WineXpert should i use superclear?

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kitten

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ok so my blueberry pino noir island mist kit is supposed to be clearing. the instructions say to add the fining chemicals and i did all that exactly how it says to... and then let it sit for 8 days and rack it... well it has been sitting for 6 days now and i only see a little lees on the bottom and hardly any clearing... should i go ahead and add the superclear ( i have heard many people say they use it with these kits frequently) when i rack it or just wait and be patient ( that is really hard because this is my first batch and i am so excited for it to come out right):r
 
Three words to remember;
Patience
Patience
Patience
Give it more time. The instructions are a guide and can vary like temp etc.. :b
 
Kitten:

It's not about amount of sediment, it's about the clarity of wine. Have you checked the wine's clarity? What is the temperature, and did you degas the wine well?

I'm pretty sure that I've made more kits in the last few years than anybody else on this forum (I ran a small Ferment on Premise for 6 years). Unfortunately the store did not sell Island Mist so can't comment on that brand. However, I remember having clearing problems with a couple of ice wine kits, and a couple of Orchard Breezin' kits. The ice wines cleared with a second shot of isinglass. The OBs cleared with a dose of sparkolloid. Both fixes as per manufacturer.

I have trouble recommending hitting that kit with Super Kleer. And I don't recall reading about other people needing to do it.

Finally...patience is a winemaker's most important attribute. Try to practice some.

Steve
 
thanks for the info... i will try to be patient i havent pulled a sample to test clarity but the carboy itself isnt clearing much... though like i said ive never made wine before so i dont know how "clear" to expect a red to get i know whites you should be able to see through without a problem...

i did degass fairly well... bought the mix-stir and used that for 2 min each time it told me to... made sure it was done "foaming" which it didnt really do anyway

the temp stays about a steady 68 as its in the basement.
 
kitten:

IMO, 68 is a bit cool for degassing. I prefer 72-74. Some wines do not clear readily if they are not degassed.

Do you plan to filter this wine?

Steve
 
I've made several of the Island Mist kits. They never clear as quick as the instructions say but will clear on their own if you wait about 3 - 4 weeks after stablizing. If you try to degass will sediment is present, it will take another 2 or 3 weeks to clear again. I would recommend waiting about a week after stabilizing, then rack off the sediment, Then degass, and wait for it to clear. Never be in a hurry to get it in the bottle. It will pay off in the end. BUT, if you are in a hurry, SuperClear it. It will usually clear in 48 hours like they claim.

Good luck,

Dave
 
I agree to give it a few more weeks, for some rewason I always have trouble clearing W.E kits and dont use their fining agents anymore. I throw those in the garbage and use Superkleer IF I need to but usually just give it plenty of time after degassing and they clear themselves. My last Ice wine which was a W.E. kit I did use 2 applications of Isinglass and even then it took forever to clear.
 
Over the past 3-4 years I have made very few Winexpert kits. In fact mostly gewurztraminer, including an LE NZ G'wine that is nicely cleared in carboy right now. There is also a LE NZ Merlot in ready to bottle (cleared & filtered).

I haven't had any problems with clearing.

Steve
 
Did you add the F Pack yet? Every Mist kit I have done cleared very quickly but would cloud back up when I added the F Pack. It would drop clear in a week or so. I have never had a Wine Expert kit not drop clear. It may take a while but I have never had to add extra clarifying agents to get a clear wine and a majority of my kits have been Wine Expert of all levels.
 

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