Thread for questions and discussion on new winemaker series

[goldseal]

Anyone?

It IS a bit quiet around here, isn't it?

I'll do my best: I'm in a hotel on a terrible web connection, with no wine equipment or references to hand, so please bear with me.

First of all, are you SURE the wine is fully degassed? CO2 in the wine can stop it clearing fully.

I'm not sure what Wilkos finings contain. Different finings have different ingredients, and sometimes one type of finings will work better on a particular wine, for no readily apparent reason.

Kwik Clear finings is a 2-part thingy, containing Kieselsol and Gelatine. What does your Wilkos packet say?

[timages]

Sorry if I came across impatient, I'm just worried I might have ruined my wine!

The wilko packet says it contains (in part A) silica sol and (in part B) chitosan.

Maybe I didn't degas fully, but I kept shaking until there wasn't a 'pffft' when I released my thumb?

Thankyou for taking the time to reply goldseal

[Delmonteman]

I didn't reply because i didn't know the answer! I still don't in fact. What i do know is that just because a wine is cloudy doesn't mean its ruined! Cloudiness rarely effects the flavour. I grant you it is disappointing, especially with a kit and quite rare for it to happen i would say.

Perhaps you should contact wilkinsons customer services who i imagine may replace the kit and you can try again. Time is the great healer with cloudiness too, so if you are not in a rush make sure its stabilised and put it away in a nice cool place and forget about it for a few months.

Having said that, ive drunk plenty of cloudy wine and beer out of a lack of concern for appearance. Its the stuff i keep for myself. I give away/ offer the well presented stuff...

[timages]

Hi delmonteman , it isn't a kit it is just a wine no 1. (And my first wine at that!)

It was nearly there so I thought I would help it along with some finings but that doesn't seem to have worked

[malcmackenzie]

It IS a bit quiet around here, isn't it?

I'll do my best: I'm in a hotel on a terrible web connection, with no wine equipment or references to hand, so please bear with me.

First of all, are you SURE the wine is fully degassed? CO2 in the wine can stop it clearing fully.

I'm not sure what Wilkos finings contain. Different finings have different ingredients, and sometimes one type of finings will work better on a particular wine, for no readily apparent reason.

Kwik Clear finings is a 2-part thingy, containing Kieselsol and Gelatine. What does your Wilkos packet say?

Hello

I use Wilco finings and they seem to clear in stages.

You get quite a large fall out in the first hour or so then still a little cloudy for up to a week to clear properly.

I find they clear better the colder it is I have 5 gals out in the garage at the moment clearing nicely.

Good luck

[goldseal]

Sorry if I came across impatient, I'm just worried I might have ruined my wine!

No, you didn't come over as impatient . I very much doubt that you have ruined it.

All perfectly natural when making your first few batches of wine. Patience is a key skill, and I'm surprised Bob hasn't dropped in and said 'Patience, young Jedi'.

If it were my wine, what would I do now?

If I really NEEDED to get it finished, I'd probably try different finings. If not, I'd do what Delmonteman suggests and hide it somewhere cool and dark for a few weeks.

Just a thought: when you added the two-part finings, did you leave the recommended amount of time between each part?

Other possibilities:
I don't have the Wine No.1 recipe to hand, so I'm not sure whether it specifies adding Pectolase at the start. Apples contain pectin, so it is possible that what you are seeing is a pectin haze from the pectin in the apple juice. I use a teaspoon of Pectolase per gallon as a matter of course. You can buy this from Wilko's, I think.

Bentonite can be very effective at clearing wine, but can strip colour and flavour if you are not careful.

As this is one of your first batches I'd probably recommend forgetting about it for a couple of weeks, and start another couple of wines ASAP, to keep yourself occupied.

[timages]

No, you didn't come over as impatient . I very much doubt that you have ruined it.

All perfectly natural when making your first few batches of wine. Patience is a key skill, and I'm surprised Bob hasn't dropped in and said 'Patience, young Jedi'.

If it were my wine, what would I do now?

