Other Slow clearing

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chezniall

Junior
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Hello,
I am new to this. I bought a Shiraz kit and the instructions were questionable.
There was no mention of syphoning off the wine to a 2nd bin after fermentation. Therefore, when fermentation stopped, I add the sorbate/sulphite stabiliser and de-gassed the wine. This of course stirred up all the sediment. I then added kieselsol finings and stirred again. After 24 hours I added chitosan finings and stirred gently. That was last tuesday.
Today sunday, the wine is clearing from the top but when I pour from the tap, it is very silty and full of sediment.
How long should I wait before it clears? If it doesn't clear, what can I do to fix the problem?
Thanks
Niall
 
Definitely do not use the tap any more. Even after you rack it off the sediment it will probably drop some more out over time. In the future always rack the thick sediment (the gross lees) after primary fermentation before stabilizing and clearing.
Sometimes those instructions are misleading. If your hesitant about anything during the process again don't hesitate to post a question. Most people on this forum genuinely enjoy offering advice and helping people work through their batches.
 
Though i do agree with the above statement and always rack before clearing, please note that some kits (wine Expert comes to mind) SAY DO NOT RACK BEFORE DEGASSING AND CLEARING. So if the poster had a kit with those instructions, then they did what was needed.

I do find that some kits take awhile to clear. If it is clear near the top, then just keep waiting and eventually that clearing will move down as things settle out. I leave my wines for 3 weeks after degassing before racking again. I do recommend giving your carboy some sharp small twisted back and forth as it clears to dislodge the stuff the clings to the sides. Otherwise when you rack again the side stuff will float back into the wine as the level drops and it wont be as sediment free as possible.

cheers
 
From the description in the original post, there's been no rackings at all. And was degassed, sorbated,sulfited, and clearing agents added--all in the same vessel it fermented in.
I know some kits have you leave the lees from secondary during clearing- but not the lees containing yeast and all the gunk dropped out from primary.
And What if they fermented in a bucket, which is what it sounds like. "Clearing from the top, but very silty and full of sediment from the tap"
Im pretty sure those instructions are wrong and should have said to transfer the wine from the bucket after your fermentation into a glass carboy.
Regardless of any other opinions, if this wine is still in a bucket you should no doubt transfer to glass right away. You could always add more clearing agents later if needed. But you can't undo oxidization.
 
Welcome to the forum!

So which kit is this? Generally kit instructions are very explicit.
 
Many thanks to you all for your guidance. The Kit is Wineworks. The seller has since emailed me to reassure me that the wine will clear and there was no need to rack after fermentation. I checked it today and it is a bit clearer so I will be patient and wait a bit longer. As a matter of interest, why is transfer to a carboy so important? Also if I had to use another clearing agent, what would you recommend? Cheers. Niall
 
Many thanks to you all for your guidance. The Kit is Wineworks. The seller has since emailed me to reassure me that the wine will clear and there was no need to rack after fermentation. I checked it today and it is a bit clearer so I will be patient and wait a bit longer. As a matter of interest, why is transfer to a carboy so important? Also if I had to use another clearing agent, what would you recommend? Cheers. Niall


Transferring to glass has many different benefits. First and foremost, it gives you the ability to seal the wine from oxygen while allowing co2 to escape with a bung and airlock. Also carboys allow you to see how clear it is, how much sediment has built up, as well as anything else visual--all without the need to expose the wine to oxygen. Is your wine still in the fermentation bucket?
And when you check it for clarity are you simply removing the lid to see the surface? Doing this will expose your wine to way too much oxygen over time.
Different wines respond to different clearing agents in their own way. I prefer "Dual Fine". The 2 part clearing agent chitosan/keilosol.
 

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