Other Finer Wine Kits new process white wines

[Rocky]

Here are some pictures on the Muscat from this morning. There is still a haze but there is also hope. In the second shot, note the clear band of about 2" at the top. The pegboard behind the wine can be discerned.





Still need to assess the taste, but the appearance is improving.

 

[winemaker81]

@Rocky, my old-version Chardonnay cleared very slowly. I'm used to dropping in the K&C and having stuff drop like a rock. That wine took a week, so I'm not surprised yours is clearing a bit slowly.

My niece's SB was racked & fined last Saturday. A lot of haziness dropped within a couple of days, and the wine is still clearing from the top down. She racks again in 1.5 weeks, and we'll have a better idea of color at that time. Her wine is picture here, as of this morning:

 

[Rocky]

@Rocky, my old-version Chardonnay cleared very slowly. I'm used to dropping in the K&C and having stuff drop like a rock. That wine took a week, so I'm not surprised yours is clearing a bit slowly.

My niece's SB was racked & fined last Saturday. A lot of haziness dropped within a couple of days, and the wine is still clearing from the top down. She racks again in 1.5 weeks, and we'll have a better idea of color at that time.

View attachment 86994

Which wine is pictured here?

 

[winemaker81]

Which wine is pictured here?

The picture in my last post is my niece's SB. I updated the post to indicate this.

EDIT: She says the wine smells yeasty, but it definitely smells like SB.

Note: although she helped her dad with bottling, this is her first time making wine. She and her husband are having a grand 'ole time!

 

[Rocky]

The picture in my last post is my niece's SB. I updated the post to indicate this.

EDIT: She says the wine smells yeasty, but it definitely smells like SB.

Note: although she helped her dad with bottling, this is her first time making wine. She and her husband are having a grand 'ole time!

Bryan, you might caution her when she racks this wine that the sediment appears to be a light gray color and it is on top. Underneath, if it is anything like mine, will be a black tar-like sediment that takes some work to clean.

 

[winemaker81]

Bryan, you might caution her when she racks this wine that the sediment appears to be a light gray color and it is on top. Underneath, if it is anything like mine, will be a black tar-like sediment that takes some work to clean.

Thanks for the tip -- I'll pass it along!

 

[Kross]

Attached is a photo of my FW Chardonnay after one week of being racked. I put a white towel behind it. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m not feeling that confident that the carbon addition is making the wine lighter in color.

 

[Rocky]

Attached is a photo of my FW Chardonnay after one week of being racked. I put a white towel behind it. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m not feeling that confident that the carbon addition is making the wine lighter in color.

Have you hit it with the K and C? I had to use two applications of K and C and the wine seems to be clearing very slowly and moving to a more characteristic color. Mine is a Muscat and here is a picture from today. It is clearing nicely at the top (note the white pegboard behind it).

 

[Kross]

Have you hit it with the K and C? I had to use two applications of K and C and the wine seems to be clearing very slowly and moving to a more characteristic color. Mine is a Muscat and here is a picture from today. It is clearing nicely at the top (note the white pegboard behind it).

View attachment 87025

Yes I used K and C a week ago, but I didn’t double it.

 

[Old Corker]

Have you hit it with the K and C? I had to use two applications of K and C and the wine seems to be clearing very slowly and moving to a more characteristic color. Mine is a Muscat and here is a picture from today. It is clearing nicely at the top (note the white pegboard behind it).

Am I seeing that right? If so, I’ve never seen such a distinct line between clear and still clearing wine in a carboy

 

[winemaker81]

The clear line between clear/not clear wine is my not expected result with K&C, but I experienced it with the pre-carbon Chardonnay and Riesling. From the pictures she sent, my niece's post-carbon SB did the same thing. Odd, but apparently a version of normal.

I'm wondering if this concentrate process has lighter particles (don't sink as fast), or if they are not as attracted to the positive/negative ions for some reason, so the clearing is slowed down. It's entirely possible this IS normal behavior, but in other wines it happens faster so we don't notice it.