If I really NEEDED to get it finished, I'd probably try different finings. If not, I'd do what Delmonteman suggests and hide it somewhere cool and dark for a few weeks.

Just a thought: when you added the two-part finings, did you leave the recommended amount of time between each part?

Other possibilities:
I don't have the Wine No.1 recipe to hand, so I'm not sure whether it specifies adding Pectolase at the start. Apples contain pectin, so it is possible that what you are seeing is a pectin haze from the pectin in the apple juice. I use a teaspoon of Pectolase per gallon as a matter of course. You can buy this from Wilko's, I think.

Bentonite can be very effective at clearing wine, but can strip colour and flavour if you are not careful.

As this is one of your first batches I'd probably recommend forgetting about it for a couple of weeks, and start another couple of wines ASAP, to keep yourself occupied.

Thanks Goldseal.

Yes, I left it the recommended time between sachets (1 hour). I do have another wine no 1 on the go, but this particular batch I started on New Years day. Although that isn't that long it seems an age to me!

I might leave it in my porch which is quite cold. If I was totally honest I would say it does look a touch clearer than yesterday but it is still cloudier than before I added the finings.

The recipe didn't mention pectolase, but I think in future I will do as you suggest and add it as standard at the start.

Out of interest, is there a way of knowing if it hasn't been properly degassed without shaking it?

[timages]

Another question, if I test my wine and I do need to re-degas, would I need to add more sulphite again? I added 1 campden tablet when I first degassed (as per tutorial) so I thinking it may be too much sulphite? But what worries me would be oxidisation, is that right?

[Original Mac]

Another question, if I test my wine and I do need to re-degas, would I need to add more sulphite again? I added 1 campden tablet when I first degassed (as per tutorial) so I thinking it may be too much sulphite? But what worries me would be oxidisation, is that right?

You should not need any more sulphite and as long as the wine is fully topped up to the neck of the demijohn oxidisation will not be an issue. Even if the wine is not fully degassed you have taken most of it out. This means less chance of any free so2 being blown off if you have to degas further. Also assuming you will be drinking this as soon as it is ready and you followed the recipe you would have to be super unlucky to make a bad batch. The only time you would consider extra sulphite is for a wine going through multiple rackings over many months/years like a big red. This light fruity wine is dangerously easy to drink, you will need more.....lots more!

[timages]

I have now started a wine no.2 after finishing a few bottles of wine no.1 (delicious!) and have a question about the finishing stages.

On the tutorial it sounds like bob went straight to racking and degassing as soon as the ferment had finished.
Is it a bit different then no.1? Do I still rack, leave to clear, rack and degas, clear some more then stabilise or do I just rack degas and stabilise in one sitting as soon as fermentation is complete? When do I leave it to clear and do I only add sulphite just once?

Sorry if the above sounds confusing!

[timages]

Sorry to be a pain - has anybody got any answers?

[woody1962]

Timages
are you referring to the Rose wine (no.2)? - I've just done a 3 gallon batch. Aldi are now selling cartons of red grape juice (new I think?) so I used x6 litres of this to x3 litres of Pomegranate and 2.1kg of sugar gave me an OG of 1.090. I fermented to 1.002 and stabilised with x3 campden tabs - de-gassing at same time by just shaking the vessel vigorously for 2 minutes two or three times a day for 3 days. I needed to add finings and I passed it through a Crystalbrite filter - OMG! its astonishingly good and I did not backsweeten at all. With my wine No.1, I always add Bentonite and leave it to clear in my workshop outside where its pretty cold (sometimes I have to use finings, maybe I'll try pectolase!)

[timages]

Thanks Woody. Yes, I was referring to wine no.2. Just put my first batch on. If it's as good as wine no.1 then I shall be very pleased!

I will try racking, degassing and stabilising in one sitting then leaving it to clear.

[timages]

Still a bit confused - how many times do I rack wine no.2?

[lockwood1956]

Rack when ferment is over, and then rack again before bottling. If you are storing long term another racking might be needed buut unlikely

regards
bob