Clearing.

Allan, you will find some information on using Bentonite here......

In article , Lum writes

Thank you.

Just out of curiosity, how old is your wine? Darlene

In article , Dar V writes

It has been in the fermentation vessel for about four or five weeks. I used a batch of last year's frozen gooseberries. Some of the haze could possibly have come from the juice extraction process, though I was careful not to crush the pips.

Alan, Lum is an excellent source and you do well to follow his advice. The only reason I asked, is because it takes time to clear a wine. Some fruit/veggies wines clear quickly, some don't. Four or five weeks is young to expect the wine to be clear. I usually start worrying when a wine doesn't clear by 6 months and I've racked it 3-4 times. I use a lot of frozen fruit/veggies when I make my wine, and I am at that point where I have recipes that I follow. It might not be anything you've done this time. I made a zucchini wine last year, which cleared very quickly. This year, the wine is cloudy and not clearing as well, but I'll give it some time to clear. Why is it cloudy this year and not last year, especially as I used the same recipe...? I don't know. Good-luck. Darlene Wisconsin USA

I am by NO means an expert, but I think Darlene is exactly right, Alan, four to five weeks is not near enough time to be worried yet. I'd rack it to a new container and wait at least another month or two(with probably another rackign in there) before I started to worry about clearing, and also before I'd try using any additives, as, at least in theory( I can't claim any experience here), they can remove some favorable portions of the flavor/boquet.

Just my .02 Joel

fruit/veggies

In article , Dar V writes

Yes, I had begun to think I was perhaps being a bit impatient on this particular wine. I've had two other fruit wines clear much more quickly recently, but as you say each batch has its own peculiarities.

Thanks all for the help on this.

Sounds like you already added the bentonite, so I would just follow Lum's advice and don't worry about it. My understanding of wine kits, is that they add the bentonite quite early in the process; the product is designed for this. I'm by no means an expert, but I've done enough fruit/veggie batches to know that every batch can be an interesting journey. I do like to let my wines clear on their own, but I know it is hard when you're new at this and you want to try your wine. As you continue this hobby and build up enough reserves for you & friends to drink, you'll be able to let them age longer. I've been at this for almost 4 years, and this is the first year I've had enough in reserve to start taking my time and letting my wine bulk age longer, say to 8 months, before bottling. Good-luck and let us know how you're doing. Darlene

Bentonite can be a bit tricky to re-hydrate, as it does tend to clump up. Some sources recommend allowing it to soak for 24 hours before you stir it again and add to the wine. There also seem to be several grades of bentonite sold to home winemakers - some brands seem to be ground into much smaller particles, and those seem to mix more easily with water. I've had the best luck adding the bentonite very slowly to plain water, while stirring constantly.

One nit-pick -- you didn't stop fermentation with a campden tablet. It is darned difficult to stop an active fermentation, and one campden tablet in several gallons of wine is not nearly enough. If fermentation stopped, it was most likely that the yeast had run out of food. The "small amount" of fermentation you observed was likely a little of the dissolved CO2 forming bubbles on the bentonite particles. You will probably have better luck getting your wines to clear if you "de-gas" the wines (by stirring vigorously, for example) after fermentation is complete. The dissolved CO2 tends to prevent the suspended particles from settling.

Doug

In article , Doug writes

Yes, Lum's advice is to soak Bentonite in water for 24 hrs. This wine was from my own fruit plus a kit which included 'Basic Finings'. I have now added Bentonite and it is gradually clearing.

You are right. In fact I added one campden tablet each to 2, 1 gallon demi-johns. I thought it had stopped, but it has now re-activated. I shall give it time to clear a bit more, then rack it off the lees again, give it a good stir and store it in the jars until I am satisfied enough to bottle it. In winemaking, as in life, time is a great healer.

In article , Dar V writes

Many thanks for your help Darlene. I am not actually new to winemaking, but up to now it has been very hit and miss and the results have often been less than pleasing. I am already finding the discussions in this group very useful in the aim of making a better job and a more rewarding hobby of winemaking. I hope to join in and continue learning.