Enolmatics and filtering,etc ?

[fatbloke]

So, my enolmatic came with a filter housing and a 1 micron filter element.

Now, having looked at Brouwlands listing a while ago, they listed 5 micron, 1 micron, 0.5 micron and 0.25 micron filter elements. They also have some "everlasting" stainless steel filter elements but I seem to recall that they're very expensive.

Now I understand that the 0.25 filter element is described as "sterile" and for use with white wines and spirits.

But, I've been reading some stuff "around the bazaars" that says about not using too fine a filter as they "strip out" too much in the way of pigmentation and aroma, as well as everything else.

So is there any guide worth looking at to try and understand which "size" of filter element is gonna be best to do the job ? or any suggestions etc ?

Now, I also understand that to clean out the filter/filter housing, I just reverse the pipes around and run some "cleaning liquid" through it.

I notice that the place in Cardiff that does enolmatics lists a cleaning material for them/the filters etc.

Is it worth the additional expense or is it better just to run a normal cleaner/sanitising liquid through the filter to clean it ?

Cheers for any advice that you might have.

regards

JtFB

[NorthernWiner]

I can't address the specific Enolmatic questions, but I have a cartridge filter for my vacuum setup.

Does filtering strip flavor from the wine? I believe it does. But in most cases, the stuff you filter out of the wine isn't anything you want in there anyway. I've tasted my filtered wines side-by-side with the same wine unfiltered and, in every single instance, I thought filtering improved it.

For "serious" red wines, I don't usually go any tighter than 1 micron. And, most of the time, I try to use only a 5 or 10 micron cartridge. That level will remove any sediment, yeast cells, hair, bugs, etc.

For white grape or fruit wines, where visual clarity is paramount, I go down to .5 microns. That will give these wines a beautiful, jewel-like finish when you hold the glass up to the light. It will also remove most (but not all) residual lactic acid bacteria, which can potentially cause long-term problems in the bottle.

[Duffbeer]

Totaly agree with Steve, no less than 1 micron for reds and 0.5 for the whites, this works fine for me, as I enter many shows the last thing I want is sediment in the bottle, also that extra sparkle with whites catches the judges eye.
As for cleaning, reversing the pipes will work for so long, but, will eventualy need a soak, Bob has some stuff he got from Brouwlands for soaking them in, but not sure think its called oxichem ??

[fatbloke]

I can't address the specific Enolmatic questions, but I have a cartridge filter for my vacuum setup.

Does filtering strip flavor from the wine? I believe it does. But in most cases, the stuff you filter out of the wine isn't anything you want in there anyway. I've tasted my filtered wines side-by-side with the same wine unfiltered and, in every single instance, I thought filtering improved it.

For "serious" red wines, I don't usually go any tighter than 1 micron. And, most of the time, I try to use only a 5 or 10 micron cartridge. That level will remove any sediment, yeast cells, hair, bugs, etc.

For white grape or fruit wines, where visual clarity is paramount, I go down to .5 microns. That will give these wines a beautiful, jewel-like finish when you hold the glass up to the light. It will also remove most (but not all) residual lactic acid bacteria, which can potentially cause long-term problems in the bottle.

Totaly agree with Steve, no less than 1 micron for reds and 0.5 for the whites, this works fine for me, as I enter many shows the last thing I want is sediment in the bottle, also that extra sparkle with whites catches the judges eye.
As for cleaning, reversing the pipes will work for so long, but, will eventualy need a soak, Bob has some stuff he got from Brouwlands for soaking them in, but not sure think its called oxichem ??

So that sounds like 1 micron should be fine for "general" filtering purposes.

I doubt that I'll need anything finer then as I don't make grape wines like lots of WAH'ers do.

As for the chemical name of the cleaner stuff, I wasn't actually thinking of the stuff that Brouwland do - I was thinking of the "specialist cleaner for backwashing" as listed at the "homebrewwales" site (@ £7.00 a pop).

I suspect that I can probably use some "campden/citric" sanitiser or even backwash with the Ritchies cleaner/steriliser, as long as I remember to rinse well.

Hell I'd guess I can even soak the filter element in it.

I'll probably get some of the oxichem (or whatever it's called) when I get 5 minutes to have a little run over to Belgium. It's just that I'll have to wait until I need enough kit to justify the trip!

regards

JtFB