What or How should I clarify this srcond fermentation?

[Crash0074]

Primary and secondary fermentation is complete. Looks like I have a lot of tartrate crystals in the carboy. Wine is so opaque that a bright led light doesn't penetrate it.

Do I need to use bentonite amd sparkalloid now to clarify it for bottling?

 

[CDrew]

You just need more time. But depending on the wine, It may never clear enough for a light to penetrate in a carboy.

And I'd recommend you top it up, or downsize your carboy. That much air space will harm your new wine.

 

[my wine]

Is this a kit wine or are you following a recipe? Do you have a bubbler on top or just a stopper? I can't tell from your picture. Is this your first racking or your second? How long has it been sitting in the carboy that you think you should bottle it now?

 

[Ajmassa]

It’s brand new wine fresh after fermentation. Nothing special needed. Just rack at your typical routine leaving behind the solids. I tie a piece of mesh to the end of my racking cane to further help transferring over any crud. But if some does transfer- no biggie. It just falls out again anyway. And will clear on its own in time.

I have one just like yours. Post fermentation post mlf. looks exactly the same as yours. . Not tartrate crystals. Just grape lees fallout. No worries. Tartrate crystals are pretty unique. They End up lookin like my daughter bedazzled the wine with glitter

 

[Scooter68]

1) WAY too much headspace You need to move to a smaller container for aging OR add some other wine to it to top it off.
2) Looks like a solid stopper - is so IMMEDIATELY replace that with bubbler/airlock as my wine suggested.
If this wine just finished fermentation you have a ways to go - minimum 3-6 months before it will really clear unless you introduce fining agents and really time is a better agent for clearing that chemicals and it has less chance of messing with the taste too.

 

[Crash0074]

Thanks for the input everyone. I have a dual chamber airlock on the carboy. I will top up the wine today. I have been reading more about it and will hold off on adding bentonite and sparkalloid for a bit.

Call it my ADHD that wants to bottle. My fiancé just got me an Amarone kit and I really want to get it into the pipeline.

 

[my wine]

My fiancé just got me an Amarone kit and I really want to get it into the pipeline.

Ah! I see you are on your way to a second carboy. May as well get a third one now also. You should read up on bulk aging. When I started with kits I bottle aged after the second racking. That's waht the instructions said and the wine turned out fine. Yours will too if you bottle age. A lot of the folks on the forum advocate bulk aging. Some for a couple of months; some for a year or more. I recently started bulk aging. You may run into a space issue. No excuse; you'll figure it out.

BTW, welcome to the Wine Makingadicts Forum!!

 

[Sailor323]

I usually use bentonite at primary fermentation stage then rack and mix in chitosan then kieselsol. Then a few weeks later rack off the sediment and rack again in a few weeks. Ready for bottling or age in bulk and rack once before bottling

 

[user 38734]

Spend $35 ($10 or $20 on CL) for another carboy for your next batch and keep this one bulk aging until you need it again next season.

Should you choose to fine or clarify, you don't need to do so until a month or so before you bottle. It will alter the flavor of your wine, and unless you are OCD about max clarity or the possibility of sediment, you likely won't need to.

 

[winemaker81]

One clarification on head space -- if the wine is post-fermentation, you want to eliminate the head space as many have suggested.

If the wine is in the secondary and it's still fermenting, you want head space. The yeast is producing CO2 so there is a constantly replenished cushion above the wine. Most of the time the wine doesn't foam much, not like the early stages of fermentation. However, I've had a full carboy spurt wine and "stuff" through the airlock -- this is why I use 3 piece airlocks, as the double-bubblers are almost impossible to clean if you get gunk in them.