Before clarifying wine, you should know some nuances:
- Firstly, if there is no experience in such things, then test 200-300 ml of the drink should be cleaned. So as not to spoil the rest of the wine.
- Secondly, for fining wine, you need to use natural clarifying raw materials.
- Thirdly, after clarification, fermentation processes can be observed. In this case, you need to reduce the temperature in the room where the wine is stored to 10˚C.
You also need to correctly calculate the dosage of absorbents so that they completely absorb particles of raw materials.
Methods
1. White clay - bentonite. Used as a powder with fine grains. Perfectly absorbs the causes of turbidity. Particularly suitable for grape wines. Clarification of 1 liter of wine with bentonite requires only 3 g of powder (for comparison: 20 g fits in 1 tablespoon). Pasting technology is as follows:
- Bentonite for clarification of wine is poured with cool water in a ratio of 1:10, then infused for about 12 hours. For pasting 10 liters of an alcoholic drink, you need to prepare 30 g of white clay and 300 ml of water.
- Bentonite hardens into lime. So the clay needs to be diluted with water and slowly poured into a container with wine.
- After a week, removing the sediment, you can check the result.
2. Gelatin. Clarifying wine with gelatin is an easy way. It works great with all types of wines. Purification requires 1.5 g of gelatin per 10 liters of wine. Before use, gelatin must be soaked in water for 24 hours, then poured into wine. After a couple of weeks, the resulting drink can be drained from the sediment.
3. Protein of chicken eggs. Used to refine red wines. For 10 liters of alcohol you need 1-2 eggs. Warm water is mixed with egg white, and the mixture is whipped until foamy. It is better to use the mixer on high power. Then you need to pour a little wine into the rolls with water, mix and pour the resulting mixture into a container with the rest of the wine. The result will be obtained after 3 weeks.
4. Chitosan. It is obtained from the chitin of crustaceans. It is practically insoluble in water, but highly soluble in some acids. Dissolved chitosan is an excellent absorbent of fats, hydrocarbons and fat-soluble substances. One is rarely used. Usually, wine is first treated with chitosan, and then with Kizelsol - this is how the best effect is achieved.
5. Activated carbon. It is charcoal that is needed, since pharmacy charcoal is not very effective. In general, this method is rarely used. Usually - with a high content of fusel oils or an unpleasant odor. For 10 liters of alcohol, 3-4 g of powdered activated carbon is required. Mix well and infuse for 4 days, shaking from time to time.
6. Lightening with heat. The first step is a tight cork of wine bottles. Then you need to prepare a container of water, where the bottle will fall. Clarification occurs due to a slow increase in temperature to 50˚C. After that, you need to slowly cool the wine and let it stand for a week.
7. Cold. Low temperatures sink small particles to the bottom. To do this, 3 liters of wine are placed in the refrigerator or in the winter on the balcony for 24 hours. Then you need to quickly drain the wine until it warms up.
8. Tannin. It is a woody powder from the heart of oak, very effective for apple wines. The advantage of this method is that tannin gives a special astringency to the finished drink. First, wood powder must be mixed with water (200 ml of water per 1 g of powder). The mixture is infused, then strain through cheesecloth. For 1 liter of drink you need 6 tsp. soaked tannin. You can remove the wine from the sediment after a week.
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to lighten fruit and berry wine, especially in non-professional home conditions, especially for beginners.
If the wine remains cloudy, then you can let it stand in a cool and dark place for another month - one and a half. Perhaps a precipitate will fall out, which is easy to get rid of.
The considered methods should be tried on small volumes of wine. If the pasting still failed, but the taste of the drink has not changed for the worse, then it can be. In the absence of a distiller, such wine can only be poured out and tried to cook again.
We bring to your attention the products that were used by all the wineries of our country during the years of the USSR. Our Wine Bentonite has passed all the necessary tests (test results below) and meets all the requirementsOST 18-49-71 "Bentonites for the wine industry" . It can be used alone to stabilize protein or in combination as a pre-clarification aid.
One of the important indicators of wine quality is its transparency. And bentonite is extremely useful in the process of winemaking. It is used to clarify wines and is generally only used for white wines. Bentonite is great for removing haze and can also be used to remove unwanted odors, which is ideal for lightening mash.
Bentonite is an absorbent clay formed by the weathering of volcanic ash that contains at least 70% of the mineral of the montmorillonite group. It is an absorbent material that is able to bind to floating protein particles that cause haze in wine and home brew. Bentonite is divided into several categories, depending on the chemical composition.
Calcium or Sodium?
