Nightmare Rhubarb wine

[deesloop]

So the first wine I made was a kit and so was hoping to move on to a less "boxed" product
We have rhubarb and managed to make a pretty decent rhubarb & ginger cordial

However the rhubarb wine is proving more problematic.
Fermentation went well and I've racked it off a couple of times
However it just not clearing at all.
A month has gone by and theres no improvement at all.

I know "proper" wine takes much longer than the kits and I'm perhaps being a little impatient,
but roughly how long should I be expecting to wait before there's a visible difference and what can
I look to try improve the situation.

Many thanks in advance and here's hoping this is the first of many helpful posts

 

[Johnd]

So the first wine I made was a kit and so was hoping to move on to a less "boxed" product
We have rhubarb and managed to make a pretty decent rhubarb & ginger cordial

However the rhubarb wine is proving more problematic.
Fermentation went well and I've racked it off a couple of times
However it just not clearing at all.
A month has gone by and theres no improvement at all.

I know "proper" wine takes much longer than the kits and I'm perhaps being a little impatient,
but roughly how long should I be expecting to wait before there's a visible difference and what can
I look to try improve the situation.

Many thanks in advance and here's hoping this is the first of many helpful posts

Some wines can take months to clear, some never clear. Fortunately, there are things that we can do to help them along. I'm not a rhubarb wine maker, so I can't tell you about any of the nuances associated with it, but there are folks on here who can, and hopefully, they'll chime in.

Some of the things we ferment have a lot of pectin in them, and it doesn't like to come out of solution, but adding pectic enzyme to the wine will convince it to disband and settle out. Rhubarb is considered a low pectin medium, but if you heated it at all, that can cause the pectin to become much more difficult to get rid of. Did you heat your solution at all? If so, you could try some pectic enzyme.

There's another product we sometimes use to speed things along, it's a two part fining agent composed of kieselsol and chitosan, sold under the trade name of "Dual Fine". The two agents attach to negatively and positively charged particles and cause them to settle out. This could be a good option as well.

 

[BernardSmith]

Chitosan is a shell fish product and some people are allergic to shellfish while others may object to its use if they are vegetarian, vegan or observe kashrut (Halal permits the consumption of shellfish, but that point is moot as alcohol is restricted if not forbidden).

 

[Wine Lab]

We have made many batches of Rhubarb wine and they have all cleared to a sparkling clear wine, but certain steps were required, some already mentioned.
Pectic enzyme and bentonite clay in fermentation pail.
After secondary fermentation, thoroughly degassed using plastic stirring rod on drill, or vacuum pump, etc., i.e. more than just stirring with a spoon.
Combination of Kieselol and Chitosan fining agents
Aging for a few months in bulk storage, then filtering with #3 fine filter before bottling.
If you don't use wine kit type of clearing steps, you will have to wait for months, may-be forever, for it to clear by itself, a very difficult type of fruit wine to clear.

 

[deesloop]

I did indeed use a wine clearing product.
A 2 part thing finings thing whose name eswcapes me but I didnt use pectic enzye (have none) or bentonite
It's now sat in demijohns and perhaps wasnt stirred vigorously enough - if you use a adrill!

It could maybe be racked off again as there''s a heap of sediment in it after having being racked before.
Maybe some more time would help but I'm loathe to add more finings - as I dont want to overly influence the taste
(Maybe tastes like bleach anyway)

 

[Rice_Guy]

I have done rhubarb for years, have never had a clearing issue but it is roughly 9 months old by the time I back sweeten and bottle.

 

[deesloop]

Well a bit to go yet then me thinks.
BEst find a cupboard and forget about it.

 

[DizzyIzzy]

So the first wine I made was a kit and so was hoping to move on to a less "boxed" product
We have rhubarb and managed to make a pretty decent rhubarb & ginger cordial

However the rhubarb wine is proving more problematic.
Fermentation went well and I've racked it off a couple of times
However it just not clearing at all.
A month has gone by and theres no improvement at all.

I know "proper" wine takes much longer than the kits and I'm perhaps being a little impatient,
but roughly how long should I be expecting to wait before there's a visible difference and what can
I look to try improve the situation.

Many thanks in advance and here's hoping this is the first of many helpful posts

After reading your post I went out to the garage to look at the rhubarb I started on 5/8/20 and when it was still cloudy on 7/12, I added 3 tsp. of cleaned, crushed eggshells, and as of today while it is still cloudy, it is less so than before. That said I will patiently await it to clear in the next few months. Good luck. Dizzy

 

[AcreageWine]

I have done rhubarb for years, have never had a clearing issue but it is roughly 9 months old by the time I back sweeten and bottle.

Did you use anything in the primary (pectin or bentonite etc). I just racked my rhubarb from primary, I did not degas it and now I am wondering if I should have.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Welcome to WMT
no, I do no use either on rhurbarb. My general guideline is if it will set by itself to a gel making jam, it gets pectase and if peach family five times that. I would use bentonite now if you want it to clear faster.
other, I freze then press (pectin solubilizes at 180 F), I use no water in the mix, I like color so this year got 2oz of raspberry in 5 gallons, and back sweeten to about 1.015 (TA is above 1.0%)

Did you use anything in the primary (pectin Or bentonite etc). I just racked my rhubarb from primary, I did not degas it and now I am wondering if I should have.

