Bentonite

Papa Giorgio · Oct 1, 2020

Hi all
I have two 6gal. of juice I added yeast to. Last year My juice came with bentonite. This year just the yeast. I know it is a clarifying agent. Do I need to purchase this on my own or will time clear it up? Anything I can make at home? Also. If I do choose to get it can I add it at any time? Just unsure if it is necessary. Thanks in advance for any help.

joeswine · Oct 1, 2020

Hi papa Giorgio, the Bentonite does two things first is a clearing agent and helps start that process in the primary {dissolved in 2 cups of hot water}, secondly it also helps yeast that drifts to the bottom of the fermenter to escape and flow upward.
Best used in the primary but can be used in the secondary as well. I wouldn't.

cuz · Oct 1, 2020

Joeswine, I have started winemaking a couple of years ago with pasteurized juice. Since then I also started getting fresh juice. My distributor sells both Festa pasteurized and fresh juice. In the past I have followed the Festa instructions for pasteurized juice for my fresh juice as well. Today my distributor told me there is no need for bentonite when using fresh juice. I have enclosed their instructions. It seems like they are putting the bentonite in the secondary - if I understand that correctly. So that brings up some other questions about primary and secondary.

1) Is any clearing agent recommended for fresh juice. (I'm pretty sure my grandfather did not add a clearing agent into his barrel).

2) With Festa pasteurized - after one week when the SG is about 1 the wine is racked. Is this the same rule for fresh juice? Is that considered the primary?

3) Then the wine is racked and sits for another week until the SG is .99. I think that is the secondary. When the SG hits .99 they add the bentonite and Kmeta. When should the Kmeta be added?

Joe is saying the bentonite might benefit the primary in fresh juice. I get the feeling that Festa includes bentonite more of a marketing tool because they say in the instructions that after 6 weeks after the secondary the wine can be bottled.

So back to the original question. Do the enclosed instructions apply to fresh juice?

If not any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

joeswine · Oct 1, 2020

What their doing is making sure the wine is clear before bottling by adding it in the end.got?.

cuz · Oct 1, 2020

yeah I know but why use it in pasteurized and not in fresh juice. One would think that the pasteurized is much cleaner.

joeswine · Oct 2, 2020

Use in both , it's a precaution that's all don't overthink it. At least that's my oppion.

cuz · Oct 26, 2020

I learned something new today about bentonite. There are two kinds - calcium and sodium bentonite. Now I'm not sure if that determines the color or color is determined by where it comes from. Tonight I used a tan color bentonite that comes with my juice pail and a grey color bentonite. The tan color dissolved much better - no clumps at all. I mixed both in boiling water. The grey one was a mess. Not sure how to order a light color bentonite but I bet the lighter the color the easier it is to dissolve. Or maybe one is sodium and one is calcium. Regardless not all bentonite is terrible to work with.