There are two commercially available forms of bentonite - sodium and calcium. Either form can be used to clarify wine or mash, however, there is a difference between them and it lies in the minerals they leave behind. Sodium bentonite has a high ability to bind proteins, and calcium bentonite swells less, which leads to less loss during decanting .
Sodium bentonite, as the name suggests, contains sodium salt. And even after decanting and filtering, sodium salts remain in the drink. The consumption of sodium salts can cause high blood pressure and heart disease, but their content in the drink is so negligible that it can hardly affect human health.
Calcium bentonite leaves in the drink, as you might guess, calcium. Which, from the point of view of winemaking, is much more preferable than sodium salt. However, don't add too much calcium bentonite to your wine, or you may end up with crystals of calcium tartrate (compound of calcium and tartaric acid) later on. These small crystals are most similar to regular table salt. They are completely harmless, but most people would not want to find something like this in their bottle of wine.
We offer you both types of bentonite for clarification of mash or wine.
Use bentonite correctly.
Bentonite must be dissolved in warm (55-65°C) water. The ratio of water to bentonite, which provides the best mixing, is about 16 to 1 (60g per 1l). The required amount of bentonite is calculated from the ratio - 3 grams per liter of mash. For wine, it is recommended to make test measurements (determine the concentration of bentonite that is necessary for clarification of a particular wine) before clarification of the main volume of wine. Our recommendation is about 5g per liter of wine.
Bentonite must be added to water (and not vice versa!) while continuously and intensively stirring. After that, leave the bentonite for a few hours, this will allow it to completely moisten. If the water is not warm enough, the bentonite will begin to precipitate. The interaction between bentonite and bound proteins is fast, but not instantaneous. Proper technique is of the utmost importance, and we have seen through our own experience that mixing speed, time and temperature affect the final result. The temperature of the drink should be above 10°C. At least 10-15 minutes of stirring is recommended, but do not stir so vigorously that oxygen enters the liquid.
We recommend clarifying the wine for 4 days or more until you get a satisfactory result. To clarify the mash with bentonite, 1 day is usually enough. Keep the drink in a cool place, this will speed up the result. Then it remains only to drain your wine or mash from the sediment.
Store bentonite in a clean, dry area. To prevent the absorption of extraneous odors from the air, use resealable containers.
Be careful not to flush the bentonite down the toilet! Bentonite can clog sewer pipes.
Avoid accumulation of bentonite dust in a limited area. Avoid high air movement in the workplace - bentonite is a fine powder that is easy to spray. It is not recommended to breathe a suspension of bentonite dust.
Lightening mash with bentonite- one of the easiest, fastest and safest ways to remove the mash from the sediment. In this article, we will talk in detail about where to get bentonite, how to prepare it for use, and describe the clarification technology. If for some reason you cannot use bentonite, you can use other methods of lightening the mash.
Where to buy bentonite?
You can buy ready-made, purified bentonite in specialized stores for moonshiners and winemakers. For example, in .
If it is not possible to buy purified bentonite, you can use cat litter. Many cat litters are made from granulated bentonite clay, as it absorbs not only moisture but also odor. When choosing a filler, study the labels on the packaging and make sure that it is really made from bentonite (white clay) and that it does not include additional fragrances and flavors.
For those who would not like cat litter to lighten mash, you can buy cosmetic white clay at a pharmacy. At the same time, it is also worth studying the composition, and making sure that there are no flavors.
How much bentonite is needed for clarification?
If you don't have a cat at home, buy the smallest package. The recommended concentration per 1 liter of mash is only 2-3 grams (half a teaspoon). For 10 liters of mash, you need to take 1 full tablespoon of bentonite (about 20 grams). When clarifying large volumes of mash (from 10 liters), the amount of bentonite must be increased to 5 grams per 1 liter of mash.
Preparation of bentonite for clarification
The bentonin preparation process consists of the following steps:
If bentonite is in granules or raw pieces, it must be crushed and dried in an oven at 120°C for 30-40 minutes;
After drying, bentonite is ground to a powder in a coffee grinder, blender or rolling pin on a cutting board;
Pour bentonite powder in small portions into hot water (0.5-1 l), stirring constantly to avoid the formation of lumps.
After that, the mixture is left for 5-7 minutes so that the clay is saturated with moisture, after which it is mixed again. At this point, the consistency of the solution should be like that of fatty kefir.
Preparation of mash for clarification
Before proceeding to lighten the mash, you need to make sure that it has completely fermented. Unfermented mash is not clarified. You can determine the readiness of mash by three signs:
By stopping the release of carbon dioxide bubbles
According to the bitter taste of mash
According to the time that this type of yeast usually takes to ferment
In order to be sure of the readiness of the mash, you can use a device for measuring the amount of sugar in a solution - a wine meter-sugar meter. To do this, 1.5-2 liters of mash are taken from the fermentation tank and filtered through several layers of gauze to remove yeast corpses.
