Ways to clarify homemade wine: bentonite and gelatin. Wine bentonite Where is bentonite sold for wine clarification?

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Cleaning mash with bentonite - knowledgeable craftsmen resort to this method. The main thing here is to strictly adhere to the recipe and control the time, otherwise the drink will spoil or you will get the wrong result. There are many ways to lighten with bentonite. In this matter, each master adheres to his own recipe, each person has his own preferences.

Why choose the bentonite clarification method? It contains an adsorbent, therefore, in addition to clarification, cleaning processes occur. Thus, the output is a pure product without an unpleasant aftertaste. The material consists of mineral clay; at the time of cleaning, it swells and absorbs everything that is considered unnecessary.

Why lighten the mash?

After fermentation, dead yeast remains in the liquid, which burns during distillation. This gives the final product bad smell. It also forms harmful compounds. Most easy method clarification is to put the container with mash in the cold and wait a few days.

This action is easy to do in winter, but what to do when it’s summer outside? In this case, bentonite comes to the rescue. It will not only “paint over” the mash when room temperature, but will also do this much faster than cold. There have been cases when the process took place in 15 minutes.

What is bentonite

Bentonite is a variant of natural clay. It is used:

  1. In construction.
  2. In agriculture.
  3. In mechanical engineering.
  4. It is also used to make rubber for tires and as cat litter.

Bentonite for clarification, or fining, of wines began to be used in the thirties of the last century in the USA and since the sixties in the USSR.

Clay has excellent adsorbing properties. It can bind dead yeast, proteins and microorganisms, and together with them it precipitates. In other words, it absorbs all the dregs from the mash and lowers it to the bottom. As a result, the master receives clarified and purified home brew. All that remains is to decant it, that is, drain it without sediment.

Where to get bentonite

The easiest way to purchase it is in specialized stores for winemakers. The powder is inexpensive, and in this case the buyer will receive classic bentonite for winemaking, ready for use. If it is not possible to purchase a ready-made wine bentonite, then you can buy it at an ordinary pet store.

The fact is that clay is used as cat litter. Before purchasing, you need to carefully read the composition; it should note that the filler consists of 100% clay and has no flavorings. But even this product will not give the desired effect. It must be prepared before use.

How to use white clay

How to clean mash with bentonite solution:

Tip: Used clay should not be poured down the drain. It heavily clogs the pipes, and they can only be cleaned mechanically.

Uses of wine bentonite:

First you need to measure out the required amount of powder. The instructions indicate that a standard sachet weighing 20 g is designed for 23 liters of liquid. That is, if you need to prepare 10 liters of alcohol, then the powder is taken in the amount of 1.5 g.

If you don’t have accurate scales at hand, then you need to navigate as follows:

  1. Half a teaspoon is 2 grams.
  2. A heaped tablespoon is 20 g.

When making mash at home, it is better to buy electronic scales. They will come in handy more than once in this matter. The powder is poured with cold water, mixed and left to swell for 4 hours. When the clay swells, it needs to be mixed again and slowly poured into a separate container, while actively stirring the mash. Lightening occurs from 15 minutes to 24 hours. Typically, a 10 liter bottle is covered in 20 minutes, a 20 liter container in 55 minutes.

How to use cat litter:

In order not to dirty the coffee grinder, the clay can be poured into a container with warm water and tightly closed with a lid. There you need to shake it vigorously so that the filler does not crumple. The jar must be shaken periodically for 5 minutes.

Bentonite preparation

For effective cleaning, you need to correctly calculate the portion of sorbent in accordance with the existing volume of alcohol. The recommended portion of bentonite per 1 liter of liquid is 3-4 g. The process of preparing bentonite for clarifying moonshine consists of the following points:

As a result, the consistency of the solution should be like that of full-fat kefir.

Preparing mash for clarification

Before you begin to clean the wort, you need to make sure that it is completely fermented. The readiness of the liquid is determined by the absence of carbon dioxide evolution and appearance product.

How to determine the readiness of the wort:

Clay preparation

If you have raw and large bentonite available, you need to prepare the clay for cleaning. The pieces must be crushed into approximately 10-gram particles, then the clay is dried. After this, it is placed in a Russian or oven with a temperature of 125 degrees for 30 minutes. After drying, the pieces are removed and broken into powder using any method.

It needs to be mixed with water, but you need to try not to form dense lumps. Bentonite pours into the water slowly, like semolina into milk, with vigorous stirring. Next, the solution is whipped with a mixer. If you don’t have one, you can use a drill with a mixing attachment. Immediately after preparation, the solution is poured into moonshine. Then you need to wait a day for the adsorption process.

