WineXpert How do I filter cloudy Riesling?

[Spikeidaho]

I am close to bottling my first carboy of wine, but the recipe says that I'm not to bottle cloudy wine. It also says that I should just wait.

If waiting another week for it to clear up doesn't work, how do I filter out the stuff to make it as clear as possible? One visitor to my humble apartment compared its color to that of pee, and she was right.

I don't want to buy an expensive filtration system. How do I do this on the cheap and move onto bottling? This has been a great learning experience.

 

[Goodfella]

Welcome to the forum.


First... How long has the wine been sitting? (after stablization)


How good did you degass the wine? It seems like 9 times out of 10, when a wine won't clear... it hasn't been degassed properly.


and remember..... TIME TIME TIME. Don't rush wineinto bottles, sometimes you just need to cover it up and walk away.

 

[Tom]

1st Filtering will not clear a cloudy wine.
2nd you must use the 3 "P's"
Patience
Patience
Patience
This along with a good clearing agent will do the job
Like what is said above.. Tell us what it is and the timing inbetween start and now..

 

[smurfe]

Is it pretty cool in the area the wine is sitting? That will slow down the clearing process. Also, as said if the wine is not de-gassed properly, it will slow down the clearing. One other question. Did you add the clearing agent and bentonite at the beginning? I have never seen a kit wine not drop clear after adding the clearing agent, even in cooler temps. Give it some time, If it doesn't drop clear try moving to a warmer area. If not then get some more clearing agents such as Super Kleer or Super KC.

 

[andy123]

It's real easy to get anxious especially early on in the wine making venture.My first couple of whites appeared very nice when i bottled them only to develop a whisper of yeast sludge later on.If you have followed kit instructions it will be fine given enough time.Pee color is ok but we usually call it straw colored.I filter all my whites I made a filter from a GE undersink filter and can power it with either a CO2 and corny keg from the homebrew department or a vacuum pump i salvaged from an old fridge.good luck

 

[xanxer82]

Pop on a brew belt or get the temp up to at least 75 deg. F. Degas again. You'll be shocked to find more gas in it most likely. Let it sit a week. Rack to a clean carboy. Let that sit a few days then filter.

 

[Spikeidaho]

You guys probably saved my bacon. I have the carboy sitting in a dark hallway in my apartment. Temps probably range from 50 degrees to 70. I will just be patient, wait and see.

Straw colored it is. Thanks.

I probably did not degas it properly. George's idea of using his special paddle tool came to me too late into the process. I will follow your suggestions...all of you have been so kind to this newbie.

You can tell that this is my very first carboy of wine, can't you? Ha!

The next time that I do this I am going to pay more and buy the actual beginner's kit. Part of my problem was that I used a bucket without a spigot and that cost me.

Live and learn. Man, is this teacher learning a lot about wine making. What a great experience it is. I love it.

 

[Spikeidaho]

The wine has been sitting in the carboy since Jan. 2. I added the clarification agents then, mixing them in by plastic rod. The carboy rests in a small hallway (I live in a one bedroom apt.) and in terms of moving it, I guess that I could move it anywhere in my apt as I'm alone most of the time. I could also move it outside where the temps now range between 40 and about 60.

I've been very clean throughout all of this, but I didn't top off the top of the carboy. It's about a gallon shy of that. The people who wrote the recipe said that I should top off with a white white. Do I absolutely have to do that? Again, just realize that you're dealing with someone who has never done anything like this...

Thank you for helping me out.

 

[Spikeidaho]

Ahh...I see.

Thank you. I need to get a drill, use George's paddle idea or something like that and merely degas this bad boy.

Now I understand.

Thank you.

 

[grapeman]

You either need to top it off or move it to a smaller carboy. If you don't it will oxidize and ruin the wine, especially if it has been degassed. If you don't degas, it won't clear well.

 

[Spikeidaho]

Now I know what to do. I could not have done this without you guys helping me. Let me know what I can do for you.

Scott Tudehope

 

[Goodfella]

First.... I wouldnot move it outside.


Second... I would top it off. This prevents oxidation. If your friend says it looks like pee now, I would hate to hear it labeled if it turned brown from oxidation!!! If you decide to become more involved with wine making, you will eventually get a wide variety of carboys and jugs so you can "rack down" if you don't want to top up. But you will also have more wines on hand, so topping up isn't a big deal.