7 replies to this topic

[UberOctaFrank]

Hi there,

If a kit wine were to be bulk aged say 3 to 6 months, would the included chitosan be of much benefit?

In the two kit wines I have bulk ageing, neither got the chitosan. I used bentonite in the first kit and it appears polished and clear after 4 months.
In the second kit I skipped the bentonite. It still looks a bit murky after 3 months.

Has anyone tried this kind of comparison with chitosan?

Thanks,

Chris

[P Cuthbert]

Chris;

The bentonite and the chitosan act as clearing agents. They each bond with differently charged particles in the wine to cause them to form particles that are heavy enough to settle to the bottom.

Even though your first wine looks perfectly clear, I suspect that it can be cleared even more.

For the second wine that you have, I would suggest you consider a 2-part fining agent. Your wine will clear in less than a week if you add these as directed.

To ensure a high quality kit result, I suggest you follow the manufacturers directions completely.

While winemkaking is an art, using kits is sort of like a paint by numbers version. If you wish to start with a blank canvas and make your own art, then there are some tried and true methods.

Hope this helps;


Pat

[UberOctaFrank]

Thanks for the advice, Pat.

There seems to be much more discussion going on in the forum about bentonite application/effects while chitosan gets pushed to the sideline, which seems odd since the two happen to work best in conjunction.

[davdrive]

I agree , you should use the bentonite at the beginning if called for and after two months if your wine is not clear use clearing agents, i have never had a wine still murky after 3 months with or without clearing agents after 2 months,kits juice or fresh grapes. I think you still have too much co 2 in there stir real good for 10 or 15 min twice more then wait for 3 or 4 days to see what happens

[Tim Vandergrift]

In re the bentonite discussion: folks get really focused on certain aspects of very arcane chemistry sometimes, and while on the scale of minutiae they may be correct about adding/not adding bentonite, for kits the effects being debated are moot points: adding a tiny amount of bentonite on the first day has far-reaching implications beyond mere clearing, to do with yeast propgation sites and CO2 nucleation.

Knowledge is good, but sometimes too much can move you backwards.

Chitosan is a very good, if very weak fining agent. Two part finings, like colloidal silica and gelatin is very, very strong: be careful not to strip your wine if you use them.

[UberOctaFrank]

Good point, Tim, and one well taken.

In my case, I've been trying to piece together a coherent picture of the winemaking process, and especially the kit winemaking process, by assembling and comparing a multitude of often contradictory fragments of advice and knowledge. Without having a clear understanding of the big picture, it's real tempting to get hung up on a particular, poorly-understood micro-issue, i.e. bentonite application, and think one can improve the finished product.

Also, I've always disliked following directions .

Thanks again,

Chris

[Tim Vandergrift]

No hay problema dude.

The thing to keep in mind about wine kit process and protocols is that they're all empirical--the science came afterwards, to explain why it worked.

But science it is!

[cokoliso]

I think that bentonite has another benefit - it adds a subtle earthy flavor. It is clay, after all. That's one reason I use it.