Lee - I used to deal with sterilization (pharmaceuticals - injectables,
preparation of sterile water for mfg. of liquid products, etc.) in my work.
We relied on filtration, albeit with 0.22 micron absolute filters, plus an
integrity check after filtration. IMO filtration can be used to remove
bacteria and yeast cells. Of course most home winemakers don't have the
ability to check filter integrity. And in my basement there is great
potential for contamination downstream from the filter. Still if you are
careful in your preparation, use 0.22 micron filters, sanitize the filter
tubing and receiving vessels you can knock the numbers of organisms down
significantly if not totally. I would much rather filter a sweetened wine
before bottling than just bottle and hope for the best.

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA

"LG1111" > wrote in message
...
> This whole business of filtering out bacteria just doesn't make any sense
to
> me. As a person who has to rely on sterile technique, I can say that
there's
> no half way point with sterility. Things are either sterile or they're
growing
> bugs, though possibly not in as high numbers. When you use a filter,
there's
> lots of leakage and dripping, so even if the filter was 0.45 microns,
there
> would still be contamination.
>
> Add to that the fact that there has GOT to be a variation in the pore
size.
> Even if the average size is 0.45, then there have to be some pores that
are
> much larger.
>
> I think filters do a great job in clarifying wine, but I've never had any
luck
> filtering out organisms.
>
> Lee