Filtering and Fining Wine

One of the toughest things to get right in wine making is making a clear looking wine.  Not too many people I know want to drink a "muddy" looking drink.  Personally, I use the rack over process until I have a very clear wine.  With this method, I do end up with less clear bottles than if I filtered my wine.  The unclear wine doesn't go to waste ( I usually drink it).  But anyways, here is a nice article on filtering and fining found on the Amateur Winemakers of Ontario website.

 

Fining is the name given to the clarification phase / step of wine & beer making.

The object of fining is to aid in producing a product that is near perfect in terms of taste, colour, bouquet and clarity. The fining method should not take away from any of these characteristics and should allow the clarified condition to be maintained for as long as necessary before the wine is consumed. Any fining treatment preferrably should have little or no effect on the essential aromatic and flavour compounds of the wine. 

Fining could be as simple as letting nature takes its course through gravity, but if you’d like to consume the wine a little sooner then you can help nature using an assortment of fining or clarifying agents. There are basically 2 groups of materials that need to be acted upon including; proteins and polyphenols. There is one other contributing cause of suspended haze that we often overlook being entrained carbon dioxide. Moving the wine into a warmer area from a cold cellar can frequently reduce this contributor. 

 

Read More

---

Technorati Tags : Wine, Fining, Filtering

          Powered By Qumana