 

[deesloop]

Thanks all for your input.
I have racked it off 3 times and still loads of sludge
Tempted to have it discuss the matter with the great porcelain telephone, but will see what happens over another month.
Will then look at options but if the TruboKlar did nothing at all to clear it, am I perhaps on a hiding to nothing?
Will eggshell do what other chemicals couldnt?

 

[winemanden]

Patience my friend. Time is often the best answer.

 

[KCCam]

Tempted to have it discuss the matter with the great porcelain telephone, but will see what happens over another month.

If you're only going to wait a month, toss it now. But don't toss it, just be patient. If you need the carboy to make something that will be ready quicker, then toss it. But don't toss it until you do some bench trials. Maybe with some sugar it's drinkable now. Every post in this thread says you're going to need a few months, and that's after doing everything possible to speed it up. If you can't wait, or if you don't think the wait will be worth it, then toss it now. But don't toss it... I mean, that's sacrilege, isn't it? Hahaha.

We have made many batches of Rhubarb wine and they have all cleared to a sparkling clear wine, but certain steps were required, some already mentioned.
Pectic enzyme and bentonite clay in fermentation pail.
After secondary fermentation, thoroughly degassed using plastic stirring rod on drill, or vacuum pump, etc., i.e. more than just stirring with a spoon.
Combination of Kieselol and Chitosan fining agents
Aging for a few months in bulk storage, then filtering with #3 fine filter before bottling.
If you don't use wine kit type of clearing steps, you will have to wait for months, may-be forever, for it to clear by itself, a very difficult type of fruit wine to clear.

Everything in @Wine Lab's post will speed up the clearing process. And still they wait a few months. Clearing agents each work in different ways, and the point is that they make solids drop to the bottom, so I wouldn't hesitate to try egg shells (couldn't hurt), or another dose of Kieselsol/Chitosan, but I have 4 cautions for you:

1. Obviously, rack it off any existing lees first, don't stir up what's already settled. Put the lees in the fridge, they will settle some more and you could get a lot of clear wine from it.
2. The importance of degassing cannot be overstated. Dissolved CO2 makes it very difficult to clear wine, especially for difficult-to-clear wine, because every single little bubble that forms mixes things up again. I had a Dragon Blood (very quick clearer, generally) that was almost perfectly clear. I thought, "Hmmm, I wonder if a little vacuum would make that last little bit fall." Nope.... a few minutes and a dozen bubbles later, and the entire carboy was cloudy again. So it back-fired. If you think you need to degas some more, see #1, make sure to rack off any existing lees first.
3. This kind of goes with #2, but the fine lees can be very, very fine. Do not disturb the carboy, except to rack, once you've set it aside to clear, and make sure it's somewhere you can rack it from without have to move it first.
4. Kieselsol/Chitosan is amazing stuff (though it contains shellfish), but seems to be a one-time thing. If you stir up the lees after using it, it seems to lose its effectiveness. Don't take that as gospel, others might have a different experience, but I had a wine that was crystal clear 2 days after adding the K/C. I accidentally stirred up the lees, and a week later it was still cloudy. I know, I'm impatient too, but I'm waiting to have enough stock to drink, and a dedicated wine-making area, that I can wait for some stuff to bulk age. I won't try rhubarb or peach until then.

 

[DizzyIzzy]

So the first wine I made was a kit and so was hoping to move on to a less "boxed" product
We have rhubarb and managed to make a pretty decent rhubarb & ginger cordial

However the rhubarb wine is proving more problematic.
Fermentation went well and I've racked it off a couple of times
However it just not clearing at all.
A month has gone by and theres no improvement at all.

I know "proper" wine takes much longer than the kits and I'm perhaps being a little impatient,
but roughly how long should I be expecting to wait before there's a visible difference and what can
I look to try improve the situation.

Many thanks in advance and here's hoping this is the first of many helpful posts

I had difficulty clearing my rhubarb also so I ultimtely cleared it using crush egg shells. Wouldn't hurt to try, right?..................................Dizzy

 

[DizzyIzzy]

Thanks all for your input.
I have racked it off 3 times and still loads of sludge
Tempted to have it discuss the matter with the great porcelain telephone, but will see what happens over another month.
Will then look at options but if the TruboKlar did nothing at all to clear it, am I perhaps on a hiding to nothing?
Will eggshell do what other chemicals couldnt?

Crushed eggshells worked for my rhubarb, that and time...................................Dizzy

 

[AcreageWine]

Bottled my Rhubarb yesterday, perfectly clear and didn’t use any clearing aids. Started this batch Sep 3. Not having the same luck with my crab apple so far.

 

[GreginND]

That wine looks pretty clear. I find that time helps with rhubarb wine, but sometimes it can be very stubborn. The best thing to use is a gelatin fining. That seems to be the trick to clearing rhubarb wine.

 

[DizzyIzzy]

That wine looks pretty clear. I find that time helps with rhubarb wine, but sometimes it can be very stubborn. The best thing to use is a gelatin fining. That seems to be the trick to clearing rhubarb wine.

What kind of gelatin, and how much? Thanks................................DizzyIzzy

 

[crooked cork]

Buon Vino wine filter works for me when its not clearing. We picked 244 lbs of Rhubarb and made it into several wines this past summer. Heating or cooking rhubarb makes a hard to clear wine for me anyway. Now i freeze and thaw to break it down seems to produce much clearer wine for me.

 

[Northerngal]

1 tsp of gelatin added to 1C of cool water, stirred to dissolve, then heat in bursts in microwave to 145-155F then add