Cloudy wine!

[Stephbain38]

Hi all!!

I checked my wine today and it was completely clear... cleaned all my bottles ready, put in my filter to bottle it, half filled a bottle and the wine was really cloudy... what have I done wrong? If I have knocked the sediment at the bottom will it clear up if I leave it for a few days? Or should I order some bentonite just in case?

Many thanks

 

[hounddawg]

yes it will settle with time, most will let bulk age for 3 months between racking's, some less time,,
everyone finds what suits them best,
Dawg

 

[Stephbain38]

yes it will settle with time, most will let bulk age for 3 months between racking's, some less time,,
everyone finds what suits them best,
Dawg

OK, I know I should be patient but I wanted to bottle for Xmas and give away as gifts... plus drink some myself obviously would it be OK to us the bentonite to help clear it?

 

[Hazelemere]

Hi all!!

I checked my wine today and it was completely clear... cleaned all my bottles ready, put in my filter to bottle it, half filled a bottle and the wine was really cloudy... what have I done wrong? If I have knocked the sediment at the bottom will it clear up if I leave it for a few days? Or should I order some bentonite just in case?

Many thanks

sounds like protein haze from wine warming up. You can refilter it and/or bentonite it. Bentonite will strip all of the sulphite.

 

[Stephbain38]

sounds like protein haze from wine warming up. You can refilter it and/or bentonite it. Bentonite will strip all of the sulphite.

OK thank you! I have ordered some bentonite which should be here next week so I'll drop the temp in the room where the wine is to help it along and if it hasn't cleared up in a few days then I'll use the bentonite.

Thanks again!

 

[Hazelemere]

OK thank you! I have ordered some bentonite which should be here next week so I'll drop the temp in the room where the wine is to help it along and if it hasn't cleared up in a few days then I'll use the bentonite.

Thanks again!

warming it up may clear it without bentonite i.e. protein precipitates when it warms up and not when it is cold

 

[Stephbain38]

warming it up may clear it without bentonite i.e. protein precipitates when it warms up and not when it is cold

Oh, OK.. I had read to leave it at a cooler temp but will crank back up the heating then.. thank you

 

[Hazelemere]

Oh, OK.. I had read to leave it at a cooler temp but will crank back up the heating then.. thank you

It may take a couple of weeks for the protein to precipitate and finally settle.

 

[Stephbain38]

Ahh... I think I will probably opt for the bentonite then as I want to bottle for Xmas

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Be careful when you siphon to bottle. easy to get wispy sediment stirred up then you have sediment in your bottles. I will often rack before I bottle making not to get siphon too low and leave the bottom 1/3 of carboy for personal use so I don’t have to worry about siphoning anything unwanted into the bottles.

 

[Stephbain38]

Be careful when you siphon to bottle. easy to get wispy sediment stirred up then you have sediment in your bottles. I will often rack before I bottle making not to get siphon too low and leave the bottom 1/3 of carboy for personal use so I don’t have to worry about siphoning anything unwanted into the bottles.

Thank you!!

I guess I figured that out today!! I still can't believe I actually did it. Not a mistake I will make again. This is a wine kit I've used and its my first time making wine and there's no need to siphon Into a separate container but I now think it's probably the better choice to do this.

Thank again!

 

[Rice_Guy]

Oh, OK.. I had read to leave it at a cooler temp but will crank back up the heating then.. thank you

If it is a protein haze it will naturally settle, BUT will not melt mack into solution. Bentonite is the tool for impatient folks. Protein hazes very small and the particles are uniform.
If it was lees on the bottom, ,,, I see that on the last bottle off of a carboy since I lower the tubing as I pull more out. Another trick I do is to put the carboy on a wedge and siphon off the deep side. Normal would be larger particulate (floculated yeast) or a variety of shapes.

 

[Stephbain38]

If it is a protein haze it will naturally settle, BUT will not melt mack into solution. Bentonite is the tool for impatient folks. Protein hazes very small and the particles are uniform.
If it was lees on the bottom, ,,, I see that on the last bottle off of a carboy since I lower the tubing as I pull more out. Another trick I do is to put the carboy on a wedge and siphon off the deep side. Normal would be larger particulate (floculated yeast) or a variety of shapes.

OK... now you've lost me altogether! that all sounds a bit advanced for me just yet, but I do understand you keeping it at an angle to siphon off

 

[Jovimaple]

My process for kits is to ferment in a bucket covered by a towel (1 to 2 weeks), then rack to a carboy for aging/clearing (at least a month or so), then rack the cleared wine back to my primary fermenting bucket at bottling time, being careful to not stir up the lees as I rack into the bucket. This also allows me to easily mix in the dose of kmeta I use at bottling time. Then I bottle directly from the bucket. Like @FlamingoEmporium , I save whatever is leftover in the carboy for personal use - I transfer it to a smaller container and put it in the fridge for the lees to settle again before hubby and I drink it.

I added that last step of racking into a bucket at bottling time to avoid stirring up the lees while bottling.

This is the same process I use for all my wines, except I may rack a couple more times and age in carboys longer for non-kit wines.

 

[Stephbain38]

My process for kits is to ferment in a bucket covered by a towel (1 to 2 weeks), then rack to a carboy for aging/clearing (at least a month or so), then rack the cleared wine back to my primary fermenting bucket at bottling time, being careful to not stir up the lees as I rack into the bucket. This also allows me to easily mix in the dose of kmeta I use at bottling time. Then I bottle directly from the bucket. Like @FlamingoEmporium , I save whatever is leftover in the carboy for personal use - I transfer it to a smaller container and put it in the fridge for the lees to settle again before hubby and I drink it.

I added that last step of racking into a bucket at bottling time to avoid stirring up the lees while bottling.

This is the same process I use for all my wines, except I may rack a couple more times and age in carboys longer for non-kit wines.

Thank you!!!

I really appreciate your response, all info helps at the moment. I have checked it this morning and its as clear as it can be.. I must have either knocked up a small amount of sediment or it came out of the siphon to fast. So I've bottled this morning and held the siphon close to the side of the bottle to stop it spraying and once the siphon was in full flow it came out fine. I'm really pleased as I wanted to bottle before Xmas to give away as Xmas gifts

 

[BigDaveK]

You got a lot of great advice here, @Stephbain38.
I have an angled base for racking to keep the carboy tipped. I find it more stable and secure than a wedge. I wanted to add that I put the carboys in place for racking the day before. Most lees seem to be "heavy" but every now and then it seems just looking at them gets a swirl going.

 

[Stephbain38]

You got a lot of great advice here, @Stephbain38.
I have an angled base for racking to keep the carboy tipped. I find it more stable and secure than a wedge. I wanted to add that I put the carboys in place for racking the day before. Most lees seem to be "heavy" but every now and then it seems just looking at them gets a swirl going.

I most definitely have BigDaveK and I'm very grateful to everyone who took the time to respond and give me some advice. I have had nothing but great advice in the short time I have been on this site and can't thank everyone enough for their kind help. I'm sure one day I may be able to pay it forward and help someone new to the site like I currently am.

Steph