Bentonite

[Evets]

I used this in my first wine, a cherry, as a fining or clarifying agent, and it seemed to work great. At least the wine turned out crystal clear. However I rarely see this in a recipe. Are there wines which are more likely to need bentonite, or do No wines really need it? Can I just use it all the time, just for the heck of it? Can it hurt anything to use it all the time? Thanx, folks!

 

[Caplan]

Bentonite is the only clearing agent I use. Wines that should be clearing better after a few months that aren't occasionally get treated. I use it, put the wine under airlock again for a few days and then rack off for storage again.

 

[roxy10_2]

So, when exactly do you use it? I just put my apple/berry wine into the carboy a few days ago. I used an apple recipe and black currant recipe, added them together. But didn't see a fining agent in the recipe, although I bought some Sparkolloid recently. It says on the pack to make the solution of powder and water, then add to wine, then leave for 2 weeks, then rack from the sediment. So, am I supposed to wait a while until close to bottling, because there is still good yeast in there(I'm guessing)? (I'm still VERY new to brewing, only my second batch).

Thanks for help in advance.

 

[DarkStar]

Bentonite can be added into the primary in smaller amounts than would be added into secondary and it is fine to add into at anytime after fermentation is complete. It is mainly used to prevent protein haze (Chill Haze). Sparkolloid is negative charge works exellent as a follow up to bentonite which is a positive charge, it is highly recomended to filter after sparkolloid, in fact it is required for commercial operations.

You should have Hot mix sparkolloid for wine, cold mix is for fruit juice. Your yeast has done all its going to do for now. do the flashlight test before you bottle to check and be sure its clear, otherwise you will have sediment fallout in the bottle if it bothers you.

Take your time with wine theres nothing that needs to be hurried for.