egg shells for clarifying???

[gunwolf]

hello again...today I was busy at work and of course the topic of winemaking came up. this self proclaimed old school winemaker said he uses crushed up dried egg shells at his final racking,before he bottles.
Anyone ever heard of this? how does this work? thanks in advance.

 

[EvilTOJ]

In my recipe book for ancient beer, wine and mead recipes, a lot call for egg whites to be added just before bottling, so I'm sure it works somehow. I think it's the calcium content in the egg shells that bonds to lees and helps them drop out of suspension.

I still wouldn't do it though, there's plenty of other good clarifiers.

 

[gunwolf]

I still wouldn't do it though, there's plenty of other good clarifiers.

I agree 100%! something about putting anything egg related doesn't sit well with me.
But I am still interested in finding out more info on this,and how it works...for my notes.

 

[Yooper]

You can use egg shells, or egg whites from my understanding. They behave differently. Egg shells cause a chemical reaction, causing floaties to fall or be attracted to the shells and go to the bottom. I've heard that it does work.

As ETJ said, though, there are better clarifiers out there such as sparkelloid or kc finings.

 

[schmmd]

Have you ever made cowboy coffee? Egg shells really help settle the grounds when preparing it. I'm not sure whether it is the shell of the white in the shell that is helping, however. I'd be interested to know which.

 

[CandleWineProject]

I think I had heard somewhere that if you drop egg whites in, as they sink, the solids stick to the egg whites, and that is how it clears. It sounds logical, but I'm not sure I would try it. I would be paranoid about salmonella.

You should ask to observe the old school winemaker as he does his little egg shell trick and then report back to us.

 

[david_42]

Back in Old School days salmonella wasn't the problem it is today. Scary to know many eggs have salmonella INSIDE, not just on the shells. I don't make eggnog any more.

Egg white is good for removing tannins in red wine. The albumen binds tannins and proteins (to a lessor extent).

 

[Ber]

I raise my own chickens for eggs, organic no soy or corn, and am using them to try this little experiment. Wish me luck!

 

[odorf]

I have heard of using sea shells also, same thing calcium?

 

[Pataka]

Somewhere I read that if you wanted to reduce the salmonella risk, you could put the crushed eggshells in the oven and sterilise them first. I've personally used egg white with great success, but only used it once.

 

[Ber]

It has only been a couple of days, I read it takes around 5-7 to clear. We shall see. As for salmonella, really not a worry in my 17% alcohol wine. This is the key as why alcohol was so important at meals historically. There are many articles on this just plug in wine or alcohol and salmonella. Not to mention it is extremely rare in home flocks like mine.

 

[gregbathurst]

Using egg whites for clarifying is quite common for wine, the top wine producers in Bordeaux only use egg whites.