Then the selected and filtered mash is poured into a transparent container with a wide neck (for example, into a three-liter jar) and the sugar meter is lowered into the liquid. After waiting until the device stops swaying, record the readings on the scale. If the percentage of sugar in the mash does not exceed 2%, you can proceed to clarification and distillation.
Technology for cleaning mash with bentonite
Before adding a bentonite solution to the wash, it must be shaken to raise the settled particles of clay from the bottom. Then you need to strongly stir the mash with a long spoon or spatula-mixer, so that a large and deep funnel forms on the surface. After that, a bentonite solution is quickly poured into the center of the funnel. These manipulations allow you to instantly distribute bentonite throughout the entire volume of the mash. If the fermentation tank has a narrow neck and it is not possible to create a rotation of the mash, you can simply pour in bentonite, tightly seal the neck and shake the mash for a while until the bentonite solution is completely and evenly distributed.
After precipitation, you need to carefully collect (decant) the clarified mash, without disturbing the sediment, and pour it into another container or into a distillation cube. To collect and overflow the mash, you can use a piece of ordinary PVC hose or a special overflow siphon.
Braga that has undergone the above clarification procedure with bentonite will be almost transparent and without an unpleasant yeast odor. When distilling clarified home brew, moonshine turns out cleaner and almost does not smell (if you cut off heads and tails correctly).
Attention! The sediment remaining after the collection of the mash, consisting of yeast and bentonite, must not be drained into the sewer! Swollen clay can tightly clog the sewer, and it will be very difficult to clear this blockage. To dispose of the sediment, it must be scooped out of the fermentation tank into an unnecessary container or a tight bag (if necessary, dry, leaving it open for several days), and thrown into the trash.
After fermentation, particles of must, yeast and tartar remain in the wine, making the drink cloudy. This problem is solved by treating the finished wine with special substances that absorb unwanted particles, causing them to precipitate. In the language of professionals, clarification of wine is called "fining". We look at the best ways to clean homemade wines from grapes, apples, and other fruits.
The most effective method of wine clarification is long-term aging. But this natural process takes too long (3-6 years) and is only suitable for expensive branded drinks.
Long-term aging of homemade wines is impractical, they are insisted for 3-5 months. After that, the drink is drained from the sediment and look at its color. If the wine remains cloudy and this does not suit you, you will have to clean it.
Clarification does not improve homemade wine, only makes it clear and may slightly increase shelf life by removing foreign impurities. This is a desirable but optional step that can be skipped.
To determine the optimal clarification method, I recommend experimenting with different methods on a small amount of wine (250-500 ml).
Wine purification methods
1. Gelatin. One of the simplest and most effective methods, suitable for all wines (especially white grape, apple, pear and plum). Clarification of wine with gelatin is carried out according to the following technology:
- For 100 liters of wine, take 10-15 g of gelatin. During the day, soak it in cold water, changing the water every 8 hours.
- Dissolve the swollen gelatin in warm water, add to the wine container and mix well.
- Leave the wine alone for 2-3 weeks, until all the turbidity gathers into flakes and precipitates.
2. Egg white. Effective for cleaning all homemade wines, especially useful for reds (grape, cherry, plum). To clarify 100 liters of drink, it is enough to separate 2-3 chicken proteins from the yolks, add a little water and beat into foam. Then mix the whipped proteins with a small amount of wine and pour into a container where the main part of the wine is located. You will see the result in 18-25 days.
3. Bentonite (white clay). It has absorbent properties, perfect for fining grape wines. Sold as a fine powder. To clean 1 liter of wine, you need 3 grams of bentonite (20 grams in a tablespoon). Technology:
- Pour dry white clay with cold water in a ratio of 1:10 (one part of bentonite to ten parts of water) and leave for 10-12 hours. For example, to clean 20 liters of wine, you need 60 grams of white clay and 600 ml of water.
- The clay will turn into lime. Before clarification, add water to betonite so that the mixture becomes liquid, then pour it into the wine in a thin stream.
- Drain the wine from the sediment after 5-7 days.
Bentonite 4. Milk. Universal way. For cleaning, it is enough to add 1 teaspoon of skimmed cow's milk to 1 liter of wine, mix thoroughly and leave to stand for 3-4 days at room temperature.
