Pectic Enzyme & Cherry Wine

[brazedowl]

So I've got this batch of cherry "wine" that is all kinds of hazy. I say "wine" because it's strawberry juice concentrate and four cans of cherry pie filling.

I'm wondering if I can't add some pectic enzyme to it now to try to clear it up...

It's been sitting in the secondary since 10/17.

Thoughts?

 

[rsmith179]

That sounds like a science experiment... Pectic enzyme will help clarify your wine a bit, but you may need to use other fining agents such as bentonite. Simply racking a few times will also help clarify the wine over time.

 

[brazedowl]

I'm going to rerack it over some pectic enzyme and bentonite then and see how it goes.

 

[truckjohn]

Cherry pie filling? You know that stuff is full of Corn Starch and other thickeners like arrow root, tapioca, dextrose, gums, etc....

There isn't much pectin in it... so Pectic enzyme probably won't do much.

You may end up being forced to use some sort of clarifiers to pull all of those thickeners back out...

Tell us how this comes out.

John

 

[brazedowl]

You know... now that I think about it I think that John here is right... I have to add so much to my pie to make it thicken up on me.

Well I racked it up on top of 2.5tsp of pectic enzyme (didn't read this first), and 2tbsp of bentonite... we'll see how that works out.

 

[brazedowl]

Well to follow up... a year later.... that batch cleared up great. Went with the same process and I've got another 5gal batch ready to be bottled here in a week or so. Crystal clear at the moment.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

You might consider using either raw, fresh cherries and/or juice for your next batch. Regards, GF.

 

[brazedowl]

Well my budget dosn't fit real fruit unless I can get it for free... I do have a batch of blueberry wine made with just blueberries and raisins going.