Hello:

Have a few reds (Cab, Zin,a Gamay, Concord, Blackberry) from this
falls flurry of winemaking.

The garage has been +/- 10deg C (50deg F) until this week when the
temps dropped to +/- 6deg C (42deg F).

The wines, all of them have been clearing nicely and I was thinking of
bottling the blackberry this weekend. But all of the reds have
clouded up, top to bottom!

What is going on? Is this a major problem? Help!

TIA!

Steve - Noobie
Oregon

spud wrote:

> Hello:
>
> Have a few reds (Cab, Zin,a Gamay, Concord, Blackberry) from this
> falls flurry of winemaking.
>
> The garage has been +/- 10deg C (50deg F) until this week when the
> temps dropped to +/- 6deg C (42deg F).
>
> The wines, all of them have been clearing nicely and I was thinking of
> bottling the blackberry this weekend. But all of the reds have
> clouded up, top to bottom!
>
> What is going on? Is this a major problem? Help!
>
> TIA!
>
> Steve - Noobie
> Oregon

Perhaps something has stirred up the sediment. Any jokesters around the
house? Seriously though, drawing on my knowledge from high school and
college chemistry, when the temperature drops, certain salts and
chemicals present in the wine may precipitate out due to the low
temperatures. They might redissolve, but then again, maybe not. I have
this happen frequently when I make ice tea from teabags. The brewed tea
is perfectly clear, but if I leave it overnight in a pitcher in the
refrigerator, it will be cloudy by morning. It might possibly have
something to do with the water used to make up the wine, or perhaps you
have bacterial activity, which is leaving new residues in the wine. Your
nose should be able to tell if something is amiss if this is the case.

If everything smells okay, I would wait and see if it clears out on its
own. If everything is okay so far, you should not be in a hurry to
bottle the wine yet. Fermentation of my fall wine was a protracted
affair due to the low temperatures in the unheated garage I did my
fermentations in, but my wine cleared just fine, and has some potential
to be a good wine. I ended up moving the wine to the basement to age in
a cool dark and undisturbed environment until at least Spring before I
bottle it, and fermentation restarted a bit. I understand your desire
to enjoy the finished product, but a good red needs to be aged at least
a year to be really ready to be enjoyed.

In the meantime, check out some of the Internet resources for specific
advice on clearing up the wine. Pay attention to the amount of acid and
tannin in the wine, these can affect its ability to clear. If you still
have issues with clarity in a few months when you are ready to bottle
it, egg whites, gelatin, and Bentonite Clay are inexpensive and reliable
standbys that can be added to the wine to assist clearing.

Good Luck and 73 de Bruce N3LSY

Hi Bruce:

Thanks for the response.

Water for the fruit wines is from our well, which does have iron in
it. It is filtered to the point that the color is clear and the taste
is eliminated, but I'm sure there is still plenty of Fe ions present.

So initially I thought it was a metal haze as described in Berry's
book, Keller and Lum sites. But SWMBO pointed out, that dosen't
account for the haze in the pure grape wines, Cab, Zin, Gamay.

The smell and taste are fine, nothing odd, offensive or unusual. TA's
range from .60% to .75% and pH from 3.1 to 3.5 all depending on the
wine (using litmus paper). Tannin levels, using taste only, are
-there-. I like dry wines with a bit of a pucker quality to them, so
we seem ok here. Normal I suppose, whatever that is. :-)

All I have is Sparkalloid on hand and it has performed well on the
wines that have needed clearing so far. I guess being a noobie, I
have a bit of confidence with that fining agent.

I thought I'd keep track of the wines using a 6 cell flashlight, see
if any clearing is noticable top to bottom over the next week or so,
before doing anything. Then try Sparkaloid on the 3 gallons of plum
first. Which was clear enough to read through before subjecting it to
the colder conditions in the garage.

Here's my concern. I'd like to clear this haze before temps rise and
whatever is precipitated goes back into solution. As long as I don't
strip flavor and color in the process, though. We'll see what
happens.


Take Care and Thanks!
Steve - Noobie
Oregon








> Bruce_Nolte_N3LSY& > wrote:
> Your
>nose should be able to tell if something is amiss if this is the case.
>
>If everything smells okay, I would wait and see if it clears out on its
>own. If everything is okay so far, you should not be in a hurry to
>bottle the wine yet. Fermentation of my fall wine was a protracted
>affair due to the low temperatures in the unheated garage I did my
>fermentations in, but my wine cleared just fine, and has some potential
>to be a good wine. I ended up moving the wine to the basement to age in
>a cool dark and undisturbed environment until at least Spring before I
>bottle it, and fermentation restarted a bit. I understand your desire
>to enjoy the finished product, but a good red needs to be aged at least
>a year to be really ready to be enjoyed.
>
>In the meantime, check out some of the Internet resources for specific
>advice on clearing up the wine. Pay attention to the amount of acid and
>tannin in the wine, these can affect its ability to clear. If you still
>have issues with clarity in a few months when you are ready to bottle
>it, egg whites, gelatin, and Bentonite Clay are inexpensive and reliable
>standbys that can be added to the wine to assist clearing.
>
>Good Luck and 73 de Bruce N3LSY

