Clearing red wine

The color change is relatively small. If you tried to made a blush out of a red wine, excessive amounts of Bentonite would be needed and there wouldn't be much flavor left.

In normal amounts (a few pounds/1000 gal), bentonite produces no noticeable color shift in either red or white wines. I have noticed that it may improve clarity and aroma of some reds - particularly Pinot Noir. It also helps prevent the protein haze that I commonly find in Pinot Noir, and the amount required is on the order of 1 lb/1000 gal.

Tom S

No, bentonite will not make a hugely noticeable change in the color of a red wine. That's not the reason that we don't use it as a rule, though.

Red wine will normally clarify without fining. If red wine has a (protein) haze you can clarify it with bentonite.

Bentonite acts as a magnet in the wine to remove positively charged molecules. The bentonite has a negative charge, and bonds with the filtrate. It will help the wine clear, but it also takes some of the taste and color with it.

I prefer not to use bentonite to clear any of my wine, as I find that it produces a large amount of lees that are "fluffy" and hard to rack off without disturbing the it. I much prefer bulk aging the wine in the carboy for 3 months or longer. This bulk aging also improves the quality of the wine itself. It's a win-win situation, as long as you have the patience.

I don't really have a lot of patience, so I just make a lot of wine...usually have 3 carboys at various stages on the go.

Bottled some lovely chiati last night.....mmmm

Lucy

Thank you. That's what I wanted to know.

What is the reason we don't use it as a rule?

Normally it does. That's because the tannins themselves will precipitate positively-charged molecules, especially if the wine is oaked..

Thank you. The question was what effect doing so would have on the colour.

Yes, I know.

And thus my question.

I wouldn't dream of using fining agents, unless the wine failed to cleared by itself within a year's aging. In fact, I used bentonite for the first time this year (on a stubborn apple wine). Results were impressive; loss of flavour and/or colour was undetectable. The "common wisdom" is that bentonite should not be used on reds because of the colour loss. However, if the loss of colour in the apple was any indication, perhaps the colour loss is not significant enough to worry about. Thus the question.

I have a lot of patience. I have about 100 carboys at various stages of fermentation and aging. I don't bottle until I need empty carboys for the next year's production.

Drank some lovely Sand Emiliano last night....mmmmmmm :)

My experience with bentonite in red wine is that even in small doses (~1-2 lb/1000 gal) it can dramatically improve the nose and bring the fruit to the fore on the palate.

I can recover almost all the wine from bentonite lees by centrifugation in 2 liter plastic bottles in a washing machine on the spin cycle. Try it! It works better on my specially modified machine, but it works OK on a normal machine. Give it several cycles on "spin".

BTW, bulk aging is also a good thing. It's not the _only_ thing though.

If you think that fining agents are all about removing suspended solids, you don't understand fining.

Fining is best done on a wine that is nearly or already clear. The idea is to improve the _flavor_ - not to achieve clarity, although improved clarity will frequently be a side benefit.

The use of the right amounts of certain fining agents can turn a mediocre wine into a good wine, or a good wine into a _great_ wine!

It's necessary to conduct fining trials on any specific wine to determine its best fining regimen, but that isn't really as hard to do as it sounds.

In fact, I used bentonite for the first

My experience tells me that conventional wisdom is false in this regard. You'd have to use a LOT of bentonite to strip color from a red wine - too much to be considered normal or reasonable.

Also, a _light_ bentonite fining is recommended for any wine (including reds) that you plan to filter. Makes things go easier and helps prevent the pads/media from clogging up.

Tom S

Tom S What would you consider a light bentonite for a 23 l kit, red or white? Thank you. Kevin

One to two pounds per thousand gallons. Be sure to thoroughly hydrate the bentonite first in hot water (~50g/l), let it sit overnight, and mix it in slowly while stirring the wine vigorously.

Tom S

Mixing bentonite thoroughly is so easy to say/type... But it is truly difficult to do.. Does anyone have any hints on how to do this without using an industrial blender???

I mixed it fine with an egg beater. A household blender would work as well, however the bentonite will etch the plastic apparently.

The method suggested in CJJ Berry's "First Steps" is to mix 4.5 tsp (~21 gms) bentonite and 250 ml of hot water in a one pint jar, and shake it vigorously. Then let sit 12-24 hours. [This provides enough "slurry" to treat a 5-gallon batch.] I've tried this, and it seems to work well. I use a 16-oz plastic bottle, such as those in which vitamin tablets are sold.

An alternative, which I prefer, is to use 250 ml of must rather than hot water. There is no need to heat the must, the slurry is ready for use in less time, and there is no dilution of your wine.

As to mixing the bentonite slurry into the wine, CJJ suggests "shaking" the carboy gently for 30 minutes to keep the bentonite in suspension. I prefer stirring it with a glass or plastic rod (a racking cane will do the job). One of these days, I plan to put a small motor on a stainless steel rod, so I can do other things while the must is being stirred.

Agglomerated bentonite is a lot easier to mix than the traditional stuff, which tends to lump if you add it too rapidly to water. Still, either can be mixed pretty easily in an Osterizer. Eventually you'll have to replace the impeller assembly because the bentonite wears out the seals.

Don't try to put more than 50 or 60 grams per liter, and use *hot* water.

Tom S

In making wine from kits, I noticed two types of bentonite:

Brew King--mixes instantly in warm water with a spoon if you sprinkle it in slowly.

Vineco--lumps like hell and even a blender doesn't always smooth it out.

Ask your dealer to buy you the Brew King bentonite by the kg, the price is veryr easonable in bulk.--Irene

I think you may be referring to agglomerated and non-agglomerated bentonite.

try this:

Bob