Sparkalloid.... now three layers of sediment in homemade blueberry wine

[Jordy Tokes]

I made a 6 gallon batch of blue berry wine from fresh berries. Peptic enzyme, yeast nutrient, ph tested and And added acid blend. Had bentonite in primary. Racked to secondary and now wine has sat for 2 months. Still very opaque. Added sparkalloid and this is day 4. I have a clear layer on top, then a cloudy layer halfway down, then a sediment layer on bottom. Anyone ever dealt with this???

 

[rustbucket]

It's still settleing. Give it two weeks after adding sparkalloid. Then rack it.

With a wine made from fruit, you sometimes have to give it another clearing agent treatment to get all the pulp out of suspension.

 

[joeswine]

Just give it to.e walk away.just Walk away.

 

[SpoiledRotten]

Remember that wine making requires the very heavy use of the three Ps.

 

[Scooter68]

You don't mention your racking process - immediately post fermentation.
Normal process is to rack off gross lees immediately at end of ferment. (I would never leave a lot of lees in the wine for two months.) Then I normally rack once more within the first 2-3 weeks after fermentation ends. Then I like to wait 3 months before any more racking. Other than pectic enzyme I've never had to use any fining agents on blueberry wine and mine is always made with fresh or/and frozen blueberries.
Might help if you describe your ferment process and racking post-ferment. The more info you provide the more accurate help we can provide.
In the end expect to wait at least 8-9 months before bottling to have a clear and an enjoyable wine. Any earlier and the wine will be a bit sharpish.

 

[Jordy Tokes]

You don't mention your racking process - immediately post fermentation.
Normal process is to rack off gross lees immediately at end of ferment. (I would never leave a lot of lees in the wine for two months.) Then I normally rack once more within the first 2-3 weeks after fermentation ends. Then I like to wait 3 months before any more racking. Other than pectic enzyme I've never had to use any fining agents on blueberry wine and mine is always made with fresh or/and frozen blueberries.
Might help if you describe your ferment process and racking post-ferment. The more info you provide the more accurate help we can provide.
In the end expect to wait at least 8-9 months before bottling to have a clear and an enjoyable wine. Any earlier and the wine will be a bit sharpish.

I had berries in mesh bag fermenting for 6 days. Pulled the bag out. Let finish fermenting by day 13. Sp=..992.
Racked to secondary. Let sit in secondary for 1.5 months sediment greater then 1/2 inch on bottom so I racked again. Degassed with wine pump. Added sparkalloid. It’s now 5 days after sparkalloid and the cloudy part has moved down closer to bottom by 1/2 inch over night from original pic above. Normally the sparkalloid works within 2-3 days. Just wondering why it is so slow this time?

 

[Jordy Tokes]

Remember that wine making requires the very heavy use of the three Ps.

?

 

[sour_grapes]

?

Patience, patience, and patience.

 

[Scooter68]

Blueberry wine and I have had a special relationship - since it was my first wine. I've never had a ferment fail to start nor had problems with the wine clearing.
Wish I could say more to help you but it sounds like the 3 P's are the only solution now. Keep an eye on the pH for blueberries, they tend to be very acidic below 3.00 in some cases.
Oh and as I was told from the git-go - Keep starting new batches and then it won't seem so long for those first batches to clear.
If you like fruit wines and have access to fresh fruit you can make some awesome and unique wines that just can't be found elsewhere.

Keep us posted on your progress - by the end of 3-4 months that wine should be pretty close to clear. My first was bottled about 4 1/2 months - crystal clear and no sediment dropping later. Used fruit bag and no clearing agents just as you did. (Learned after that to wait to at least 9-12 months to bottle for best results and most accurate back-sweetening accuracy.)

 

[SpoiledRotten]

Excellent advice, Scooter.

 

[Jordy Tokes]

Blueberry wine and I have had a special relationship - since it was my first wine. I've never had a ferment fail to start nor had problems with the wine clearing.
Wish I could say more to help you but it sounds like the 3 P's are the only solution now. Keep an eye on the pH for blueberries, they tend to be very acidic below 3.00 in some cases.
Oh and as I was told from the git-go - Keep starting new batches and then it won't seem so long for those first batches to clear.
If you like fruit wines and have access to fresh fruit you can make some awesome and unique wines that just can't be found elsewhere.

Keep us posted on your progress - by the end of 3-4 months that wine should be pretty close to clear. My first was bottled about 4 1/2 months - crystal clear and no sediment dropping later. Used fruit bag and no clearing agents just as you did. (Learned after that to wait to at least 9-12 months to bottle for best results and most accurate back-sweetening accuracy.)

Completely crystal clear today! Guess it just took a few extra days. Thank you for the advise. Gunna let it sit another 7 days and back sweeten a little bit.

 

[Scooter68]

Shouldn't be in a rush to back-sweeten. Right now and for at least 6-7 months that wine will have a sharpness to it - trying to get the sweetness right will be more difficult than it needs to be.
Age that wine at least 7-9months racking it every 3 months (adding K-meta then). At the end of month 9 you can rack it, dose it with k-meta and k-sorbate then back-sweeten it and you will be working with a much more mature wine. Your sweetening will be more accurate then. At that point you can age another 3 months or bottle and let it age in the bottle.
I learned the hard way - back-sweetened a blueberry wine at 4 months. Bottled it and served it at 5 months. It was good. BUT when I opened another bottle a full 12 months after fermentation - there was no comparison between the 5 month old wine and the 12 month old wine. Much smoother on the palate - a finished wine.

 

[joeswine]

Let it sit longer,let time work for you.

 

[Jordy Tokes]

Thanks for the tip on being patient!

 

[SpoiledRotten]

Congrats, Jordy! That’s a beautiful sight.

 

[joeswine]

Nice clarification