# Tannin or pectolase



## douglasj (Apr 20, 2013)

This recipe I'm following calls for pectolase... Local wine supply store says tannin is the same thing? Is this true? What is the difference between the 2?

Just racked from primary to secondary yesterday.. Is there anything else I need to add to this orange/banana/raisin fruit wine after racking to secondary?


----------



## ibglowin (Apr 20, 2013)

Time to find a new home brew store if that is an example of the advice he is handing out. Pectolase is an enzyme that helps break down Pectin. Tannin is a chemical compound that gets extracted from grape skins and oak that adds complexity and finish to a wine.


----------



## Deezil (Apr 20, 2013)

Pectolase is also referred to as Pectic Enzyme, which as Mike pointed out, is different from tannins


----------



## douglasj (Apr 20, 2013)

Great... That is the only supplier within a 1 1/2 drive from me, so I won't follow there advice but ill still have to shop there.

Thanks for all the input all, I'm learning something new everyday.
Doug


----------



## douglasj (Apr 20, 2013)

So.... Do most or all wine recipes call for pectin enzyme? Same goes for tannin?

Is there a basic formula that says with certain types of wine you should use tannin? And is tannin always used in the primary? Or could it be added to the secondary for finishing the wine?
Sorry for these what may be basic questions, but search on the forums did not answer those questions directly


----------



## Ernest T Bass (Apr 21, 2013)

I make fruit wines and use pectin enzyme in all of them. I read somewhere on a forum, I believe it was from Wade, not sure, that it helps to prevent haze.
Semper Fi


----------



## novalou (Apr 21, 2013)

douglasj said:


> So.... Do most or all wine recipes call for pectin enzyme? Same goes for tannin?
> 
> Is there a basic formula that says with certain types of wine you should use tannin? And is tannin always used in the primary? Or could it be added to the secondary for finishing the wine?
> Sorry for these what may be basic questions, but search on the forums did not answer those questions directly



Tannins are added for structure and adds complexity to your wine. Add it before or after fermentation. There is no set amount to add. Either add per recipe or according to your taste.

Any fruit with pectin (think jelly) requires pectic enzyme to break down the pectin in the fruit.


----------



## douglasj (Apr 21, 2013)

"add per recipe or according to your taste."
What taste does the tannin add to the wine? Like extra tannin will give your citrus wine a ______ taste, and less tannin will give your wine a _____ taste.


----------



## Luc (Apr 22, 2013)

Tannin wil give your wine some extra byte.

However in a white wine there will be more acid as in a red wine and therefore one ever uses tannin in a white wine. It is overdoing things and you would not like it. So it is a no-go in a citrus wine.

To see what pectic enzymes do read this:
http://wijnmaker.blogspot.nl/2008/02/het-belang-van-pecto-enzymen-need-for.html

and this
http://wijnmaker.blogspot.nl/2008/01/avonturen-op-het-pecto-pad-deel-2.html

and this
http://www.wijnmaker.blogspot.nl/2011/08/jam-en-pecto-enzymen-jam-and-pectic.html

Luc


----------



## novalou (Apr 22, 2013)

douglasj said:


> "add per recipe or according to your taste."
> What taste does the tannin add to the wine? Like extra tannin will give your citrus wine a ______ taste, and less tannin will give your wine a _____ taste.



Drink a heavy red like a Merlot then a light bodied red like a Pinot Noir. The Merlot will have more tannins.

Tannins will give "bite" as others have said, but is a bit different than an acidic bite.

For a citrus wine, I'd start with a 1/4 tsp of tannin powder per gallon and see what it does for taste.
Scale it down if you do a small sample.


----------



## douglasj (Apr 22, 2013)

Luc, those were excellent articles and some of the other article I found there were also very informative, thanks for those,I really appreciated them.

I guess I'm going to have go out and buy some different types of wines for testing/sampling purposes, my wife is the big wine fan here, I like my wines sweet and fruity, her... Not so much.

I found out last night that a search on this forum from my pc, was a lot better than a search from my ipad app, for some reason....... Anyone else seen this?


----------

