Egg whites

[muscadine]

I'm told that egg whites have long been used to clarify wine. At what point in the process are they added?

[lockwood1956]

Once the wine is finished fermenting, at the same time you would add finings like kwik clear

[muscadine]

Yep, that's what I did. Now I have these gobules of egg floating on top the wine...is this normal?

[lockwood1956]

I've not used egg whites yet, but I was planning to,from what I've read you just mix them with some of the wine and then stir them in gently.

regards
bob

[Mamgiowl]

I did this with some very stubborn mead and nothing happened, just made a lot of sludge from the egg but the mead was no different.

[lockwood1956]

From winemaker magazine

Albumen is one of the oldest and most widely used fining agents in both home and commercial winemaking. It's typically added to red wines (or very tannic fruit wines like yours) in concentrations of 30 to 240 milligrams per liter, a very wide range, to be sure. Lightly beat the egg whites with a whisk, add to your container of wine (barrel, carboy, etc.), stir gently, and let settle for a few weeks or until you can see that the mixture has flocculated to the bottom. Once this has happened, rack the wine into another clean container and proceed with your aging or bottling program.

So maybe it just needs a bit more time


did you whisk it before adding it?

[Mamgiowl]

Yes, and it's been about 4 months now. When to give up I ask myself?

[lockwood1956]

Hmmmmmm

Can't remember if it was Glenvall or someone else that has used this method succesfully, 4 months seems like a bit long to wait

may rethink my plans

regards
Bob

[Mamgiowl]

Yes, it was that post that made me try it, I can't remember who it was either, but that mead had stood around cloudy for months so I thought I'd give it a go. I'm at the stage with it that I'm just going to drink it as is - it tastes very nice anyway.

[muscadine]

I've just learned that the reason the egg floats is because too much air was mixed in before being added to the wine. I'll know better next time...thanks for the replys.

[Hippie]

Nope, I've never used egg whites in any of my wines. I don't think egg whites are used so much for fining, but are used for removing excess tannin.

Quit trying to blame stuff on me Bob!

[lockwood1956]

LOL

sorry dude