Bruce_Nolte_N3LSY& wrote:
> spud wrote:
>
>> Hello:
>>
>> Have a few reds (Cab, Zin,a Gamay, Concord, Blackberry) from this
>> falls flurry of winemaking.
>> The garage has been +/- 10deg C (50deg F) until this week when the
>> temps dropped to +/- 6deg C (42deg F).
>> The wines, all of them have been clearing nicely and I was thinking of
>> bottling the blackberry this weekend. But all of the reds have
>> clouded up, top to bottom!
>> What is going on? Is this a major problem? Help!
>>
>> TIA!
>>
>> Steve - Noobie
>> Oregon
>
>
> Perhaps something has stirred up the sediment. Any jokesters around the
> house? Seriously though, drawing on my knowledge from high school and
> college chemistry, when the temperature drops, certain salts and
> chemicals present in the wine may precipitate out due to the low
> temperatures. They might redissolve, but then again, maybe not. I have
> this happen frequently when I make ice tea from teabags. The brewed tea
> is perfectly clear, but if I leave it overnight in a pitcher in the
> refrigerator, it will be cloudy by morning. It might possibly have
> something to do with the water used to make up the wine, or perhaps you
> have bacterial activity, which is leaving new residues in the wine. Your
> nose should be able to tell if something is amiss if this is the case.
>
> If everything smells okay, I would wait and see if it clears out on its
> own. If everything is okay so far, you should not be in a hurry to
> bottle the wine yet. Fermentation of my fall wine was a protracted
> affair due to the low temperatures in the unheated garage I did my
> fermentations in, but my wine cleared just fine, and has some potential
> to be a good wine. I ended up moving the wine to the basement to age in
> a cool dark and undisturbed environment until at least Spring before I
> bottle it, and fermentation restarted a bit. I understand your desire
> to enjoy the finished product, but a good red needs to be aged at least
> a year to be really ready to be enjoyed.
>
> In the meantime, check out some of the Internet resources for specific
> advice on clearing up the wine. Pay attention to the amount of acid and
> tannin in the wine, these can affect its ability to clear. If you still
> have issues with clarity in a few months when you are ready to bottle
> it, egg whites, gelatin, and Bentonite Clay are inexpensive and reliable
> standbys that can be added to the wine to assist clearing.
>
> Good Luck and 73 de Bruce N3LSY

Tom S had an excellent response to Paddy O's request for help here on
the NG about problems with cloudiness in red wines, and goes into more
detail than I can give.

Bruce_Nolte_N3LSY& wrote:
> spud wrote:
>
>> Hello:
>>
>> Have a few reds (Cab, Zin,a Gamay, Concord, Blackberry) from this
>> falls flurry of winemaking.
>> The garage has been +/- 10deg C (50deg F) until this week when the
>> temps dropped to +/- 6deg C (42deg F).
>> The wines, all of them have been clearing nicely and I was thinking of
>> bottling the blackberry this weekend. But all of the reds have
>> clouded up, top to bottom!
>> What is going on? Is this a major problem? Help!
>>
>> TIA!
>>
>> Steve - Noobie
>> Oregon
>
>
> Perhaps something has stirred up the sediment. Any jokesters around the
> house? Seriously though, drawing on my knowledge from high school and
> college chemistry, when the temperature drops, certain salts and
> chemicals present in the wine may precipitate out due to the low
> temperatures. They might redissolve, but then again, maybe not. I have
> this happen frequently when I make ice tea from teabags. The brewed tea
> is perfectly clear, but if I leave it overnight in a pitcher in the
> refrigerator, it will be cloudy by morning. It might possibly have
> something to do with the water used to make up the wine, or perhaps you
> have bacterial activity, which is leaving new residues in the wine. Your
> nose should be able to tell if something is amiss if this is the case.
>
> If everything smells okay, I would wait and see if it clears out on its
> own. If everything is okay so far, you should not be in a hurry to
> bottle the wine yet. Fermentation of my fall wine was a protracted
> affair due to the low temperatures in the unheated garage I did my
> fermentations in, but my wine cleared just fine, and has some potential
> to be a good wine. I ended up moving the wine to the basement to age in
> a cool dark and undisturbed environment until at least Spring before I
> bottle it, and fermentation restarted a bit. I understand your desire
> to enjoy the finished product, but a good red needs to be aged at least
> a year to be really ready to be enjoyed.
>
> In the meantime, check out some of the Internet resources for specific
> advice on clearing up the wine. Pay attention to the amount of acid and
> tannin in the wine, these can affect its ability to clear. If you still
> have issues with clarity in a few months when you are ready to bottle
> it, egg whites, gelatin, and Bentonite Clay are inexpensive and reliable
> standbys that can be added to the wine to assist clearing.
>
> Good Luck and 73 de Bruce N3LSY

Tom S had an excellent response to Paddy O's request for help here on
the NG about problems with cloudiness in red wines, and goes into more
detail than I can give.

Thanks Bruce, I found the thread.

Steve - Noobie
Oregon


>Bruce_Nolte_N3LSY& > wrote:
>
>Tom S had an excellent response to Paddy O's request for help here on
>the NG about problems with cloudiness in red wines, and goes into more
>detail than I can give.