How to properly clear fruit wine

[GGBlackMamba]

Hi guys,

I have a vary particular problem. May be many of you have faced it before and thus I hope you will share the secrets of how to clear my fruit wine completely. What do I mean by completely? I will explain myself in a bit.

So first things first. I got interested in fruit wine making and I decided to make my first batch of apple cider (not sure for the correct name not a native English speaker - please feel free to correct me!) two years ago. I gotta say it was not the best thing I made. It was cloudy as hell! At that time I was not sure how to clear the wine of the must and for the second batch I got ready and used Bentonite to clear my second batch. This time the wine was clearer! But... of course there is a "butt" I still noticed that after I bottled it up there was still some must left inside the bottle. But it was not visible until 3 weeks after the wine has been bottled up. Here is a picture to show you what I mean see the first image:

As you can see the wine looks clear. And with good color (in my opinion ) but here is what is left on the other side of the bottle: see the second image.

I have this really nasty spot of must. If I shake the bottle up the spot clears and its not visible at all but still it annoys me a lot! What am I doing wrong and how can I fix it?

Now for the recipe and the methods I use to make the wine:

NOTE: I am not using a strict recipe I am experimenting

Recipe:

- 60/70 kg of apples
- squash the apples into a mash (not sure I am using the correct term here. Still not a native speaker. But the idea here is that I am not squeezing the juice out of the apples am rather turning them into a mash - like potato mash not sure how to explain it)
- add needed sugar
- pectin for white wines
- 8-9 grams of yeast
- wait for it to finish its fermentation
- remove the must (by squeezing the juice/wine out of the must - I think that this particular step is my problem not sure) and let the wine clear out
- add bentonite to clear up faster
- wait for 2 weeks
- bottle up!

As a taste the wine is really good smells like fresh apples ( not rotten ) and its about 10% Alcohol. Tried it while young - great taste. Waited to for it to age a little by a few months (6 to be precise) even better taste. But the must spots are bugging me out. So guys how can I improve on the wine clearing?

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi GGBlackMamba - and welcome. Your English is fine. Your question deals with two different issues. The first is about what is called fining and the second deals with the presence of lees (sediment). Regarding the first, you can buy "finings" and these chemicals typically work by adding material to the wine that adds electrically charged particles to the wine. These electrically charged particles attract the oppositely charged particles of fruit in the wine and the weight of these neutralized particles is enough to help the fruit drop out of suspension. Now, often what is keeping the particles in suspension in the wine is the presence of carbon dioxide produced by the yeast, so removing this gas (de-gasing) also has the effect of helping the wine clear.

Now lees are very different. This is what happens when particles fall out of suspension and the longer you allow the wine to age before you bottle the fewer lees will drop in the bottle BUT as wine ages different chemical reactions take place and some of these reactions result in the production of lees. Bottom line: even in aged wines lees can/will still form which is why some people still decant their bottles of expensive grape wines.

 

[bucketnative]

In your second photo, there appears to be a whitish/pinkish growth on the wall of the bottle. Is that what you describe as a "must spot"?

 

[GGBlackMamba]

Hi GGBlackMamba - and welcome. Your English is fine. Your question deals with two different issues. The first is about what is called fining and the second deals with the presence of lees (sediment). Regarding the first, you can buy "finings" and these chemicals typically work by adding material to the wine that adds electrically charged particles to the wine. These electrically charged particles attract the oppositely charged particles of fruit in the wine and the weight of these neutralized particles is enough to help the fruit drop out of suspension. Now, often what is keeping the particles in suspension in the wine is the presence of carbon dioxide produced by the yeast, so removing this gas (de-gasing) also has the effect of helping the wine clear.

Now lees are very different. This is what happens when particles fall out of suspension and the longer you allow the wine to age before you bottle the fewer lees will drop in the bottle BUT as wine ages different chemical reactions take place and some of these reactions result in the production of lees. Bottom line: even in aged wines lees can/will still form which is why some people still decant their bottles of expensive grape wines.

Thank you so much for your response and for clearing these things for me! But what I fail to understand is that:

- how can I "de-gas" the wine? Do I need a special equipment or some type of chemical?
- is it OK to decant the wine form the bottles? Wont the process of decanting cause the wine to oxidase, causing it to lose alcoholic assets, taste and smell? Would it need some type of preparation?
- In your post you mention "finings"? Isn't the that the whole idea of the Bentonite or am I missing something?

 

[GGBlackMamba]

In your second photo, there appears to be a whitish/pinkish growth on the wall of the bottle. Is that what you describe as a "must spot"?

yes more or less and as the post above mentions the spot in the bottle's wall is "lees". Again I am not a native speaker thus I dont't know the correct terminology. Sorry about that.

 

[bucketnative]

yes more or less and as the post above mentions the spot in the bottle's wall is "lees". Again I am not a native speaker thus I dont't know the correct terminology. Sorry about that.

Your English is fine, better than some native speakers.

My mistake was assuming you were storing your bottles upright, and I was trying to understand why the spot was on the wall. But, these are corked bottles, and I believe that you are storing them on their sides, which is appropriate. I mistook the spot for a microbial colony.

The temporary solution for this batch may be to shake the bottle a few days before serving, then let it sit upright to allow the lees to settle to the bottom. When you serve the lees will be much less visible and easier to leave behind in the bottle.

 

[GGBlackMamba]

Your English is fine, better than some native speakers.

My mistake was assuming you were storing your bottles upright, and I was trying to understand why the spot was on the wall. But, these are corked bottles, and I believe that you are storing them on their sides, which is appropriate. I mistook the spot for a microbial colony.

The temporary solution for this batch may be to shake the bottle a few days before serving, then let it sit upright to allow the lees to settle to the bottom. When you serve the lees will be much less visible and easier to leave behind in the bottle.

Thanks and yeah I am stacking them sideways like in the picture below. And if you look closer at it you will see the lees on the edge of the transparent bottles. But is there a way to prevent this form happening? I tried replying to bernardsmith's answer but unfortunately the system is not posting it. It says my post needs to be approved by a moderator for some reason. May I can re-post it, not sure.

 

[bernardsmith]

Bentonite is ONE kind of fining but there are others some that are negatively charged and some positively. The other thing you may want to do to help clear fruit wines is to add pectic enzyme about 12 -24 hours BEFORE you pitch (add) yeast. The enzyme breaks down the pectins in the fruit - a substance that causes cloudiness in wines .

Decanting is done just before you drink the wine. You carefully pour the wine into a carafe to allow the wine to "breath" and this pouring avoids the lees so that when you pour wine from the carafe into glasses no one sees the lees.

 

[jgmillr1]

One issue I had with my apple wine was a protein problem that appeared a few months after bottling. The solution is to use the proper fining agents to remove the protein from the wine. Bentonite is a fining agent that has a negative charge, so will remove the positively charged proteins from the wine. However, you also need to use a fining agent that has a positive charge (such as gelatin or chitosan) that will attract the negatively charged proteins. When used sequentially (kieselsol first, chitosan the next day) they can do an excellent job clearing your wine and preventing future problems with haze or sedimentation. They are also sold as a set under the Super-Kleer name.

Here is a good link on the use of fining agents:
https://winemakermag.com/26-a-clearer-understanding-of-fining-agents