Clarifying White (Sauv Blanc)

[Spikedlemon]

I've a carboy of Sauvingnon Blanc that's now about 8+ weeks old in carboy that's not clearly nicely.

It's not that I'm not getting a good layer of sediment (which I am) and not that I've not added clarifiers (I've done both bentonite and hot sparkeloid) and, from talking with the vineyard on recommendations, they had suggested adding the sparkeloid immediately before cold stabilizing (to use the tartaric crystals to hold down the loose lees).

I pulled it out of my cold cellar (after it spending some time in there) and racked it in hopes that it might be CO2 affecting the drop rate. The tartaric crystals did, indeed, hold down the lees very well (and I had quite a collection of them in the sink) but the wine is still very cloudy. I've put it back into the cold cellar for now.

Any recommendations?

My next steps will be to let it warm up and add chitosan and kieselsol combination this weekend.


... I know the adage about age but the Sauv was picked to be a quick turnaround for the missus to have it in the bottle by the holidays (to age further or consume young).

 

[Boatboy24]

Did you add any fresh or dried fruit to this? Seeing that you've already used Bentonite and Sparkalloid, my first thought is that you have a pectin haze. Unless, as you mentioned, there is residual CO2 holding things up.

 

[Spikedlemon]

No, no fruit was added to the juice/wine during fermentation. This was purely Sauv Blanc juice.

If it is CO2: then a warm-up should help and I should be able to identify it as a culprit quickly. I think I'll pull it out of the cold cellar tomorrow.

 

[ceeaton]

Do you have a brewbelt you can warm that up a little quicker with when you bring it inside? Just worried that if you do have to resort to the chitosan and kieselsol, you'll be getting real close to Christmas and might get some sediment after you bottle it. I've given up on using the Sparkoloid, seems to not work as well as the chitosan and kieselsol one two punch. I also have more problems of sediment in the bottle when I use the Sparkoloid.

 

[Spikedlemon]

I don't. But my 'brew room' is fairly warm now that I finished some renos; I could use a small heater to kick it up a notch.
If I go the chit/kies route: I will try to bottle as late as possible.

I want to let it chill tonight in case it's still precipitating tartaric crystals.

 

[Boatboy24]

I'm worried that no matter what you use to clarify, 2-ish weeks is really pushing it - especially if you have a pectin haze.

 

[ceeaton]

I'm worried that no matter what you use to clarify, 2-ish weeks is really pushing it - especially if you have a pectin haze.

Yea, I just had a Pinot Grigio, that I gave two weeks after adding chitosan and kieselsol, racked, eventually racked again with AIO, just racked again tonight and still had some sediment (cloudiness) showing up in the "dregs" of what the AIO didn't pick up with the racking cane. From initially adding the chitosan and kieselsol till tonights racking has been 6 weeks. I'm waiting another few weeks and a few more AIO degassing rackings till I bottle after New Years. It had been cold stabilizing in the garage after racking off the c & k sediment.

 

[Spikedlemon]

Lovely.
Well... it'll be done when it's done and not before I suppose. I'll do what makes sense to move it along.

 

[joeswine]

if you're dealing with fresh juice and you've added the clearing agents ,then you need to place it back in the cold wrap it with a bath towels and walk away,just walk away come back after the first of the year.time is your friend,heavy solids can be a good thing for wine just walk Away no more chemistry,walk away.JP
.

 

[terrymck]

Stop moving it! White wine has very fine lees. It would be powder if allowed to dry. Everytime you move it the finest lees go back into solution and become difficult to settle. White wine usually clears quickly but moving it substantially increases the time.

 

[Spikedlemon]

Stop moving it!

White wine usually clears quickly but moving it substantially increases the time.

... we all learn that lesson quickly with whites. (Reds are much more tolerant as we don't see it)

For me: it was the first time I tried to bottle a 'white' wine. I still have some 'floaties' in my lemonwine (skeeterpee)

 

[dallase]

... we all learn that lesson quickly with whites. (Reds are much more tolerant as we don't see it)

For me: it was the first time I tried to bottle a 'white' wine. I still have some 'floaties' in my lemonwine (skeeterpee)

Since I stopped using bentonite
and sparkaloid and switched to keiselsol and chitosan, all of my clarifying and floaties have gone away.

 

[Spikedlemon]

I chose to do nothing. I racked about two weeks ago, nothing dropped after letting it sit another week and it was beautifully clear, I decided to bottle. Of course, within a week in the bottle my wife points out some sediment. I suspect the unwritten notes from the vineyard instructions on timing were that it should have been filtered once clear.

Welp. Such is un-filtered wine I suppose.

 

[dallase]

Welp. Such is un-filtered wine I suppose.

Not sure that is 100% true. I passed my sand plum (which was previously benonite'd and sparkaloid'd) through a 5 micro filter, waited a week or two and rebottled. Floaties re-appeared within days.

Really I prefer to not filter at all... its been a long time since I've had to. I've done a dozen or more batches since that sandplum and I've used chitosan and keisolsol, and no more floaties.