Apple Wine Not Clearing - NEED HELP

[GADMHahn]

Hello. I am in the final stages of making an apple wine, and I am in some desperate need of assistance. My apple wine tastes AMAZING, but is not clearing properly, and I am getting concerned.

Here is a link to the recipe I used. I made adjustments to this recipe, and of course I didn't use my mouth, etc to transfer the wine. I have the proper equipment. I used this as a basis for ingredients and steps.

http://allotmentheaven.blogspot.com/2011/07/apple-wine-easy-recipe.html

Some adjustments I made: This is a 6 gallon batch. I used 40 lbs. of apples. 11.5 lbs. of sugar was used. Montrache wine yeast was used.

The plan was for the yeast to be unable to convert all of the sugar into alcohol and thus remain sweet. Did this instead of back-sweetening. I think its actually come out great, and tastes perfect. Great balance of sweet and strong. Flavor is already good, and cant wait for it to sit and age.

However, I have racked this now 3 times, and it's still somewhat cloudy/hazy.

This wine has been through a 2-step clearing agent. sat for 10 days, racked, and still cloudy. After about 3-4 weeks of sitting, I again tried to clear it; this time with bentonite. I don't remember the exact amount used, but it was whatever the recommended dosage was for 6 gallons of wine. This caused a drop of sediment, but I think it may have just been the bentonite falling out. Still cloudy a bit. You can't see through the carboy but when you take out a sample it looks pretty clear. Thought its not.

I took it to my local wine place and they think it tastes a bit "yeasty" or "bready". He recommended I cold crash it. I have an extra fridge in my garage and cranked that baby all the way down. The wine has been in there for 2 weeks now and nothing more have happened. Nothing has dropped to the bottom.

I really, really, don't want to mess this wine up. It has a slight pink color to it (we left the apple skins on when making the juice) and I love that. I don't want to lose the color.

I have been considering a few option, but am afraid of doing the wrong one. The wine shop said if the cold crashing doesn't work I may have a protein problem. Not sure how I could even test for that...

I have thought about trying egg shells, but don't want them to draw out the color.
I have also considered egg whites, but not sure how I feel about this method.

I could also try and filter it with a 5 or 3 micron filter, but I am afraid I would lose color, flavor, etc. Though I know it would draw out any remaining yeast still in the wine.

Lastly I could try another round of bentonite, but not sure if its worth it. would it even do anything?


So, any suggestions? I don't want to lose this batch, and I don't want to bottle it and have it settle more as it sits. I was thinking of entering this into a competition if I can clear it. I also want to be able to repeat the process each year and have some good, aged, apple wine. But I need to know how to continue If this happens again.

Any help is so much appreciated.

 

[rickswine]

I would strongly recommend filtering don't think you will lose any color. 5 micron should do it.

 

[stella_tigre]

pectic enzyme?

 

[pumpkinman2012]

I agree with pectic enzyme, plus you can try to cold stabilize it, more solids will drop out, and I use sparkolloid to fine/clear my cider and white wines, plus I always filter my white wines, but the fact that you didn't use pectic enzyme is most likely the reason for the apple wine remaining cloudy.

 

[GADMHahn]

So how can I correct the pectic enzyme issue? I've already gone through two different clearing options plus cold stabilization.
Am planning on running it through a 1 micron filter tomorrow.

 

[stella_tigre]

Pectic enzyme is added to break down the pectins and allow the cider/wine to clear, at least as one of its purposes.

 

[GADMHahn]

I have pectic enzyme. Is it safe to add now?

 

[stella_tigre]

I agree with pectic enzyme, plus you can try to cold stabilize it, more solids will drop out, and I use sparkolloid to fine/clear my cider and white wines, plus I always filter my white wines, but the fact that you didn't use pectic enzyme is most likely the reason for the apple wine remaining cloudy.

I have not had to use it yet, although a search of the forums suggests it's OK, but may take more of a dose after fermentation. pumpkinman2012, what say you?

 

[pumpkinman2012]

You can use Pectic enzyme after fermentation, you may have to use a heavier dosage.

 

[GADMHahn]

Thanks guys! I will let you all know how it turns out.

 

[GADMHahn]

So not able to filter like I had hoped. I'm going to give it a few days with the pectic enzyme added (about 3/4 tsp) and see if it drops on its own.
Should I put it back in the fridge and cold stabilize it again? I took it out so it wasn't cold for filtering. And what do you guys think about using bentonite again after the pectic enzyme starts to work?

 

[Yooper]

So not able to filter like I had hoped. I'm going to give it a few days with the pectic enzyme added (about 3/4 tsp) and see if it drops on its own.
Should I put it back in the fridge and cold stabilize it again? I took it out so it wasn't cold for filtering. And what do you guys think about using bentonite again after the pectic enzyme starts to work?

3/4 teaspoon of pectic enzyme isn't much. I typically use 1/2-3/4 teaspoon per gallon.

 

[GADMHahn]

I'll add more

 

[pumpkinman2012]

you want your wine at room temp or more when using pectic enzyme, the warmer temps help it to work better.

 

[GADMHahn]

So enzyme was added on the 5th. Still no change. Has been in my basement ever since.
any suggestions?

 

[goosen1]

So enzyme was added on the 5th. Still no change. Has been in my basement ever since.
any suggestions?

I think filtering would be your best bet as of now. I had the same problem with my peach wine that I made out of fresh peach cider.

 

[electrolight]

Mine usually don't clear till the 4 or 5 month mark... but then again I don't add any finning agents... You could just let it sit longer.

 

[arky1974]

Did you try using any sparkalloid? Sometimes I have to treat my hazy wines with bentonite and then later sparkalloid. This usually clears them. Just takes a while.

 

[bcnimmo]

I have been down this same road and filtering is the answer it will not harm flavor or taste just clears it up.

 

[madscientist451]

I avoid messing with my ciders/wines by adding chemicals or fining agents.
If you are happy with the taste, you've done a good job and maybe you should reward yourself with drinking some of the wine.
I'd get some 1 gallon jugs and fill 3 to lay back for a while and see if it clears by itself over time. The other two gallons I'd put in the fridge and enjoy now and over the summer. If the appearance bothers you, use a frosty glass.
While you are enjoying it, you can consider buying a proper filter for wines and see if that is an option for you.

 

[MindenMan]

I am thinking the boiling water set some of the pectin, but with what you have done I don't understand why it hasn't cleared. You might try gelatin as a solution. I have a question, do you notice any difference in the flavor after adding the raisins? How cold is the temperature you are using, is it 32*F or below? Wine won't freeze at 32*F.

 

[GADMHahn]

Sorry for the delay in responding to all of the posts. I waited a while longer to see if it would clear. After about a week of pectic enzyme it started to drop more. But not enough. Ended up filtering it with a 1 micron filter. Pretty much did the trick! It was a drastic difference. I probably could have done it a second time but I decided to bottle it.
Never lost any color. But the flavor changed; you could tell there was still yeast active before filtering. Total night and day taste. Now it tastes better than before.
Bottled everything up and I'm crossing my fingers I don't see sediment in a few months.

Thanks for all of the help. Very much appreciated.