Benonite for clearing after fermentation

[Smok1]

Im familiar with using benonite at the beginning of primary. Im just wondering about the use of using benonite as a clearing agent after a month or two of aging. I have a strawberry rhubarb wine about month or two into the aging process and has cleared very little. I plan on vaccum racking and degassing it agian tonight to make sure Co2 is not the problem. Ive already added KC after secondary fermentation and stabalizing, so i dont want to use it again. finishing sg was 0.992. Smells great, just not clearing. So when using benonite as a clearing agent i dissolve it in a cup of warm water and then mix it into the wine? I also have sparkloid but ive never used it before, ive been told it strips too much out of the wine. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Benonite? Sparkloid? Or just give it a good vacuum degas and give it more time?

 

[GreginND]

Bentonite is best for removing proteins that cause haze in grape wines upon heating. I have never had much luck clearing rhubarb wine with bentonite. I would recommend a gelatin fining. It is quick and does a good job.

 

[Johnd]

No experience with rhubarb, but I frequently use bentonite post fermentation to clear my whites made from grapes. You only need half as much as the prefermentation dose, and I also use a half dose of chitosan at the same time. It's usually clear as a bell in just a few days. The combo handles proteins as well as other negatively and positively charged particles. I keep the packets of both that came with red kits, which I don't use in reds. Just my two cents.

 

[richmke]

Have you tried Pectinase to get rid of the haze?

 

[Smok1]

I added pectic enzymes before i started primary fermentation. Put pectic enzymes in for 24 hours before i pitched the yeast. Is it ok to add after? Im gonna try and vacuum rack again to see how much co2 is still present, i picked up benonite today, so i have benonite, sparkloid, and lots of pectic enzyme on hand.

 

[montanaWineGuy]

Bentonite is some amazing stuff. Great for apple and rhubarb both. I use it after all visible signs of fermentation have stopped.

 

[Smok1]

Bentonite is some amazing stuff. Great for apple and rhubarb both. I use it after all visible signs of fermentation have stopped.

Perfect, because i just started a 40lb apple batch today