This Chilean Malbec is really dark

[geek]

I wonder how do I tell when totally clear....

 

[Julie]

Use a flashlight. If clear it will shine thru

 

[FABulousWines]

I love a malbec, you almost feel like you need to chew. Flashlight test like Julie said, but that can be tricky with a dark wine. Easier to see in a dark room. Bottom line, if you don't see any sediment dropping a week or so after racking, it is clear.

 

[geek]

I actually have tried the flash light but it is VERY dark, it is a kit, much darker color than the juice bucket....looks like purple...lol

 

[robie]

An unclear wine, even if very dark, has a milky, cloudiness to it; even in the glass. A clear wine looks crisp and deep, and the color is not cloudy. Something even black can be a clean, crisp black, or it can be have a milkiness to it. After you do this awhile, it will become obvious.

If you let a kit wine set for several months to a year before you bottle, it will be clear, anyway. The idea is to not get in a hurry to bottle ANY wine, other than maybe a mist/summer/SP wine. I don't bottle 1 out of every 5 of the wines I make in less than a year. Though at a much less amount, sediment WILL continue to drop even after 3 or 4 months. You can't drink it right away, so why get in a hurry to bottle it. I know, to free up the carboy. There's only one way to solve that problem and that is to slowly accumulate more carboys... there is just not much way around it!

 

[geek]

Not thinking about bottling. Even though this is a WE kit and they state is good to go in 4 weeks or so....yeah right........

 

[BobF]

A laser pointer works pretty good with dark wine. If it's cloudy, the beam has a haze around it.

 

[robie]

Not thinking about bottling. Even though this is a WE kit and they state is good to go in 4 weeks or so....yeah right........

I can't say for sure why the kit manufacturers seem to be in such a hurry for their kits to be bottled, but I suspect they are concerned about oxidation. In my experience it is very difficult to bottle a wine within weeks after it is stabilized without it ending up with sediment in the bottles.

 

[shoebiedoo]

I can't say for sure why the kit manufacturers seem to be in such a hurry for their kits to be bottled, but I suspect they are concerned about oxidation. In my experience it is very difficult to bottle a wine within weeks after it is stabilized without it ending up with sediment in the bottles.

I presume they're trying to accommodate an impatient clientele .

 

[BobF]

The kits I've done recently lead me to believe that the short schedule is optional by recommending additional SO2 if you're planning to age further. IMO, the short schedules are strictly to sell to the uninitiated.