cold stabilizing

[fivebk]

What should I use as a guideline to determine whether a certain wine should be cold stabilized or should all wines be cold stabilized. I have a dandelion wine that I bulk aged for six months and then filtered before bottling . The wine is sparkling clear but after storing it in a closet that has got rather cold this winter I have some small crystals in the bottles

Please help me understand this process so I can correct this in the future.

Thanks

BOB

 

[grapeman]

Sorry I didn't see this this AM- and it got overlooked as no longer an active topic since last viewing.


Almost all whites benefit from cold stabilizing. What happens is that most wines will contain a certain amount of tartaric acid. Unless precipitated out through cold stabilization, almost all wines will have them. So you normally cool a white wine before serving. If not cold stabilized to get rid of most of the tartaric acid, it will drop out and give you the crystals in the bottom of your bottle. If only refrigerated for a few hours, it doesn't normally happen, but if you store in the cool, it will drop quite a bit. For this reason, I normally will CS all whites.


Also if you have any fruity wines or even fruity reds, CS them isn't going to hurt anything either.


Really to do it, all you need to do is put the carboy in a cold place from 20-40 degrees F for two to four weeks (colder=shorter, warmer=longer). That will drop the acid and you just rack off that and filter if you wish and you are all done. There are a few minor things you can do also, but they really aren't necessary so I won't even go into that.


Hope that clears it up a bit for you. Did you ever see this picture from a few years ago?

http://forum.finevinewines.com//forum_posts.asp?TID=1474&PN=44

 

[fivebk]

No I had not. Thanks for the help

BOB

 

[robie]

What's the big deal about a few corn flakes?

 

[grapeman]

That half cup of "corn flakes" came out of a 3 gallon carboy. I agree, they do look like cornflakes in there, but don't taste quite as good.

 

[Wade E]

Looks like it needs 2 Scoops!

 

[Runningwolf]

A little bit of milk and some strawberries and we're good to go!

 

[AlFulchino]

Bob...thanks for teaching me something...i saw your post last night...started to answer and then saw it was dandelion wine...which i know NOTHING about....so i refrained...but i now know that dandelion can also be CS'ed for the very same acid crystals

 

[fivebk]

The crystals are very small and only 3-5 per bottle. Since this was the first wine that I filtered you can probably imagine the look on my face and probably heard a few choice words because I expected to have filtered everything out. I guess you learn something everyday. I then decided that I was being too hard on myself (of course everyone wants their wines to come out perfect). The wine is super sparkling clear and tastes pretty darn good!! In the long run isn't that what we all want?

BOB

 

[grapeman]

Nothing at all wrong with that wine. If there are a few crystals, who cares. It is yours to drink. Just leave the last little bit in the bottle and enjoy the rest. I have filtered down to 1 micron before and still gotten some crystals even after cold stabilizing for months. Every wine will be different, so don't beat yourself up!

 

[Wild Duk]

I'm about to bottle a batch of EP Sav. Blanc. If I add the metatartaric acid, do I need to cold stabilize. Or, I can do both...

 

[grapeman]

I would not add that unless you can cold stabilize to have it drop out. It isn't like a fining agent. It binds with acids and then really needs the cold to drop out of the wine.

 

[Wade E]

That stuff is what actually what stops it from falling out so cold stabilize it if you can. I used the metatartaric on my Amarone and 6 months later I had diamonds in my bottles anyway. The next time I make it I will cold stabilize.

 

[Wild Duk]

I've got my wine sitting in my beer fridge now at about 37 degrees. I haven't seen anything drop yet, but its only been about a week.


When I go to bottle it, do I need to let the wine warm back up, or can I just bottle it cold?


Thx

 

[PeterZ]

As long as it is fully degassed you can bottle it cold.

 

[Wild Duk]

I warmed it up and degassed it before I threw it in the fridge, just to make sure there was none left. It was degassed prior to bulk aging.
There was pretty much no gas coming out, then I added 1/4 tsp of K-meta, and threw the brake pump back on for kicks, and all of the sudden what looked like CO2 was bubbling up....It only did this for a minute or two.


Does K-Meta add CO2, or was somehting else going on in there??????

 

[AlFulchino]

my opinion only......i would prefer to bottle at temps well above the 37 you mentioned.....55 minimum.....but prefer 58-68

i think that at 37 you would have to acknowledge some expansion when you take it to a bottle storage area which should be warmer..secondly, i think the last thing to do before bottling is degassing....so w that said you should already be at a warmer temp before bottling than 37

 

[grapeman]

IThere was pretty much no gas coming out, then I added 1/4 tsp of K-meta, and threw the brake pump back on for kicks, and all of the sudden what looked like CO2 was bubbling up....It only did this for a minute or two.


Does K-Meta add CO2, or was somehting else going on in there??????

Don't use the break vacuum on it after adding the k-meta like that. The k-meta forms S02 gases to protect the wine and what bubbles you were drawing out were likely the S02 you just added. Degas, then add the k-meta.

 

[Wild Duk]

Gotcha.....


So did I just draw all the SO2 gass out by doing that. Should I add more K-meta or just bottle it up....

 

[robie]

Appleman,

What you say makes sense about possibly stirring out the SO2, if it is added before degassing.

I just went back and reviewed that last 6 kits I have done. The instructions for WE (1) and RJS (3, includes an EP) both said to add the KMeta and sorbate, then degas. The MM (1) and Cellar Craft (1) said to degas, then add KMeta and sorbate.

I wonder why the inconsistency? This sounds pretty important to me.