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Produce => Drink .... => Topic started by: sueshamen on June 12, 2006, 01:03:55
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Mother in law gave me loads of Victoria plums last year so made wine with them, however it's now been in the demi john since last september and is still not clear, fermentation seems to have all but stopped. Have racked it twice and added fining's but to no avail. Any suggestions would be much appreciated on how to get it clear.
The load I made the previous year was great ...no problems there and sadly now all gone.
same recipe used for both batches so what could be wrong this time round.
She also gave me 16lb of blackberries a month ago when her freezer "defrosted itself" so 4 gallons of blackberry wine glugging away nicely at the moment.
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I suspect you have a pectin cloud in there, particularly if you poured boiling water onto the fruit. Pectin enzyme should remove it, I am not sure if egg white does the same ...
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Also sounds like a pectin haze to me.
Did you add any pectolase at the beginning,if not do so next time to avoid any more problems in the future
Did you use hot water extraction?
It may not completely clear this time but will still be completely OK to drink
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I had the same problem with Sloe wine I made in 2004. It is still corked up in the demijohn in the garage, but is now beautifully clear - so it should be after 21 months!
I suppose I'll have to open the stuff up and taste it - then either rack it again :-\ , bottle it :D , or chuck it away :'( .
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OK the plum wine is still cloudy even after pepyic enzyme, should I try the banana method now to clear it.
(When I say cloudy I mean it looks like dirty water, not muddy but like when you wash aubergne towels for the first time water.)
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The egg white method is very messy and I have not had success with it, they used mik or even raw meat in the old days, same principle.
There are some commercial wine filters on the market. where the wine passes through compressed paper which is much the same as water and coffee filters, it strains out the particles causing the haze.
All wine seems to clear eventually the risk is that the flavour may be impared.
Bentonite or Casein work well. If my memory is correct Bentonite is a grey powdered clay and Casein is a milk protein. In case you are vegan.
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plums have a lot of pectin present you have to put pectinase in to clear the wine - this can be done post fermentation and will clear eventually. An alternative could be to add bentonite to clear the wine but this may take some time.
Happy drinking
Mike