best temp for clearing wine?

[steviepointer]

Hi all,
I've got a carboy of Island Mist Blueberry that I've added clearing agents too.

The directions say for it to sit for 14 days.

What is the best temp for wine to clear at? I've got it sitting in a basement corner. Temp is 61F, and after a few days, I shined a flashlight through it (opposite me). I can barely see the beam from the other side. Very cloudy. Some sediment has dropped out. I guess I would have expected it to be a bit more clear.

I could put a brew belt on it, which would bring it up to 72ish.

Thoughts? Comments?

 

[xanxer82]

Keep it around 70 to 75 and you'll be fine.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

the clearing agent should say what temp is optimal. without any clearing agents, the cooler the temp, the better for settling out. cold stabalization is a good idea (2-4 weeks of ~35-40F) and keeping wine at 50-55F steady will help to clear it up.

 

[djrockinsteve]

I've cleared wine juice (not kits) in warm temps. and cool temps. The cooler temps. seem to need an extra week or so to clear but I'm not in any rush.

I have noticed that those cleared in cooler temps must be degassed. For years my cellar was warm year round and I never had to degass until recently as I air cond. my wine cellar now. It isn't alot but noticable.

 

[steviepointer]

djrockinsteve:
Are you saying you degass after the wine has cleared? if so, how do you do that? do you pull a vacuum?

 

[djrockinsteve]

djrockinsteve:
Are you saying you degass after the wine has cleared? if so, how do you do that? do you pull a vacuum?

Degassing is new to me. I believe I would degass at the end of clearing then bulk age. I degassed a gallon of 6 month old Riesling the other day prior to bottling (24 Hrs later) and
had a small amount. This is when I
discovered that my cooler cellar temps. are
slowing the natural degassing.

I degassed it with a vacuum storage bag pump. I saw a guy on YouTube say he's gonna try a shop vac. I think that's an accident waiting to happen.

 

[cpfan]

Hi all,
I've got a carboy of Island Mist Blueberry that I've added clearing agents too.

The directions say for it to sit for 14 days.

What is the best temp for wine to clear at? I've got it sitting in a basement corner. Temp is 61F, and after a few days, I shined a flashlight through it (opposite me). I can barely see the beam from the other side. Very cloudy. Some sediment has dropped out. I guess I would have expected it to be a bit more clear.

I could put a brew belt on it, which would bring it up to 72ish.

Thoughts? Comments?

Tim V from Winexpert says that 74F is the proper temp for their kits from start to finish.

Temps in that area are definitely better for degassing.

Steve

 

[Torch404]

You really want to degas prior to it clearing, if you are not using fining agents. The gas will keep particles suspended. Wine will hold less gas and it is easier to degas at warm 70+ temperatures. It clears on it own better in colder temperatures. If you are using a fining agent I'd follow their directions, but it is usually advisable to degas before using them as well.

 

[steviepointer]

I did degas by using a stirring rod and a drill. Thanks for checking.

I'm just trying to determine if I should throw a brew belt around the carboy. Without the belt, the carboy temp is around 61-63. If I put the belt on there, it will be around 72-75ish.

I just don't know which temp is better.

 

[Wade E]

Keep the temp up until everything is finished on a kit including degassing and fining. Once all that is done then any semi cool stable temp is fine meaning 55-75*.

 

[Luc]

If you do NOT want to use clearing agents any cold temperature
near freezing is ok to help clearing:

http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2009/02/in-de-kou-out-in-cold.html

Luc

 

[bstnh1]

I keep both reds and whites (kits) around 70° - 72° after degassing & stabilizing and they have always cleared fine. After that, I bulk age in my basement which runs 50° - 65° depending upon the time of year.

 

[Scooter68]

Believe that a proper aging process should include a cool/chilling period and a stable temp period as well. If you make your wine in the spring/summer when room temps are warmer, it has a significant period of time at warmer temps to clear/degas on it's own. Then by aging through the winter (Especially if you have a cool basement) the chilling period can help with some additional clearing. Then when Spring rolls around again and temps warm up, it's time to bottle. (Unless you want to age it in bulk for 2 years.)

At least that's the theory I work from. I prefer to bottle when it's warmer and reduce the potential for pressure differential in bottle caused just by normal house temp swings. (Not all of us have a deep cellar or cool storage area for our bottled wine.) My basement temps can reach 75 in summer so a new (Gassy) wine in that environment has plenty of time to degass itself without any extra work from me. I'd be surprised to learn that a wine held gas for an entire year unless it was kept chilled that long - is that possible?

I've got a batch of Peach the stayed cloudy all through the winter (Fermented out in August of 2017) When basement temps warmed up from (65 in winter) a few weeks ago I racked and treated with Bentonite and it is starting to look like it will be ready to bottle in August 2018