What will clear dandelion wine?

[Mallerstang]

Hi all - I have a dandelion wine under airlock that I started 11 months ago, and it's still hazy. The recipe is from Jack Keller's website, and it includes Welch's white grape juice as well as zest and juice of lemons and oranges. I did use pectic enzyme, and have racked it a few times.

Last year I made the same recipe, and it never quite cleared even though I tried sparkolloid at about this point in the process. I eventually bottled it slightly hazy (NOT cloudy!) and it must have been OK because it's all gone lol.

Has anyone had any success clearing this kind of wine with fining agents? Any specific recommendations? I don't want to throw things in it randomly; most of my wines have cleared up nicely by themselves with enough time in the basement. I'm wondering if perhaps it's pollen from the flowers.

 

[bernardsmith]

I have made dandelion wine only a couple of times and don't recall that this wine was ever bright clear. But that said, even pollen should drop out through the action of gravity over time, though if there is a great deal of CO2 still saturating your wine then that might keep any particles in suspension. Have you degassed this wine?

 

[homebrewer_99]

Bentonite...

 

[jgmillr1]

Has anyone had any success clearing this kind of wine with fining agents? Any specific recommendations?

"Super kleer" works well after fermentation. It is a 2-part addition of kieselsol followed later by chitosan.

Bentonite is good at removing protein and other positively charged bits in solution. This is best used during fermentation so that the yeast and CO2 activity will churn it around the wine. It can also be used after fermentation if needed.

 

[Mallerstang]

Thanks for the replies! No, I've not degassed it - but it's been in the carboy since last May, and it's been racked four times. Could it really need degassing?

Maybe I'll try bentonite this time, or maybe just leave it a few more months until I need the carboy in August for the blackberry wine. Didn't like the idea of the superkleer when I used it for my one and only wine kit, but that's just me.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Thanks for the replies! No, I've not degassed it - but it's been in the carboy since last May, and it's been racked four times. Could it really need degassing?

Maybe I'll try bentonite this time, or maybe just leave it a few more months until I need the carboy in August for the blackberry wine. Didn't like the idea of the superkleer when I used it for my one and only wine kit, but that's just me.

You only have 1 carboy?

 

[Mallerstang]

You only have 1 carboy?

Lol too much! No I have a 6-gallon carboy, seven 3-gallon ones, fifteen smaller assorted sizes from imperial gallon down to 2 litres - and a plan to start filling them all up as fruit is available over the summer.