Zested an Orange Wine ... Now Clearning Probs

[mhopkins]

I once saw that @dangerdave (of DB fame) wrote: "I'm a zester with my basic lemon SP." My daughter wanted us to make an orange wine for the fall, so I adapted a DB recipe, using Blood Orange puree. Not a good choice ... ended up pretty tasteless. So, I decided to try Dave's approach.

I zested 12 oranges; added the zest and 10 oz of Everclear to a mason jar. Shook it once a day or so. Three weeks later I have a very nice orangy liqueur. Bench tested to arrive at how much to add to the orange wine, and it is really good!

PROBLEM ... when I add the liqueur to the carboy it was like pouring a white cloud into the wine. It settled on top of the wine. Turns out the liqueur is oily. Thought the Everclear would have cut it, but no. Stirred it into full solution (drill and wand) and now my previously crystal clear wine is slightly hazy. I hope filtering will take the haze away. My fear is that it will also remove some of the added orange flavor.

Any advice on how long to leave it in the carboy before filtering/bottling? Press on now? Wait a week? A Month? Other advice?

Thanks for any counsel,
Mark

 

[Johnd]

I once saw that @dangerdave (of DB fame) wrote: "I'm a zester with my basic lemon SP." My daughter wanted us to make an orange wine for the fall, so I adapted a DB recipe, using Blood Orange puree. Not a good choice ... ended up pretty tasteless. So, I decided to try Dave's approach.

I zested 12 oranges; added the zest and 10 oz of Everclear to a mason jar. Shook it once a day or so. Three weeks later I have a very nice orangy liqueur. Bench tested to arrive at how much to add to the orange wine, and it is really good!

PROBLEM ... when I add the liqueur to the carboy it was like pouring a white cloud into the wine. It settled on top of the wine. Turns out the liqueur is oily. Thought the Everclear would have cut it, but no. Stirred it into full solution (drill and wand) and now my previously crystal clear wine is slightly hazy. I hope filtering will take the haze away. My fear is that it will also remove some of the added orange flavor.

Any advice on how long to leave it in the carboy before filtering/bottling? Press on now? Wait a week? A Month? Other advice?

Thanks for any counsel,
Mark

Let it settle and clear a month or two before you filter it, when it’s crystal clear. Filtering won’t remove the taste.

 

[Scooter68]

I believe that - Oranges/Lemons/Lime have a pretty hefty amount of oil in them. Remember there are many cleaners, degreasers, even paint removers based on citrus oils

 

[joeswine]

Less is more always

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi mhopkins, I don't know that it is going to clear. I make an orange liqueur by adding orange zest to vodka and then sweetening this and I have a great deal of trouble getting the liqueur to clear even after months of standing Certainly the top 2/3 clears fairly well but the lowest 1/3 is cloudy and full of what looks like particulates pulled from the zest. I have tried filtering (albeit through muslin) and this did not really help. Perhaps if you can find or build a centrifuge that might help...

 

[mhopkins]

Hi mhopkins, I don't know that it is going to clear. I make an orange liqueur by adding orange zest to vodka and then sweetening this and I have a great deal of trouble getting the liqueur to clear even after months of standing Certainly the top 2/3 clears fairly well but the lowest 1/3 is cloudy and full of what looks like particulates pulled from the zest. I have tried filtering (albeit through muslin) and this did not really help. Perhaps if you can find or build a centrifuge that might help...

Thanks for the reply. I'll post how things turn out!

 

[tradowsk]

If you do have an oil film on top, one thing you can do it put the wine in the fridge. The cold sometimes will solidify the oils and you can easily scoop them off the surface.

Alternatively, you can put a metal spoon in the freezer for a few hours, and then dip it in the wine to cause the oils to solidify and adhere.

 

[Scooter68]

Sometimes you can use a papertowel to pick up that oil depending on how much is there.

 

[mhopkins]

Sometimes you can use a papertowel to pick up that oil depending on how much is there.

It is in suspension now. There is a slight haze evident, when the wine was crystal clear prior. Guess I'll wait it out and hope it settles. Then rack and filter.