Sparkolloid

[Dman]

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Has anyone tried using sparkolloid to clear the wine after
the first racking and try to cut some time towards a drinkable product? I know,
a very shameful question.

</span>

 

[smokegrub]

Nothing shameful in your question whatsoever. I have used Sparkalloid on numerous occasions. However, I now almost exclusively use SuperKleer.

 

[uavwmn]

Dman, I have used Sparkoloid, but not as a short cut.

 

[vcasey]

I have used it many times in my meads and a few wines. I don't notice any real difference in clearing time by using either product. How would this be a short cut to a drinkable product?
VC

 

[JWMINNESOTA]

Dman, I wouldn't advise adding any clarifier at first racking. First it wouldn't be effective with all the gas the wine is producing, secondly you don't want the solids to drop out at this point in the process, there is a lot of flavor and body to develop into wine at this point. As for Sparkoloid, I have used it a great deal, it is a very good clarifier.

 

[cpfan]

Has anyone tried using sparkolloid to clear the wine after the first racking and try to cut some time towards a drinkable product? I know, a very shameful question.<O></O>

IMO, it takes time to produce a drinkable product. A Patient Winemaker makes good wine. So rushing the clearing is a waste of time.


Steve

 

[Wade E]

I use SuperKleer on stubborn wines made from scratch and kit wines that come with it but it wont make your wine drinkable faster, just clearer faster.

 

[Dman]

Thanks for all the info guys. Good food for thought.

Vcasey, the reason I ask about a “short cut” is due to an experience I had with a batch of passion fruit wine. It seems like it reached its peek flavor profile in 3-4 months and started to deteriorate after that (once again, could have been de to a bunch of factors).
I bottled it at 2 months after clearing with Sparkalloid. Fermentation was compete at that point.

Not letting the fruit fully break down and develop all the potential flavor and body is defiantly an interesting point though.

Do any of you worry about introducing too much oxygen when you rack the wines after fermentation is complete?

 

[vcasey]

The best advice we can give you is please don't rush the process. There is a reason patience is a key ingredient to producing an end result you will be proud to share with family and friends. You can rush the process and get something in the bottle faster, but it will never be as good as it can get.
Like many of us, I am on several forums and yesterday I saw a topic that was a little surprising to me. The topic was "I don't like homemade wine." Apparently he had made a welch's wine using no sanitizers and a plastic milk jug and it was not he expected at bottling. He made 2 batches and threw out one kept the other. He started over using a kit with a friend who gave him a bottle of young wine - he was not fond of that either and was concerned the kit would be awful. Finally after a several posts he went back to that first wine he made that has now been in the bottle over a year. The wine, given time became a drinkable product and he has found a place to come to for help and guidance. And he is thinking maybe he should have not tossed out the other wine.
Once you get that wine off the gross lees, just cover it and walk away. Make another wine or 2 or 3, but give your wine the time to develop. You'll be much happier.
By the way, wines go through stages good, bad, terrible, fantastic and back to bad as they are developing in carboys or the bottle. Try to put a few aside and give them 6 months to a year (and many get better after that year).
VC

 

[JWMINNESOTA]

Do any of you worry about introducing too much oxygen when you rack the wines after fermentation is complete?

I used to be overly cautious at this point Dman, but realize your wine is very saturated with gas at this point. It would be difficult IMHO to get too much oxygen in the wine, a good indicator is after racking you degas, and there is usually a lot still coming out at this point. Then you are stabilizing , again adding sulfite to protect your wine.

 

[Dman]

Thanks Jw,

Sorry for the newbie question. But when you say add
sulfate, are you referring to topping the vacant room in the carboy
with S02, or adding something like campden tablets?

 

[pelican]

Hi Dman, I take JW's comments to refer to the campden tablets (or k-meta powder).

 

[Dman]

Thanks

 

[hartm]

I just used Sparkolloid to clarify about 1.5 L of wine I recovered from my sediment after racking. So far it seems to have worked well. I like the fact that I can measure out as much as I need.