time to fine?

Three months isn't very much time for bulk aging. I'd leave it alone for 6 months (topped up and sulfited, of course) before deciding whether to fine it or not.

If you're hell bent on fining this wine, try bentonite, kieselsohl and either gelatin or isinglass. Those combos work well for me, but bear in mind that I make grape wine. BTW, it's better to fine _before_ cold stabilizing. The tartrate crystals tend to tamp down the fining lees.

Suggested doses: ~1 lb/1000 gal kieselsohl + 2 lb/1000 gal bentonite + either gelatin (¼ - 1 lb/1000 gal), _or_ isinglass (2 - 6 ounces/1000 gal).

You should do fining trials to zero in on the best combination and dosage of finings.

Tom S

I agree with Tom, 3 months is a little young yet. And you're right, you wouldn't want to bottle it when it is cloudy. I had this very stubborn watermelon wine which wouldn't clear and wouldn't clear. I did use the coldest part of my basement to try to clear a wine in the winter months, and it did work. It finally got as good as I thought it would get and I bottled it. Everything was fine until my basement warmed up a few degrees this summer - the corks started popping. You just don't know what is suspended in the wine - like leftover yeast. I have a dandelion wine which is not clearing as quickly as my wines usually do. I've already determined that it is not a starch haze, nor a pectin haze. I will wait until the wine is at least 6 months old before I consider fining. Darlene

??? I thought cold stabilization first, then bentonite. Should I do it the other way around?

In a word, YES! :^)

Tom S

I also have a dandelion wine from this spring that refuses to clear or even stop fermenting. I keep adding a small amount of sugar and it starts right back up.

I have an Apple that I started from juice in October 2002... It cleared nicely... until I added Wine Conditioner in June 2003... Then it went cloudy. I racked it in September and it clouded up to opaque... The wine tastes good and smells good. Has anyone had this happen before?

Later, A. J.

My first dandelion wine cleared fine, but this one is proving to be a challenge at almost 6 months. From a previous thread, the suggestion was to fine with bentonite, then cold stabilize - the feeling was that the tartaric crystals will damp down fine bentonite lees. This is kind of what I'm thinking of doing. Then I would rack, stabilize, and sweeten if it needs it, wait a month and then bottle. Darlene

Someone else complained of this recently, and less than a week after I said I never heard of it, it happened to me. It's most likely a protein haze. If so, bentonite will cure it within 2 weeks.