Technology for cleaning mash with bentonite

The bentonite mixture is stirred before adding to the mash. The decanted mash must be stirred until a funnel is created inside. Then the bentonite is poured into the moonshine in a thin stream, while constantly stirring the composition.

The container with the drink must be left for a day in a warm room. If a large volume of mash is being cleaned, then it must be stirred every 9 hours. The process of clarifying the mash with bentonite lasts for 35 hours.

At this time, the drink takes on a transparent appearance, and an even layer of thick clay sediment forms at the bottom of the container. The moonshine takes on an amber hue, and the pungent yeast smell disappears. The final stage of clarification is decanting.

The wort is carefully drained from the sediment and poured into alembic, and the distillation process begins. The mash sediment mixed with bentonite must be taken out of the fermentation container with a spoon and thrown into the trash. The liquid must not be poured down the drain because it will cause a blockage.

Pros and cons of using bentonite

Clarifying mash with bentonite - the pros and cons of this procedure are worth considering in more detail.

Advantages of using bentonite:

These processes improve the quality, taste and aroma of the drink. Clay also speeds up the process of preparing the liquid for distillation - this saves the master’s time.

Disadvantages of lightening with bentonite:

  1. The main disadvantage is considered to be a reduction in the volume of the wort, because dense yeast sediment leaves it. This part may be more than 10% of the total volume.
  2. Another disadvantage is consumables. If some special devices for fining mash can be replaced with kitchen sets, for example, a mixer, coffee grinder or blender. then the clarifier itself is hard to find, it may not be sold everywhere. If it is not possible to find professional bentonite, then you can take cat litter.
  3. Another disadvantage is the inconvenience of disposal.

How does wine purification work?

Purification of wine with bentonite occurs in the same way as moonshine. White clay has adsorbing properties and is well suited for fining grape wines. It can be purchased in stores in the form of a fine-grained powder. To clean 1 liter of wine, you will need 3 g of bentonite. A tablespoon contains 20 g of clay.

The technology includes the following stages:

Other methods for clarifying mash

In addition to clarification with bentonite, there are other methods in practice that are no less effective. The cleaning conditions are different, but the output is the same. The product acquires a pure and mild taste and can be distilled. To lighten mash you can use:

  1. Gelatin.
  2. Hibiscus tea.
  3. Cold.

When hibiscus flowers are used, the product is lightened by citric acid contained in the petals. These ingredients are more readily available than bentonite. You can buy them at any store.

Bentonite is an ideal solution for the process of clarification of wine and mash. The product stabilizes the protein content in the wort, fruit juices and wine. When the bentonite clarification process occurs, the particles capture the turbidity contained in the sediment. Due to this, the product acquires high transparency.

A high level of clarification is achieved by cooling the drink to 7 degrees Celsius. Bentonite helps achieve a stable drink consistency over many years.

Attention, TODAY only!

Bentonite clays are aluminosilicates with the composition (OH) 4 Si 8 Al 4 O 20 ·H 2 O and consist predominantly of montmorillonite. Due to their high adsorption capacity, bentonite clays are used to clarify must or wine, as well as to stabilize grape wines against protein clouding. Bentonites from the following deposits are recommended: in Azerbaijan - Gekmalinskoye, Khanlarskoye, Khurlalinskoye; in Georgia - Askanskoe; in Moldova - Tiraspol; in Turkmenistan - Oglanlinskoe; in Ukraine - Gorbskoe, Kurtsevskoe, Pyzhevskoe, Krymskoe (keel); in Uzbekistan - Akzamarskoe.

The bentonite used to prepare the suspension must be dry. It should be stored in a dry and clean place, in craft bags or boxes.

Before use, bentonite is mechanically cleaned from foreign impurities (pieces of wood, coal, iron, earth).

Despite the widespread use of bentonite in winemaking to protect wines from protein clouding, the mechanism of action of bentonites has not yet been fully deciphered. There is currently no generally accepted theoretical explanation for the lightening effect of bentonites, covering all cases of their use. This process is most often considered to be adsorption, but other researchers believe that it is complicated by competing ion exchange effects. Some researchers have tried to consider bentonites as amphoteric electrolytes. However, these views have been proven to be untenable.

They also tried to explain the clarifying effect of bentonites by the flocculating effect, but this explanation is also one-sided.

