Best fining agent to use?

[Kimmij]

Made my first from scratch wine. An apple wine, used bentonite for fining. It was difficult to incorporate and seemed to make my wine muddled. I always filter my wine before bottling, so I was told I needed a fining agent. Any suggestions on what would be best to use in the future?

 

[jamesngalveston]

I have a very elaborate filter system..used it twice...stripped the wine flavor in my opinion.
bentonite is great to use after u have an active fermentation but its not a real good clearing agent in the secondary.
there is sparkaloid which is kinda weird, you have to cook it.
then there is super kleer...easy to use, clears fast as hell, does not strip the color and does not alter the taste.

 

[novalou]

I have a very elaborate filter system..used it twice...stripped the wine flavor in my opinion. bentonite is great to use after u have an active fermentation but its not a real good clearing agent in the secondary. there is sparkaloid which is kinda weird, you have to cook it. then there is super kleer...easy to use, clears fast as hell, does not strip the color and does not alter the taste.

+1 on Super Kleet. Works great!

 

[Rocky]

I will tell you guys and gals, I have used bentonite, kieselsol, chitosan and isinglass. I have not used Super Kleer but I believe it is just a pre-package of Kieselsol and Chitosan. For me, nothing clears like Sparkolloid. It takes a little more work (boil water, add the Sparkolloid, stir and wait 4 minutes) but that is fine for me considering the results.

 

[Tess]

+1 on Super Kleet. Works great!

Super Kleet?? LMAO....Your as bad as me!!

 

[Tess]

I have a very elaborate filter system..used it twice...stripped the wine flavor in my opinion.
bentonite is great to use after u have an active fermentation but its not a real good clearing agent in the secondary.
there is sparkaloid which is kinda weird, you have to cook it.
then there is super kleer...easy to use, clears fast as hell, does not strip the color and does not alter the taste.

Iv heard this. This is why I have no desire to filter my wine unless I broke my hydrometer in it. the filtering part anyway lol

 

[LoneStarLori]

Super Kleer girl here. But Rocky is right. It's just pre-packaged Kieselsol and Chitosan.

 

[Tess]

If your a kit person you learn the kit way....Which is the best way if you ask me!! Im new and I will always use the kit way!!

 

[Tess]

Until it comes to dragons blood or any type there off LMAO!!

 

[Pumpkinman]

I only fine my white and rose" wines, the reds, I let time and a few rackings do the job, but when I do I agree with Rocky, I like the results that I've gotten with Sparkolloid.

 

[Tess]

If its a kit I follow the directions!!!

 

[LoveTheWine]

Superkleer, bentonite, egg whites, etc.. all work great.
You need to fine based on what is making your wine cloudy.
If it is a red wine and very tannic then egg whites or gelatin work well.
If it is a protein haze, superKleer works great. Benonite/Sparkolloid is usually used with white and fruit wines.

 

[Kimmij]

Thanks. I have only done kits in the past and followed directions with good result. This is my first from scratch attempt. I like filtering kits, it seems to mellow without taking away taste, but not sure what it will do with this hard fruit wine. Will let you know in about 4 months

 

[Zog]

I've made many batches of apple cider wine over the past few years. SuperKleer always worked perfect for me. I haven't needed to filter the wine.

In the very beginning I had trouble with pectin haze. But now I know to be liberal with pectic enzyme and to never pasteurize the cider before fermenting.

I tried Sparkolloid on a batch of pear wine this fall. It only cleared the top few inches of the carboy. After I couple weeks I added SuperKleer and it cleared it up in a day.

 

[Fabiola]

Definitely Super-Kleer