No Fermentation

[Sweetiepie]

Do winemakers on occasion still use egg whites to clear their wine or should I order something to clear it? I was thinking I had months to worry about that. But I have lots of chickens and lots of eggs and that would be great if that still works.

 

[Tnuscan]

Still don't get the complete aversion to using small amounts of water to top-off. I could understand if the recipe was thin on fruit/grapes per gallon and a low ABV but it you plan ahead you can boost your concentrations and avoid the issues with adding a sugar/fermentation source to you wine during the aging process. (not with a kit wine perhaps) If a single bottle of wine (25.3 oz) is only 3% of a 6 gallon batch, a 3% addition of water to a batch shouldn't terribly dilute the batch either. Again when doing a kit wine or if the batch wasn't designed to be a little strong to begin with I certainly understand the issue with diluting. I use nothing but water (usually filtered or Distilled water to top off and I haven't had any issue with watered down wines.

If you like using water to top up, that's cool, what ever works for you. If your happy I'm happy.

 

[Scooter68]

On the egg whites you might search this forum. Here's one thread I ran across: http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37008&page=2

 

[heatherd]

Do winemakers on occasion still use egg whites to clear their wine or should I order something to clear it? I was thinking I had months to worry about that. But I have lots of chickens and lots of eggs and that would be great if that still works.

@Sweetiepie, there are a number of ways you can clear the wine:
-Time, such as letting the wine sit in a carboy until clear and degassed
-Bentonite
-Superkleer KC, which contains some trace amounts of a shellfish-based ingredient that some people are sensitive to
-Isinglass
-Sparkolloid
-Gelatin finings
-Pectic enzyme

My process is to let the wines sit for six months to clear and degass on their own, adding camden tablets every three months. Then I taste and bottle if good.

That said, I have a Muscat Canelli 12 gallon batch from fresh juice buckets that is at 9 months and not clear. I'm going to rack it and see if that helps, but my next step would be to add something to clear it. I'm going to go with bentonite as I have a friend and a family member who are sensitive to SuperKleer KC, which is a bummer because it is miraculous stuff!

Here's more info: https://winemakermag.com/26-a-clearer-understanding-of-fining-agents

Heather

 

[Sweetiepie]

You were right, it has started bubbling again now that it is warmed back up.