I am going to use Kieselsol & Gelatin to fine some white wine that has
not cleared on its own and I am wondering should I rack the wine first
or just add the fining agents? There is a layer of sediment at the
bottom of the carboids and a friend of mine said that the fining
agents need something to hang onto, leading me to believe that the
more cloudy the wine is the better for the fining. Also how soon after
adding the Kieselsol & Gelatin should I rack the wine? Can I leave it
till it is clear or should I rack it within a specific time?
Thank you for your advice in advance.

I am wondering should I rack the wine first
> or just add the fining agents? There is a layer of sediment at the
> bottom of the carboys and a friend of mine said that the fining
> agents need something to hang onto, leading me to believe that the
> more cloudy the wine is the better for the fining.

Smell the wine, if it smells good just add the fining agents. I don't
see much reason to rack it ahead other than that. I don't know that I
would say cloudy is better though. Rack it when it's clear; when it
looks clean measure the height of the lees and look at it a few days
later; it may compact a bit. Don't throw them out, either, resettle
them in another bottle.

Joe

On Nov 24, 8:26 pm, Jim > wrote:
> bottom of the carboids and a friend of mine said that the fining
> agents need something to hang onto, leading me to believe that the
> more cloudy the wine is the better for the fining. Also how soon after

That sounds like you friend makes kit wines? Some kit makers design
their kits that way - the goal is to minimize racking in the overall
goal to finish the wine as fast as possible. That applies to a specific
"formula" wine, done according to a recipe and fined with provided
fining agents, where that whole procedure has been tested extensively
in the lab - and the fining approach differs among the kit companies as
well.

When you work with fresh grapes or fruit, the overall situation is very
different, so chances are the "kit approach" to fining might not work
very well, or at the very least, you'll end up using more fining agents
than actually needed.

Pp