Tiny tiny particles in fruit wine

[jlt22]

I've been making various fruit wines, and while I thought the clarity has been coming out great, my wife notices these tiny tiny particles floating throughout the wine. I was not able to notice them with my naked eye until I stared at the wine through the glass for maybe a couple minutes (think back to the 3D art craze). I guess her close-up focus vision is much stronger than mine. How can these particles get filtered out? Or, is it just more time needed in the carboy in order for these particles to further dissipate? I assume these particles are just fine remnants of the fruit that aren't getting "racked out".

 

[Ohio Bob]

How long was the wine in bulk storage before bottling? Did you add anything to clear the wine like bentonite or other fining agents?if you put an opened bottle of the wine in the fridge does anything else drop out as sediment? Usually time is all that’s needed to get a wine to clear. Time in a fridge for 1-2 weeks can also help.

 

[BigDaveK]

All the bottles or just the last one?

Exact same thing happened to me. Tiny tiny particles. They were only in my last bottle, fortunately. I would have bet the ranch that the jug was crystal clear before bottling.

Yeah, women! My wife smells things from other dimensions.

 

[jlt22]

Sounds like I just might need more time before bottling. I did not add any betonite, but to the casual eye it looked pretty clear to me...until I stared at it for a few mins and all of a sudden the particles jumped out like stars in a 3D art piece.

 

[BigDaveK]

Sounds like I just might need more time before bottling. I did not add any betonite, but to the casual eye it looked pretty clear to me...until I stared at it for a few mins and all of a sudden the particles jumped out like stars in a 3D art piece.

Yeah, could be any of a couple simple things.

Just this morning I racked a gallon getting ready to bottle. I was watching. Sure enough, I had about an inch of wine above the fine lees And I could see a couple super fine particles being sucked up. I'll be scrutinizing from now on.

 

[Raptor99]

Sometimes when bottling, I mark the last bottle filed and drink that first for testing. That is the one most likely to have sediment in it.

 

[BigDaveK]

Sometimes when bottling, I mark the last bottle filed and drink that first for testing. That is the one most likely to have sediment in it.

Yes! I do something similar. My last 2 bottles are always the 375ml and will be the first opened. Being very impatient, I'd rather be disappointed in opening a small bottle too soon rather than a large one.

 

[Rice_Guy]

* a young wine will have suspended yeast, if you have close to a year possibly nine months the yeast should have stopped metabolizing and settled out.
* well ,,,, visible particulates are large and fairly easy to filter out. Appearance is three points in contest so I like to run “the best stuff” through a number three pad on a BonVino. I could also do it with mom’s Harris VinBrite or a cartridge filter. (ALL high volume commercial wines are filtered, it prevents complaints.)
* particulates that are in the visible size range probably won’t ever dissipate (floating salts/ chemicals as potassium bicarbonate being exceptions.)
* kits add bentonite so the process of settling goes faster.

. How can these particles get filtered out? Or, is it just more time needed in the carboy in order for these particles to further dissipate?

 

[jlt22]

Sometimes when bottling, I mark the last bottle filed and drink that first for testing. That is the one most likely to have sediment in it.

Good idea!

 

[jlt22]

* a young wine will have suspended yeast, if you have close to a year possibly nine months the yeast should have stopped metabolizing and settled out.
* well ,,,, visible particulates are large and fairly easy to filter out. Appearance is three points in contest so I like to run “the best stuff” through a number three pad on a BonVino. I could also do it with mom’s Harris VinBrite or a cartridge filter. (ALL high volume commercial wines are filtered, it prevents complaints.)
* particulates that are in the visible size range probably won’t ever dissipate (salts/ chemicals as potassium bicarbonate being exceptions.)
* kits add bentonite so the process of settling goes faster.

Was not aware of the suspended yeast factor in young wines, which these have been. So, good to know and that does describe what this could be. The, what I would categorize as "not large, not noticeable, yet present" particles seems consistent throughout and suspended. Which I would guess may be the suspended yeast.