Who uses Finings or Filters fresh grape wine?

[LoveTheWine]

The last few years we started making wine from fresh grapes, now exclusively home grown grapes.


I leave the wine in bulk for a year, racking 3-4 times. Today is 3rd racking day and I am curious who here would add finings at this stage?
Who would polish with a filter just before bottling?
Who would bottle without any fining or filtering?


The wine is really clear but the flashlight trick shows the slightest bit of sediment left in it.


The odd time I use my mini-jet filter to polish at bottling time but prefer not too if at all possible.

 

[TonyR]

after racking several times and ageing about 1 year I filter my red wine with the coarse filter pads with my mini jet then bottle, when i do white i filter with the coarse then a week or so later will filter again with the medium filter and bottle. That how I do it

 

[ibglowin]

No fining but I do filter before bottling

 

[Boatboy24]

I filter whites, but not reds. No finings.

 

[Johny99]

I do a bentonite fining on my Riesling and Sauvignon blanc. I've had protein stability problems. I don't filter, not by policy but by budget.

I don't fine or filter my reds, but I like finding sediment at the bottom of a good bottle of wine. My reds go 2 years in the barrel with a 3-6 month settle after racking before bottling.

 

[stickman]

Bentonite fining for my Riesling, and I filter both reds and whites before bottling.

 

[FTC Wines]

We never do anything to our Reds but age & rack. However we are thinking about starting to filter. Many of our reds are leaving sediment in the bottle. Bottled perfectly clear, but after 1-2 years on their side they have a film in the bottle. Doesn't bother us, BUT not pretty as gifts. Roy

 

[heatherd]

I do not filter or fine my fresh grapes.

 

[LoveTheWine]

Well... I decided No finings for this years wine (red) and probably no filtering. We will see.

 

[Wiz]

I use bentonite in my reds and whites but filter only the whites.

 

[LoveTheWine]

For those that use Bentonite: Do you use it before fermentation or after?

 

[Johny99]

After, a couple of months before bottling.

 

[Wiz]

I add bentonite after the fermentation is complete and after degassing.

 

[GreginND]

I use bentonite in my reds and whites but filter only the whites.

Is there a particular reason you are using bentonite - especially on your reds? It is used to remove proteins that might cause hazing in white wines. Do you do a heat stabilization test to find out how much you need to add? Too much bentonite can strip aromas and flavors.

 

[Ignoble Grape]

Really helpful thread - trying to decide to fine/filter my 2018 Merlot, currently 18 months in carboy. I actually like the way it tastes, don't think it's particularly hazy, and am concerned about stripping out aromas/flavors.

 

[jburtner]

I fine and filter (1 micron) whites (mostly kits). Sometimes I'll filter a red made from frozen must (5 micron). I don't fine reds.

I have a viognier and white merlot clearing right now. I didn't use bentonite and I did use kieselsol / chitosan. I'm researching a 0.5 micron filter for sterile filtering / polishing.

Cheers!
johann

 

[Ignoble Grape]

I fine and filter (1 micron) whites (mostly kits). Sometimes I'll filter a red made from frozen must (5 micron). I don't fine reds.

I have a viognier and white merlot clearing right now. I didn't use bentonite and I did use kieselsol / chitosan. I'm researching a 0.5 micron filter for sterile filtering / polishing.

Cheers!
johann

Yup. I get going through the process for whites, and have done so many times for my fruit wines that throw off major haze, but not entirely sure I need it for this red. It's my first red from grapes, and I'm not great at assessing clarity in red wines.

 

[Johnd]

Yup. I get going through the process for whites, and have done so many times for my fruit wines that throw off major haze, but not entirely sure I need it for this red. It's my first red from grapes, and I'm not great at assessing clarity in red wines.

It's hard to say definitively without physically looking at the wine, but my gut says that after 18 months in a carboy, your wine should be clear if you've done a good job with racking off of the sediment. One way to look at it very critically is to pour a little red wine into a wine glass, take it outside on a clear, sunny day, tilt the glass sideways and look up through it at the sky. You'll get a really good indication of its clarity that way.

 

[Ignoble Grape]

It's hard to say definitively without physically looking at the wine, but my gut says that after 18 months in a carboy, your wine should be clear if you've done a good job with racking off of the sediment. One way to look at it very critically is to pour a little red wine into a wine glass, take it outside on a clear, sunny day, tilt the glass sideways and look up through it at the sky. You'll get a really good indication of its clarity that way.

This is a great idea!! Just need some sun... ️

 

[Johnd]

This is a great idea!! Just need some sun... ️

OK, maybe it doesn't have to be a perfectly sunny day, I'm sure you could make due with a bright day or just a bright light, but you get the point, just something to really allow you to see through the shallow pool of wine...