Question:
Hello, I’m hoping that someone can help me. We started making wine from kits about 1-1/2 yrs ago, and we’ve started to see floaters in the first three kits that we made. It’s like a gelatenous substance. The making process and bottling went smoothly, and the wine was excellent. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Response:
Trixie, gelatinous formations in wine are almost always (I’d guess 90% of the time) caused by pectin. The cure is prevention–the use of sufficient pectic enzyme in the must before introducing the yeast. Kits usually contain pectic enzyme, but it is possible your kits did not or did not contain enough to treat the must properly. Treating a bottled wine is not difficult, but it is a pain in the rear as it means opening each bottle, combining the ingredients in bulk, and treating the wine as per the instruction at http://www.geocities.com/winemaking/problems.html. If you are going to do this, you should also sulfite the wine to guard against oxidation and airborne contamination when you combine it in bulk. Good luck, and please let us know how it turns out. Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page, http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/1172/ Before you buy.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Trixie, gelatinous formations in wine are almost always (I’d guess 90% of the time) caused by pectin. The cure is prevention–the use of sufficient pectic enzyme in the must before introducing the yeast. Kits usually contain pectic enzyme, but it is possible your kits did not or did not contain enough to treat the must properly. Treating a bottled wine is not difficult, but it is a pain in the rear as it means opening each bottle, combining the ingredients in bulk, and treating the wine as per the instruction at http://www.geocities.com/winemaking/problems.html. If you are going to do this, you should also sulfite the wine to guard against oxidation and airborne contamination when you combine it in bulk. Good luck, and please let us know how it turns out. Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page, http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/1172/ Before you buy.
To Jack Keller and others who responded: Thank you for your expertise. Trixie
Response:
Hello, I’m hoping that someone can help me. We started making wine from kits about 1-1/2 yrs ago, and we’ve started to see floaters in the first three kits that we made. …snip…
Hi Trixie: Are these Brew King kits ("Vintner’s Reserve" or "Selection")? this. About 1+ years ago, I believe that Brew King had a large lot of kits, which included faulty fining packets which caused the exact symptoms you are describing. Hope this Helps. Prosit: Ed The Viticulture FAQ & Glossary: http://www.itsmysite.com/vitfaq "Wine is the High Priest for the Uncommon Nuptials between the Body & Soul of Men". -George Meredith, British Author Got questions? Get answers over the phone at Keen.com. Up to 100 minutes free! http://www.keen.com
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