# How to know if the wine is clear enough to bottle??



## aauck15 (Aug 14, 2010)

This is my first wine making experience. I am making a cabernet sauvignon kit that I purchased at my local grocery store (being my first attempt, I did not want to invest in an expensive kit). 6 days ago, I added the clearing agent (Kieselsol) and am wondering how you can tell if the wine is clear enough to bottle. 

I rented a wine filter and corker for use over this weekend, but am concerned that the wine may not be ready to bottle. It seems fairly clear to me, but not quite as clear as a store bought red wine we have here. After filtering, will it be ready to bottle? What will happen if it is bottled before it is fully cleared?

Many thanks..


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## Woodbee (Aug 14, 2010)

AAUCK, first off a big Howdy from NE Kansas. Simply put, if you bottle too soon and your wine isn't totally done fermenting you could be making bombs. I am guessing that you have waited plenty long for this not to happen. Secondly and probably the most likely you will develop some sediment in your bottled.
Perhaps by filtering down to a polish both points might be moot. Being patient is the greatest attribute you can develop in this addiction. The longer the ageing the better the out come.
Hang on here and there will be better advise following. Plenty of great people here with tons of experience,help and humor.
Brad


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## aauck15 (Aug 14, 2010)

Thanks Brad and howdy to you too . 

I am pretty certain that the fermentation had finished prior to adding the clearing agent. When I first began, the S.g. reading was 1.08, over a week it went down to 0.994 and was stayed there for three consecutive days. I then racked it, added the stabilizing agent and stirred several times over 48 hrs (to degas) before adding the clearing agent.


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## Minnesotamaker (Aug 14, 2010)

How clear you want your wine is up to you. I normally don't bottle any grape wines until they've been sitting for 6 months or more (kits included). If you'd like to bottle sooner, you can, you just have the possibility of sediment in bottles or cloudy wine; neither is the end of the world. The filter will help some, but if there is a lot of solids in your wine, the filter pads could plug up before you get all the wine through them; that can be very messy as the wine can squirt out past the pads. You can test the clarity by putting a bit into a wine glass and looking through it at a light source. Or you can aim a flashlight through the carboy and see how much light gets through. If you can see the beam in the wine, those are all suspended particles.


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## Lurker (Aug 14, 2010)

Listen to Lon. He knows.


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## NSwiner (Aug 15, 2010)

If yuo decide to filter it make sure you rack it into a clean carboy before filtering . That way you leave alot of sediment behind and don't have to worry about getting it in the filter .


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## xanxer82 (Aug 15, 2010)

You'll want to let it sit in the carboy for a couple of months.
Keep it topped up and the airlock full.
I'd rack it to a clean carboy every few weeks and be careful to not disturb sediment.
It's certainly not ready to bottle yet. The wine needs time. I'm sure Tom is going chime in with the 3 Ps speech.


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## Luc (Aug 15, 2010)

Listen to what Lon says.

Filtering is only for polishing a wine that is already totally clear.
Any clouded wine will clog up those filters.

I never filter.
Just wait and let it clear further.

Most wines clear on their own when given enough time.

Luc


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## jdeere5220 (Aug 16, 2010)

Minnesotamaker said:


> You can test the clarity by putting a bit into a wine glass and looking through it at a light source. Or you can aim a flashlight through the carboy and see how much light gets through. If you can see the beam in the wine, those are all suspended particles.



I also use the flashlight method. For me, it's not so much about how much light gets through because a real heavy full-bodied red might never let a lot of light through even if it's totally clear. To me it's more about how *clear and sharp* the light looks looks through the carboy. If you have a bright flashlight and put it right up against the glass, you should be able to see the light through the carboy. It might be dim, but it should not be fuzzy looking it should be real sharp. Slide the light slowly from top to bottom and it should look exactly the same all the way down. If it looks fuzzy, that's particles hanging in your wine and you need to let those settle out before you bottle. With a little practice you will be able to see the difference.

Thin wines tend to clear faster, and different yeast tends to clear at different rates as well. So don't use a calendar for this, use direct observation.


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