Cleaning new/used bottles and sanitation

[Joseph1]

Lynn,<?amespace prefix = o ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />

This is quite a puzzle. Your bottle preparation procedures seem fine and shouldn’t be causing the problem. Do you notice the fall-out in all of the bottles in the batch or only some?

In addition to the Green Apple Riesling, you indicate you had the same problem with a Blackberry. Was wine conditioner also used on the Blackberry? Have you had this problem in other wines you have made? Prior to filtering, did you rack to a clean carboy containing the wine conditioner?

At the point in the kit instruction where it indicates you can bottle, I rack to a sanitized carboy. The wine will remain in the carboy at least 2 months before I filter. This provides additional time for any sediment to drop out. When I filter, I put the intake only about halfway into the carboy and lower it as the level drops. This avoids stirring up any fine lees that have settled.

Did you run water through your filter before filtering the wine? I usually run about 3 gallons of cold water through the filter first. This would remove any dust that might be on the filter pads. I also use only the #2 filter pads, but these will still allow some of the finings, yeast cells and other substances through.
I hope you are able to solve this puzzle.

 

[TNFISHRMAN]

Joseph,


Fallout was in all the bottles. No wine conditioner was used in the Blackberry. These were the only wines that have done this so far. I did not rack into a carboy prior to filtering. I filtered through #2 pads into a bucket with a spigot and added the conditioner, then I bottled.


One thing about filtering I always clean the plates with sulphite solution and rinse, thensoak the pads in sulphite solution for a minute before placing them in the press. Could this be a problem?


So far with the kits I have bottles when it said to rack into a clean carboy. From now on I will Rack then let settle additional time.

 

[Hippie]

Lynn, you should read the instructions that came with your Mini-Jet again and follow them to the letter. The pads are to be soaked inplainwater and not touching each other for 5 minutes. This is only to get the air out of them.Sanitizing the plates and other wine contact surfaces is fine. You run the filter until the water is gone from the pads, then put the hose into the recieving carboy. Do not shut the pump off until you are done filtering.

 

[TNFISHRMAN]

Hippie, I do follow them (the directions for the mini jet)to the letter. They do not mention anything about not sanitizing the pads with sulphite solution. They only say to let them soak for a minute without touching. You are not supposed to let the pump run dry so you take the discharge hose and place in sink or an empty container to let it catch the first little bit that has water in it. Then place hose into the receiving Carboy.

I am beginning to get a complex I have been told to follow the directions and instructions so many times its not funny. I always follow the instructions for anything that I am doing. I always look over the filter pump manual before using and read recipe and wine kit instructions several times at each step to make sure that I am doing things correctly. I have a lot of questions because this is all new to me.

 

[Hippie]

Lynn, please ask all the questions you want, they are all very welcome.


What I was getting at about the Mini-Jet instructions is that they do not say to soak the filter pads in sulphite solution, only plain water. So, if you are soaking them in sulphite solution, you are not following the instructions as you say. The plain water is only to get the air out of the pads. No need to sanitize them.


Are we still friends?

 

[TNFISHRMAN]

Lord yes, we're still friends!!!! I consider you one of my bestest wine making buddies. I was honestly beggining to get a complex though. Everytime I had a problem someone would say follow or read the instructions and I was.

I really didn't think that the sulphite solution would hurt with the pads because it was mainly water. I can't help it I am a clean freak! I was shown to do that by a friend who started me out in the wine making hobby. Could that be a problem because of having too much sulphite in the wine when it is racked to a clean carboy or getting bottled? Would this possibly cause clearing problems? Again thanks Hippie!!

 

[Hippie]

Who knows what is causing the clearing problems, but there must be a reason the instructions say to use plain water for soaking the pads. Commercial winemakers and some hobbyists who use other brands of plate-and-pad filters usually use a sulphite and citric acid solution to prepare the filter pads. With some large machines, they run the solution through between batches of wine and dont change the filters until they are clogged.

 

[Joseph1]

Lynn,<?amespace prefix = o ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />

Since I wasn’t there, I can only speculate as to the cause of the fallout. I believe that filtering the wine while there were lees at the bottom of the carboy may be the source of the problem. The few weeks that would have elapsed between the last racking and filtering would not have allowed the lees to become very compact.

The filtering action likely disturbed the sediment and the smaller particles would have passed through the filter pads and were mixed in your receiving vessel. Some fining, some yeast cells and 3 to 5 days in the bottle and you have sediment. The wine could have been perfectly clear before filtering.

In another thread I think you mentioned you have since filtered with the #3 pads and so far so good. I believe your plan to rack and let things settle before filtering is a good plan.

I doubt that soaking the pads in a sulfite solution would have caused the problem. I soak the pads in a citric acid/sulfite solution then run 3 gallons of cold water through the filter before filtering the wine. Am I doing more than is necessary? Perhaps so, but I am comfortable with the additional precautions since I do not know the quality controls in handling and packaging the filter pads. Most all the literature I have read on winemaking, except the instructions for the mini-jet, admonish the winemaker to sanitize all equipment that comes in contact with the wine.
As you gain experience, you will find that different winemakers have different procedures for the same process. Neither is wrong, they are just different. You choose the procedure you are comfortable with and change when something different makes sense to you. Wine is pretty forgiving of us mortals.

 

[TNFISHRMAN]

Thanks for your insight Joseph! I appreciate it. It has now been 3 days since bottling the Green Apple and all is well. So far so good!!