Dan,
I have had wine in a carboy for over a year before fining. I used to just
"give it time". I usually rack 3 or 4 times b4 fining. I do 25 litres at a
time. I should be able to see light through the wine but it is a little
hazy This year I did two batches, one in May and one in July. The May batch
was racked 4 times and fined in December. The August batch was racked 3
times and fined in December. I have since racked them both and am ready to
bottle. Clear as a bell. The only thing with Rhubarb, is over time Oxolic
acid precipitates out in small amounts. A commercial wine maker told me
that fltering will not stop this. From my experience it is a very light
dusting and nothing to be alarmed about..

Regards,
Lee


"Dan" wrote in message
...
Lee,
How far into the process do you add the Sparkaloid? IE how many days,
weeks,
after starting.

"LEE WEISS" wrote in message
...
I have made sweveral batches of Rhubarb. It is slow to clear. Whenever
any
amount of significant amount of sediment appears I rack. Then I use
sparkaloid to fine. And the wine will sparkle, no joke. I only use
half
the recommended amount ~3tbsp/ 5gal boiled in a cup of water.
Sparkaloid
does not floculate well. You will want to rack two more times. Do not
agitatate with racking rod as the sparkaloid stirs easy off the bottom.
The
biggest pit fall to the stuff. My experience is that it has very little
effect on flavor.

Good luck

Lee

"Dar V" wrote in message
...
The choice is yours Dan, but there could be more going on here (or
not) -
which bentonite won't fix. I've had 2 wines which were difficult to
clear;
sometimes it can be a pectin haze, a starch haze, or something else.
I've
used bentonite once, as a last resort. Racking usually clears my
wines
(or
cold stabilization), so I tend to do that before adding anything to
the
wine
which could alter the taste. I have never done a wine kit, but from
what
I've heard around here, bentonite and sorbate are added rather early
in
the
process. I've only made fruit, flower, and vegea wines, so adding
bentonite, sorbate are added rather late in the process and only if
you
want
too. If it were my wine, I'd rack it and wait. Have you visited Jack
Keller's wine site?
Darlene

"Dan" wrote in message
...
Thanks Dar. So you don't think I should add bentonite at this stage?
If
it
was a kit wine, I would have by now, and would have a crystal clear
wine.
Many years ago, when I first got into wine making, I had a peach
wine
that
wouldn't clear even after 3 years in the bottle. Since I was so
"virgin"
in
those days, I didn't know any better and didn't add anything to try
to
clear
it.

"Dar V" wrote in message
...
Okay, your wine is almost 4 months old, and you've racked it
twice.
Sounds
like you have sediment, so I would rack it again, and wait another
month
or
2. Check again, and rack again, and wait. I usually rack 3-4
times
in
a
7
month period, and usually the wine is clears on its own. You'd be
surprised
by how much sediment can be suspended in a wine. I try to let the
wine
clear on its own, before trying to clear it using other means. If
is
still
cloudy at 7-8 months, then check Jack Keller's homemade wine site
on
wine
problems - he explains what you need to do to clear a wine.
Good-luck.
Darlene

"Dan" wrote in message
...
Hi Dar. It looks like my posts lagged on their way to here. I
see
my
original post, which contained my procedure, but I guess you
don't
see
it.
Here it is again:
(I hope you get THIS post, LOL)


. 30 lbs frozen rhubarb

. 14 litres cold water

. 1/2 tsp potassium metabisulphite



. 17 lbs finely granulated sugar

. 4 litres boiling water



. 450ml Realemon juice

. 2 tbsp yeast nutrient

. 1/2 tsp tannin

. 2 packages wine yeast





NOTE: If using pre-washed and ½" pre-cut frozen rhubarb (which
is
MUCH
easier to crush), be sure to thaw in a container since juice is
sure
to
leak
from the bags.



October 10, 2003

Crush in a small container in small quantities with a piece of
sterilized
hardwood. Divide equally between two primaries. (30 lb of
rhubarb
produced
22 lb of juice and 8 lb of pulp). For each primary, dissolve ¼
tsp
potassium
metabisulphite in 1 litre of water and pour over rhubarb. Add an
additional
6 litres of water to each primary. Stir. Cover primaries with a
towel
and
let sit for three days, stirring daily.



October 12, 2003
Dissolve 17 lbs of sugar in 4 litres of boiling water. Allow to
cool.



Strain rhubarb through a nylon straining bag and squeeze as much
liquid
as
possible from the pulp. Discard pulp and return juice to a
single
large
primary. Stir in cooled sugar water, lemon juice, nutrient, and
tannin.
Split equally between 2 glass carboys, pitch a package of yeast
into
each
and fit with blow-off hoses.

(When yeast was pitched, batch was at 70', so I put the heating
coil
around
them. There ended up being no foaming, so airlocks would have
worked
in
lieu
of hoses.)

Starting TA was 7.0

Starting SG was 1.092



October 26, 2003
When fermentation settles down (5-7 days), set aside in cool
place
until
wine begins to clear.

(Been busy with work. Neglected wine, so heating coil was left
on
until
today. Wine is at 72/73 F. Airlocks put on instead of blow-off
hoses.
No
sign of clearing yet. Minimal activity in airlocks.)



November 16, 2003
Rack. SG is 0.994. Add ¼ tsp of potassium metabisulphite to each
batch
by
dissolving in a cup of wine first. Re-rack to fill an 18.9 litre
carboy,
five 2 litre pop bottles, and one 1 litre pop bottle. Airlock
put
on
carboy,
caps put on pop bottles. No sign of clearing yet, but thought
wine
should
finally get off the sediment.

(Wine is tart, yet sweet, somewhat syrupy in texture. Rhubarb
flavour
is
prominent. Potassium metabisulphite stripped away the beautiful
rose
colour!)


"Dar V" wrote in message
...
I've made Rhubarb wine - is this the first time you've racked
it?
When
did
you start the wine and what was your starting SG,and have you
taken
a
SG
reading lately?
Darlene

"Dan" wrote in message
...
Hmm... I made a post earlier, but it looks like it didn't
show
up.

Anyway, here it is again. I won't cut-and-paste my procedure
into
the
post,
in case that was what caused the problem.

It's been 2-1/2 months since I last racked my rhubarb wine
(Nov
16).
It's
been sitting in the basement wine cellar, where it's cool,
but
not
cold.
There is a bit of sediment in the bottom, but the wine is
still
cloudy/hazy.
What should I do next?