a few days to help. Temps in the 70's or so. If that doesn't work, try putting it in the reefer for a few days. Good luck with it, Arne.

 

[KAndr97]

Patience is by far the most important part of this art. As a rule of thumb, I always add a month onto whatever timeline I've projected for my wines. You're not gonna see any progress in two days. It might not even be much more clear next week. At this point, you gotta do your best to just forget it even exists for the next month or so. However, after that month, you'll be shocked at how crystal clear and beautiful your wine is.

In the meantime, there are a couple other things you can do. The first is to degas it. Carbon dioxide in suspension makes it difficult for wine to clear up. You might also consider using bentonite, which is a natural clay that will help pull any suspended yeast or other positively charged particles out of suspension. Depending on your ingredients, you might have some pectin left over from any fruits you might've used. Pectic enzyme will break that down and allow it to settle out over time. Also, to expand on Arne's advice, the warmth will help to get the CO2 out of solution, so warm it up when you degas. Afterwards, you want it to be as cold as possible to help the yeast and other particulates drop out.