RJ Spagnols How do I know when it's clearing

[daveklick]

I'm making my first kit. Chilean Pinot Noir, I am in the process of clearing the wine. I don't see much of a difference yet. What are some signs that I may be on(or off) track??

 

[Wade E]

It would help to know some specifics like knowing what kit you are making as each one uses a different fining agent. Temps will also play a big role in how fast it clears and a thorough degassing will aid in the clearing also as trapped C02 will keep sediment in suspension. With all that said you will notice a heavy layer of sediment on the bottom of the carboy when its clearing and some use a strong beam of light to look through their carboy for floating particles in their wine.

 

[daveklick]

That helps. I actually realized I posted in the wrong thread, anyhow...I'm making a Winexpert Chilean Pinot Noir(Premium). I am most definitely seeing sediment at the bottom, but the wine still pretty much looks the same to me. I'm hoping I'm on the right track...

 

[surlees]

At what stage is your wine? Secondary or post-secondary? Have you added any clarifiers such as bentonite, kiesosol or chitisan?

Fred

 

[daveklick]

I am in the 3rd stage: Stabilising and Clearing. I have added Chitosan.

 

[surlees]

Usually before adding chitosan you're supposed to add kiesosol. They work better together. The wine will begin clearing almost immediately and be completely clear in about 2 weeks.

That said, don't worry about it because you don't have to add anything for wine to clear. It just takes more time like 2-3 months. The lees will gradually settle out on the bottom and you rack your wine leaving behind as much sediment as possible. Another thing you can do is filter the wine if you want it perfectly clear.

Fred

 

[daveklick]

Yes we are filtering it. This was my first batch and it has been a disaster. My father in law got me into it, so I started out just kind of watching him. We went through all the steps prematurely as we were reading the hydrometer wrong. I contacted my retailer and went back through the steps. Not sure about this batch. Since then, I have done my research and "kind of" know what I'm doing. We have each started another kit too, so I'm hoping they work out. But I don't know about this Pinot Noir.

 

[surlees]

Hang in there and welcome to the forum. Everybody here has been a newbie at one time. Just read and ask questions before doing anything you don't understand the reason behind.

Good luck,

Fred

 

[Midwest Vintner]

usually most mistakes can be fixed. just depends on which and how badly. don't be scared to let it sit for awhile. bulk aging isn't a bad thing.

 

[mharris_335]

You can tell if it works by looking in the bottom of your carboy. If you see stuff at the bottom then its working fine. I let most of my reds sit for 4-6 months and rack about two to three times in that time period. It works great for me.

 

[robie]

Not Clearing... Could be CO2. Might want to taste and/or some place in a tube and shake it up to make sure you degassed well. If you taste CO2 or see fizzing, you might need to degas again at between 75 and 78 degrees F.

As already said. Given time it will clear and degas on its own.

 

[cpfan]

Usually before adding chitosan you're supposed to add kiesosol. They work better together. The wine will begin clearing almost immediately and be completely clear in about 2 weeks.

Fred:

Winexpert provides chitosan only with most of their reds. Just their approach to clearing.

You are probably more familiar with Cellar Craft and RJ Spagnols kits, as these two manufacturers use Super Kleer KC (KC = Kieselsol Chitosan).

BTW, Vineco provides isinglass with many of their reds.

Steve

 

[cpfan]

I'm making my first kit. Chilean Pinot Noir, I am in the process of clearing the wine. I don't see much of a difference yet. What are some signs that I may be on(or off) track??

Did you try the beam of light as Wade suggested? Otherwise just looking at it, you wouldn't see much diffrerence in a red.

Another method would be to take a sample in a wine thief or pipette. You should be able to see the difference in that small sample.

Steve