Thus, the mechanism of action of bentonites has not yet received a clear explanation.

Carrying out a trial treatment with bentonite to clarify must or wine. To select the best dose of bentonite, a trial treatment is carried out. For this purpose, a 5% wine-water suspension is used, which is prepared from a 20% water suspension available in production. If not available, an aqueous suspension is prepared in the laboratory: 80 ml of hot water at a temperature of 90-95°C is added to 20 g of bentonite and left for a day. Then the swollen mass is stirred until smooth and 300 ml of wine is added with thorough mixing. The mixture is left for several minutes, after which it is separated from mechanical impurities. 200 ml of wine or must is poured into 10 cylinders with a capacity of 250 ml. A 5% suspension is pipetted into each cylinder in increasing doses of 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, etc., which corresponds to 2.5-45 g of bentonite per 1 dal of wine. After adding the suspension, the mixture is thoroughly mixed and left alone for 12-24 hours. After this period, the most effective dose for processing under production conditions is selected based on the degree of transparency and the nature of the sediment. The optimal dose is considered to be the one that gives the best clarification with the densest sediment and the smallest amount of bentonite taken.

Example. 1000 dal of wine material must be processed. Based on the trial treatment, the best dose turned out to be 8 ml per 200 ml of wine material, which corresponds to 20 g per 1 dal.

To process 1000 dal, you will need 20 kg of dry bentonite or

5% wine-water suspension.

Typically used doses of bentonite range from 2 to 5 g/l.

Preparation of bentonite suspension. To prepare a 20% aqueous suspension, bentonite, crushed into pieces weighing no more than 0.25 kg, 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 a coil. Then the mass is thoroughly stirred and left for a day to swell. The next day, stir again and, if swelling is not complete, steam again. The ratio between the amount of bentonite and water should be 1:4, i.e. 40 liters of water are added to 10 kg of bentonite. The bentonite suspension is passed through a wire sieve with 2-3 mm holes. The wine-water suspension is prepared immediately before processing the wine. It is not recommended to store the aqueous suspension for more than 5 days.

The amount of aqueous suspension calculated from the test pasting is mixed with three times the volume of wine, i.e. 150 liters of wine are added to 50 liters of suspension. The resulting 5% suspension, after thorough mixing, is separated from mechanical impurities.

Processing wine or must. A 5% wine-water suspension is introduced into the wine or wort with continuous stirring with a pump or mechanical stirrer, which lasts 2-3 hours from the end of the suspension, and left alone. Removal from sediment is carried out after clarification of the wine with simultaneous filtration (best through diatomaceous earth).

Processing of must and wines with bentonite can be done in-line. In this case, powdered dry bentonite is introduced into the flow of wine or wort using a special VLO-B dispenser in doses determined by trial processing. After this, the wine treated with bentonite enters the clarifier in a stream, where it remains for 3-4 hours to clarify the bulk of the sediment. Then the wine is filtered using bag filters.

If necessary, you can combine bentonite treatment with gelatin coating. In this case, bentonite is first added to the wine in the form of a 5% wine-water suspension, and then a gelatin solution.

Use of bentonite sediments. After draining the must or wine, the bentonite sediments are collected for settling in groups (dry and fortified).

The sediment from the wort is additionally sulfitized with sulfur dioxide in doses of 400-600 mg/l, and then the settled wort is decanted and used to sulfitize fresh wort during settling or combined with previously clarified wort. The sediments are again sulfated with a dose of 600 mg/l and further settled for 10 days, then the settled wort is decanted again. Thick sediments are compressed using a pack press. The pressed wort is used to prepare concentrates. The sediments from the wine settle. The clarified layer of wine is drained and used for blending. Thick sediments are also compressed using a packpress. The resulting wine is filtered and used in a blend.

It is very difficult to obtain tartrate lime from yeast with bentonite.

Bentonite as a stabilizing and clarifying agent is increasingly replacing traditional wine clarifiers - fish glue and gelatin. The surface area of ​​1 g of bentonite is about 5 m2. The very small size of its particles and their peculiar spongy structure give bentonite a very strong sorption ability.

But along with its positive qualities, bentonite has a number of properties that make wine processing difficult: relatively large quantities of bentonite are needed for clarification; it must be steamed first; difficult to dose into wine; a lot of sediment is formed that is difficult to dispose of; it is difficult to stir throughout the entire mass of wine; Sometimes bentonite imparts an earthy flavor to wine or makes wine prone to calcium clouding.

