WineXpert re-clearing ice wine???

[Plymouthpete]

My wife and I started a batch of Ice wine in October, followed all the instructions and bottled it into .375 mil. bottles. The wine has been laying on its side for about a month now and we have noticed a slight haze and some sediment on the sides of the bottles. Here's the question. Can we uncork the bottles and filter the wine through a coffee filter or a piece of cheesecloth to clear the wine without ruining it by exposing it to the air? It is perfectly clear in the bottles except for the haze that has settled on the botom of the bottles. We would then rebottle the wine if it is clear again. I'm afraid the exposure to air would ruin the batch.

 

[sangwitch]

I don’t filter my wines so I’m not sure if a coffee filter is a sufficient method for doing so. If I have sediment in a wine I usually break out the decanter. I wouldn’t be too concerned about it unless I was giving some away. Is the wine for personal consumption only?








I know that doesn't really answer your question about whether it would be ok to open and filter. It probably would be, but it seems like too much risk to me... introducing not only oxygen, but maybe some beasties as well. What say others?Edited by: sangwitch

 

[grapeman]

I wouldn't bother to rebottle it either. Too much risk and trouble. Like sang says, use a decanter. Consider it a lesson to give it plenty of time to clear or else filter it before bottling. There are inexpensive filters that do a good job on a small scale. Buy one and use it if you have concerns next time.


By the way, coffee filters just don't cut it and certainly not cheesecloth.

 

[PolishWineP]

When faced with this issue, we do use a coffee filter and pitcher and then pour it into the decanter. But I wouldn't go to the trouble of filtering and rebottling it for the above reasons. We just filter a bottle when we drink it.Edited by: PolishWineP

 

[bmorosco]

My wife and I started a batch of Ice wine in October, followed all the instructions and bottled it into .375 mil. bottles. The wine has been laying on its side for about a month now and we have noticed a slight haze and some sediment on the sides of the bottles. Here's the question. Can we uncork the bottles and filter the wine through a coffee filter or a piece of cheesecloth to clear the wine without ruining it by exposing it to the air? It is perfectly clear in the bottles except for the haze that has settled on the botom of the bottles. We would then rebottle the wine if it is clear again. I'm afraid the exposure to air would ruin the batch.

I am not sure if you will clear the haze ..The filters for wine I think are finer than the coffee filter and thicker and I know both of them matter..I use the minijet and it was definately worth the investment..But I understand it can be pricey...But maybe a gravity filter of some sort I think George sells them ..Using a coffee filter will prob just get you agrivated...

 

[Dean]

I'm not trying to alarm you, but have you opened a bottle with the sediment recently? Is it fizzy? With Icewine, i've seen bottle referementations happen that cause just that! yeast starts to fall out of suspension. Test a bottle. If it is still, then you have no issues other than cosmetic. Gravity filtering would work, but as BMorosco said, a coffee filter will not work. You will need a proper wine filter.

If you did opt for the filtering route, slowly empty all bottles into a carboy, attach an airlock, and wait 2-3 days to see if more sediment will fall out. Then filter to a clean carboy and bottle from there into fresh, clean, sanitized bottles. The extra exposure to oxygen should not harm your icewine, but if you are concerned, you could add 1/8 tsp of K-meta just to be sure.

 

[sangwitch]

Good point Dean! If it wasn't stable when the f-pack was added... could be fermentation.

 

[Plymouthpete]

Dean, thanks for the update, to answer your question, there is no refermentation, it is just a cosmetic thing. The wine tastes awsome and is clear in the bottles except for the very fine haze. Rather than give a bottle of wine to friends with a little haze in it, my wife and I may be forced to drink all of it. I may try what you suggested though by dumping some into a 1 gal bottle and letting it sit there for a while rather than dumping all of them into a 3 gal. carboy and starting all over.
Again, thanks everybody for your input.

 

[grapeman]

Well there's your excuse to keep all of it for you two. Just tell the friends that it didn't turn out perfect, they will need to wait for a perfect batch!