5. Heat treatment. Close glass bottles with wine tightly with a cork so that the alcohol does not evaporate when heated. Put the bottles in a suitable container, pour cold water up to the neck. Slowly heat the water to 50°C and remove the container from the heat without removing the bottles from it. Wait until the water cools down.
The procedure can be repeated 2-3 times. After the last heating, the wine is allowed to settle for 5-6 days and drained from the sediment. The method is used to clean any homemade wines.
6. Clarification of wine with cold. Table wines are chilled (on the street or in the refrigerator) to -2°C, not fortified to -5°C. Under the influence of low temperatures, the particles of wort and yeast sink to the bottom. After that, the wine is quickly drained from the sediment and filtered until it has warmed up.
7. Activated carbon. I recommend using this method only in extreme cases, when an unpleasant smell is felt in the wine, indicating the presence of fusel oils. Pharmaceutical activated charcoal is ineffective, wood is needed.
Grind coal to a powder state and add to a container with wine at the rate of 3-4 g of coal per 10 liters of drink, mix well. Insist for 3-4 days, shaking every day. Filter through filter paper.
8. Tannin(powder from the core of the oak). Suitable for refining wines with a high sugar content (apple and pear from sweet varieties) and without astringency on the palate. Tannin can be purchased at a pharmacy.
Tannin To clarify the wine, dilute 10 grams of tannin in 2 liters of distilled water, let the solution settle and filter it through filter paper. Next, add 6 teaspoons of tannin per 1 liter of wine, mix, leave for 7-10 days, then drain from the sediment.
Regardless of the method chosen, after using it, I recommend letting the wine brew for another 25-40 days, and only then bottling it. The fact is that the smallest particles that are not visible to the eye, still remain in the wine, they will settle a little later.
Publication date: 01/23/2018
Winemaking bentonite is a modern approach to winemaking designed to clarify wines, which is an effective way to increase the quality and price of your product. When bentonite is added in the optimal amount, flakes form in the wine, which settle to the bottom and carry particles of turbidity with them.
Bentonite for clarification of wines is characterized by strong swelling in water, as well as the ability to exchange reaction, which plays a major role in the process of "fining" wines, in which the wine is released from proteins, amino acids, enzymes, resulting in increased stability, and it becomes stable and transportable .
When using bentonite, the quality of the product remains unchanged, persistent aroma and excellent wine aftertaste are preserved.
And most importantly, bentonite for winemaking is easy to use and completely harmless to human health.
INSTRUCTIONS for the use of Bentonite for the wine industry
GENERAL INFORMATION.
1. Bentonite for the wine industry. Application in the wine industry for clarification of musts, wine materials and wines against protein, reversible colloidal and biochemical turbidity, as well as stabilization of wines and wine materials.
2. Does not contain genetically modified products
3. In appearance, it is a gray powder with a slight yellow tint, without foreign smell and taste. When processing wine does not form the introduction of extraneous shades. 4. Released in the form of a powder for suspension.
APPLICATION.
One of the important indicators of the quality of wine is its transparency. Some wines do not clarify well and require additional processing, filtration and clarification.
When bentonite is added, flakes form in the wine, which settle to the bottom, and carry particles of turbidity with them. Bentonite for clarification of wines is characterized by extremely strong swelling in water, as well as the ability to exchange reaction, which plays a major role in the wine fining process, in which the wine is freed from proteins, enzymes and other undesirable impurities, resulting in increased resistance to colloidal turbidity. Bentonite for the wine industry is used both independently and with the use of other auxiliary substances used in processing to clarify and stabilize wine materials. Bentonite is added to the wine material in the form of a 20% aqueous suspension at the rate of 1-4 g/l. the dose is determined by conducting a test pasting.
COOKING METHOD.
To prepare a 20% aqueous suspension, bentonite is poured with hot water (not lower than 80 ° C) in an open container, and then heated with live steam for 2-4 hours using a rubber hose with a metal tip, lowered to the bottom of the container, or with a coil . Then the mass is thoroughly stirred, and left for a day to swell. The next day, stir again, and in case of incomplete swelling, steam again. The ratio between the amount of bentonite and water should be 1:4. Wine-water suspension is prepared immediately before wine processing. The amount of aqueous suspension calculated from the test fining is mixed with: three times the volume of wine. The wine-water suspension is introduced into the wine or must, with continuous stirring with a pump or a mechanical stirrer, which lasts 2-3 hours from the end of the introduction of the suspension, and left alone. The sediment is removed after clarification of the wine with simultaneous filtration.
PREVENTION MEASURES.
1. When working with Bentonite for the wine industry, you must follow the rules of personal hygiene and safety.
2. Keep out of the reach of children.
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