Aged Oak - red

[Amberg]

I've been aging red wine with oak spirals - but now am wondering - should I be running the wine thru filter before aging or after it sits for 6 months.

 

[StBlGT]

for a red, no, i wouldn't filter it at all. maybe for a white or rose....otherwise, not needed.

 

[Bodenski]

I'm not sure every wine needs to be filtered, unless you are trying to do something specific to it (like sterile filtering before back-sweetening). I know they say that red wines can lose something if they are filtered, so it would be a thing of last resort I imagine. I wouldn't do it before aging, and if it's clear enough at the end of that time then you probably don't need to filter at all. And I'd be leery of filtering a red wine.

 

[Ajmassa]

I was forced to filter a red that was aging due to bacteria growth. In this case the juice was definitely worth the squeeze as they say. But after filtering through a plate filter with rough pads (2-7 microns) and also medium (1-4) I was blown away by how much color I lost. And was even lighter than the picture suggests.

 

[Johny99]

Thanks AJ. I've always been curious. I let time settle my reds and don't mind a bit of sediment. Your example makes me think I'll stick with that, until my wife complains of course!

 

[Ajmassa]

I should note that I'm not very experienced with this to give advice. Just showing what I've done. This was the 1st and only time I've filtered. And found out after I was done that I should have stopped after going through the rough pads. The mediums were not needed for reds. (I went overboard because of said bacteria)

 

[Boatboy24]

I don't usually filter my reds, but will on occasion. When I do, I use a 5 micron filter and don't feel like I lose any color. That said, I'm pretty sure commercial wineries sterile filter all their wines and I'm pretty sure they don't have issues with color loss either.

 

[Ajmassa]

I don't usually filter my reds, but will on occasion. When I do, I use a 5 micron filter and don't feel like I lose any color. That said, I'm pretty sure commercial wineries sterile filter all their wines and I'm pretty sure they don't have issues with color loss either.

Maybe it was the wine type that was filtered then. California juice batch Muscat: Alicante blend. 2:1. Though it blends darker than you'd think.