WineXpert Austrian Gruner Veltliner

[homer]

About 4 weeks into the secondary and according to instructions you're not suppose to rack but stir everything back into suspension and add the goo that comes with the kit to clear. My question is it's clear now why can't I just rack and stabilize it? I'll probably age it for a few months and filter before bottling. Is adding clarifier ever necessary if it's not needed and your patient? bk

 

[ibglowin]

Are you saying you've had this wine in secondary for 4 weeks? Or its been 4 weeks total since you pitched the yeast? Have you degassed it yet? If so you need to get the wine stabilized ASAP. This is a white wine that will turn brown within weeks if it gets enough air and there is no Sulfite to protect it. If its still sitting on the gross lees, get them off, degas and add your Sulfite ASAP. Fining agents are a personal thing, if you have made enough kits and think the wine is clear enough for you then you don't have to add them.

Fining agents as well as the Sorbate are optional (as long as the wine is fermented to dry). Sulfite is not.

 

[homer]

Racked, So2'd, and added about half the package of Sorbate that came with the kit, which leads me to the next question. No back sweetening, who uses sorbate, how much and in what kind of wine. bk

 

[ibglowin]

Its included as an insurance policy. Just incase you didn't ferment all the way to dry and there was some residual sugar left hanging around when you bottled.

Sorbate only really needs to be added if you backsweeten or have a kit with a "flavour reserve" pack which has sugar in it.

You can leave it out if your wine was fermented to dry (0.998) or less.

Racked, So2'd, and added about half the package of Sorbate that came with the kit, which leads me to the next question. No back sweetening, who uses sorbate, how much and in what kind of wine. bk

 

[wineh]

About 4 weeks into the secondary and according to instructions you're not suppose to rack but stir everything back into suspension and add the goo that comes with the kit to clear. My question is it's clear now why can't I just rack and stabilize it? I'll probably age it for a few months and filter before bottling. Is adding clarifier ever necessary if it's not needed and your patient? bk

My advice with the WE kits is follow that instruction religiously. Degassing/stabilizing/clarifying with the sediment is what makes their kits clear almost perfectly.