View Single Post
  #2 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.winemaking
Doug Miller Doug Miller is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 93
Default a persistent white wine haze

In article >, Lee > wrote:
>I have a persistent haze in a chardonnay, made from frozen juice. The
>wine was finished too late to put it out for a cold stabilitzation.
>After completing an MLF, I couldn't get rid of a diffuse haze. I
>tried bentonite, and then superkleer. When that didn't work, I
>thought it might be a protein haze, but pectic enzyme (that I had
>initially used, but then repeated, didn't clear the wine at all.
>
>Finally, I put the wine through a filtration, with perfect results.
>
>I then put the carboy in a large refrigerator, hoping to precipitate
>out the excess tartaric acid, and the haze came back.
>
>Interestingly, I had a small jug of the wine, left over, that wouldn't
>fit in the carboy, and this small jug, in the refrigerator,
>crystalized out perfectly, and is clear.
>
>So, I suspect that the new haze is due to micro-crystals of tartaric.


I'd agree.

>Does anyone have any other ideas? I doubt that this haze will clear
>on its own. Should I re-filter? re-fine? I've even allowed the
>carboy to warm up a bit, but it hasn't changed, and is diffusely
>cloudy.
>
>Any thoughts would be appreciated.


I think I'd keep it chilled. Leave it alone for at least two weeks, then see
what it looks like. If it is microcrystals of tartaric acid, the haze will
disappear when the wine reaches room temperature -- but of course it will
reappear as soon as you chill the bottled wine. I vote for leaving it cold;
see if the haze precipitates out. If it does, rack it, filter if necessary,
then bottle. If it doesn't, then you need to be looking for other causes.