 

[Rocky]

Phil, I may have misled you. The carboy is not full. That is empty space above what you labeled "clear above this" and below what you labeled "top of wine." The actual top of the wine is what you called "clear above this," and the clearing I refer to is the next 3 or so inches below that.

 

[Matteo_Lahm]

Hello everyone! Hope everyone is having a great week. Just an FYI, because of when the carbon is added, it does not strip out flavor and aroma. That only happens when it’s used after fermentation. Only about 15% of the Turpines remain after primary anyway. And just to reiterate why our whites brown and traditional kits don’t, it’s relative to an enzyme that becomes neutralized during secondary pasteurization. Hope this helps. The photos look good!
Matteo

 

[Swedeman]

Just an FYI, because of when the carbon is added, it does not strip out flavor and aroma. That only happens when it’s used after fermentation.

That's sounds good!

 

[Matteo_Lahm]

Just another note on the clearing process, the instructions recommend either to filter or to do two additional polishing rackings for a minimum of two weeks each.

 

[Matteo_Lahm]

That's sounds good!

Considering that some commercial whites are treated with carbon after fermentation, it puts any stripping issues into context.

 

[Kross]

I really don’t have a problem with the carbon, but what was the reasoning for adding it? I could be wrong , but I thought it was suppose to help with the dark color of the wine?

 

[Steve Wargo]

because of when the carbon is added, it does not strip out flavor and aroma. That only happens when it’s used after fermentation. Only about 15% of the Turpines remain after primary anyway. And just to reiterate why our whites brown and traditional kits don’t, it’s relative to an enzyme that becomes neutralized during secondary pasteurization. Hope this helps. The photos look good!
Matteo

I've not added carbon when making Wine, or tried making a FW wine kit. Matteo, I see from your message, using carbon in the primary phase is best to keep the flavors intact. In my experience, I only saw browning(oxidation) when crushing fresh juice from White Grapes, and delayed the ferment. The primary fermentation process removed the browning(oxidation). Maybe I just got lucky. As you mentioned I've made other kit Whites and they didn't brown. What I did, Besides pectic enzyme, I add a (1/2) recommended slurry of liquified Bentonite to the primary. I've not had clearing issues with my process. What have you experienced with FW wine kits that requires the addition of carbon? Is it's just a precaution? I've not used carbon, or a FW wine kit. Just wondering, in case I buy a FW wine kit from LP.
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[Rocky]

I was concerned about the amount of space I had at the top of my Muscat in the 6-gallon carboy, so I racked it down to a 5-gallon carboy plus a 3-liter bottle. My reason for posting this is to show the sediment at the bottom of the 6-gallon carboy and the evidence that it is still dropping quite a bit of charcoal. The wine is not clear, but it is getting there. I would have thought that the charcoal would have been gone by now. As the wine is not fully cleared at this point, there could be more charcoal falling out in the future.

 

[Matteo_Lahm]

I've not added carbon when making Wine, or tried making a FW wine kit. Matteo, I see from your message, using carbon in the primary phase is best to keep the flavors intact. In my experience, I only saw browning(oxidation) when crushing fresh juice from White Grapes, and delayed the ferment. The primary fermentation process removed the browning(oxidation). Maybe I just got lucky. As you mentioned I've made other kit Whites and they didn't brown. What I did, Besides pectic enzyme, I add a (1/2) recommended slurry of liquified Bentonite to the primary. I've not had clearing issues with my process. What have you experienced with FW wine kits that requires the addition of carbon? Is it's just a precaution? I've not used carbon, or a FW wine kit. Just wondering, in case I buy a FW wine kit from LP.
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There’s an enzyme in the fruit matter that browns exactly the same way as fresh fruit. The concentration process does not deactivate it. Traditional kits don’t have this issue because they’re cooked to be stable at room temperature. The carbon bonds with those enzymes and pulls them out. Without the carbon, the wines are darker. All the residual carbon eventually drops out. This is why we recommend two additional polishing stages each a minimum of two weeks after the initial racking or filtering.