Ice Wine Clearing
 

Hello fellow winemakers,
I am new to winemaking having only made a couple of batches. Recently I
decided to make ice wine. The problem is that shorty after I did the second
racking and the wine was just starting to clear (the wine was clear about
one third of the way down the glass carboy) I had to move. During the move
the sediment became suspended again and now it seems to be very slow to
clear. I am wondering if it is ok to just let it sit until it clears again
or will this affect the wine? Should I be adding some clearing agents again?
Is it O.K to let it sit longer when according to the instructions I should
be bottling it by now? My apologies if this has been asked and answered many
times but I did a google search and could not find the answers i need. Any
help would be greatly aprreciated.

Regards, Alan

Alan,

Provided the wine is in a glass or stainless steel vessel and is topped
up (little or no air in the vessel), it is highly preferable to let it
sit for as long as you can tolerate (up to probably a maximum of a year
for a kit wine) and let it clear on its own. The timeframes given for
kits are generally minimums and assume that the person making it wants
instant(ish) gratification. Better wine can be made by substitution
patience for much of the chemicals provided in the typical wine kit,
but I won't get into that here as there have been many many posts about
that topic on this newsgroup over the last few years.

Good Luck!

Richard


Alan Ruether wrote:
> Hello fellow winemakers,
> I am new to winemaking having only made a couple of batches.
Recently I
> decided to make ice wine. The problem is that shorty after I did the
second
> racking and the wine was just starting to clear (the wine was clear
about
> one third of the way down the glass carboy) I had to move. During the
move
> the sediment became suspended again and now it seems to be very slow
to
> clear. I am wondering if it is ok to just let it sit until it clears
again
> or will this affect the wine? Should I be adding some clearing agents
again?
> Is it O.K to let it sit longer when according to the instructions I
should
> be bottling it by now? My apologies if this has been asked and
answered many
> times but I did a google search and could not find the answers i
need. Any
> help would be greatly aprreciated.
>
> Regards, Alan

Richard,
Thank you for the advice. I am in no hurry and will let it clear on its
own. It is in a glass vessel but I have no wine of a similar type to top up
with. There is about 1.5 inches of air in the vessel and it is sealed with a
water type bung. I have heard mention of keeping the vessel topped up but
surely it must take a long time for any substantial amount of evaporation to
take place. Thanks again for answering my questions which must be as basic
and frequently asked as is possible!
Best regards,
Alan
> wrote in message
ups.com...
> Alan,
>
> Provided the wine is in a glass or stainless steel vessel and is topped
> up (little or no air in the vessel), it is highly preferable to let it
> sit for as long as you can tolerate (up to probably a maximum of a year
> for a kit wine) and let it clear on its own. The timeframes given for
> kits are generally minimums and assume that the person making it wants
> instant(ish) gratification. Better wine can be made by substitution
> patience for much of the chemicals provided in the typical wine kit,
> but I won't get into that here as there have been many many posts about
> that topic on this newsgroup over the last few years.
>
> Good Luck!
>
> Richard
>
>
> Alan Ruether wrote:
>> Hello fellow winemakers,
>> I am new to winemaking having only made a couple of batches.
> Recently I
>> decided to make ice wine. The problem is that shorty after I did the
> second
>> racking and the wine was just starting to clear (the wine was clear
> about
>> one third of the way down the glass carboy) I had to move. During the
> move
>> the sediment became suspended again and now it seems to be very slow
> to
>> clear. I am wondering if it is ok to just let it sit until it clears
> again
>> or will this affect the wine? Should I be adding some clearing agents
> again?
>> Is it O.K to let it sit longer when according to the instructions I
> should
>> be bottling it by now? My apologies if this has been asked and
> answered many
>> times but I did a google search and could not find the answers i
> need. Any
>> help would be greatly aprreciated.
>>
>> Regards, Alan
>

Richard,
Thank you for the advice. I am in no hurry and will let it clear on its
own. It is in a glass vessel but I have no wine of a similar type to top up
with. There is about 1.5 inches of air in the vessel and it is sealed with a
water type bung. I have heard mention of keeping the vessel topped up but
surely it must take a long time for any substantial amount of evaporation to
take place. Thanks again for answering my questions which must be as basic
and frequently asked as is possible!
Best regards,
Alan
> wrote in message
ups.com...
> Alan,
>
> Provided the wine is in a glass or stainless steel vessel and is topped
> up (little or no air in the vessel), it is highly preferable to let it
> sit for as long as you can tolerate (up to probably a maximum of a year
> for a kit wine) and let it clear on its own. The timeframes given for
> kits are generally minimums and assume that the person making it wants
> instant(ish) gratification. Better wine can be made by substitution
> patience for much of the chemicals provided in the typical wine kit,
> but I won't get into that here as there have been many many posts about
> that topic on this newsgroup over the last few years.
>
> Good Luck!
>
> Richard
>
>
> Alan Ruether wrote:
>> Hello fellow winemakers,
>> I am new to winemaking having only made a couple of batches.
> Recently I
>> decided to make ice wine. The problem is that shorty after I did the
> second
>> racking and the wine was just starting to clear (the wine was clear
> about
>> one third of the way down the glass carboy) I had to move. During the
> move
>> the sediment became suspended again and now it seems to be very slow
> to
>> clear. I am wondering if it is ok to just let it sit until it clears
> again
>> or will this affect the wine? Should I be adding some clearing agents
> again?
>> Is it O.K to let it sit longer when according to the instructions I
> should
>> be bottling it by now? My apologies if this has been asked and
> answered many
>> times but I did a google search and could not find the answers i
> need. Any
>> help would be greatly aprreciated.
>>
>> Regards, Alan
>