The stabilizing properties of bentonite are most clearly manifested when it is completely swollen during the preparation of the suspension, therefore each batch of bentonite must first be tested in laboratory conditions for swelling with water.

In production practice, cases of difficult wine filtration are often observed, which causes rapid filter clogging, requires frequent recharging, and increases wine loss and filter plate consumption. It has been noted that wines that are difficult to filter are also difficult to clarify when fining. To eliminate the causes of difficult filtration of young wines, Pavlov-Grishin recommends preliminary light treatment of wine with bentonite (8-10 g/dal), closed filtration at a temperature of 35-40 ° C and filtration through kieselguhr.

Preparation homemade moonshine always starts with mash. The taste of the future product largely depends on the quality of this drink. Therefore, you need to pay due attention to its preparation. One of important points This process is recognized as clarification of the mash. This is a mandatory step to prevent the yeast from burning. As a result, the moonshine tastes better, and there are no unpleasant odors or tastes.

There are many methods for cleaning mash. Some people resort to cold, others use gelatin. In today's article we will talk about how to use bentonite to clarify mash.

General information

Bentonite is a finely porous clay that has long been used in winemaking. This natural substance helps clarify homemade alcohol, significantly improving its taste. Bentonite is also an adsorbent and absorbs metal ions. They are always present in moonshine. It is impossible to imagine an apparatus for distilling mash without steel parts.

In nature, white clay occurs in shallow layers of soil. It contains a large number of trace elements and mineral salts. This material is even used to treat bone pathologies. With its help, they carry out health procedures for the skin, eliminate pain due to inflammatory processes. Powdered bentonite is a type of white clay. This is what is usually used to produce long-aging wines. We’ll talk about how to use bentonite to clarify mash below.

Where can I buy it?

You can purchase ready-made and pre-purified powder in wine shops. The cost of 100 g varies between 250-300 rubles. If there are no such points of sale in your city, you need to look on the Internet.

However, it is much easier to buy a regular one. Don’t be afraid, because it is based on It perfectly absorbs not only moisture, but also odor. It is recommended to choose packaging that does not contain any inscription about aromatic additives. Otherwise, the taste of moonshine will be unpleasant. The cat litters we are interested in are produced only in Russia. Import suppliers use silica gel and other additives in the production of this product.

If the options presented above are not suitable for some reason, you should go the third way. You can buy bentonite for clarifying mash at a pharmacy. It is not sold in its pure form. You need to choose cosmetic clay. It also contains the necessary powder. However, you should study the composition of the product in advance and make sure there are no additional flavors.

How much bentonite is needed to clarify mash? If you don't have a cat at home, you can buy the smallest package of litter. For 1 liter of mash, only 2-3 g of bentonite is required. This is about half a teaspoon. For 10 liters of drink you will need about 20 g of powder. This corresponds to the volume of a full tablespoon. When clarifying a large amount of mash, starting from 10 liters, the portion of the substance should be increased to 5 g per liter.

Bentonite preparation

The bentonite preparation process consists of several stages.

  1. First, the material must be broken into small pieces and then crushed into crumbs. The resulting raw materials are sent to the oven for 45 minutes. In this case, it is necessary to strictly observe the temperature regime. Otherwise, the result will not meet expectations. To dry bentonite, you need to set the temperature to 120 degrees.
  2. After this, the clay pieces should be ground again to a powder state. To do this, you can use a regular kitchen blender or a drill with a special attachment.
  3. Bentonite is almost ready. Now you need to prepare a solution from it. To do this, heat a liter of water in a saucepan and pour the powder into it. The mixture must be stirred periodically to prevent lumps from forming. The entire process usually takes no more than five minutes.
  4. At the final stage, the solution must infuse. After this, it is thoroughly mixed again. The consistency of the resulting product should resemble fatty kefir.

In fact, the whole process takes little time.

If the powder clumps...

To prevent lumps from forming in the solution during the preparatory stage, experienced winemakers advise boiling it like semolina porridge. The powder must be introduced into heated water gradually, preferably in a thin stream. In this case, it is recommended to constantly stir the solution with a stick. You can also artificially create a kind of whirlpool in the container. To do this, spin the pan.

If after these tips lumps still form, do not despair. However, such bentonite is not suitable for clarifying mash. It must be passed through the blender again or use a drill with a special attachment.

Preparing the mash

Before you start cleaning, you need to make sure that the drink is completely fermented. Depending on the quality of the components and environmental conditions, this process may take up to two weeks. The readiness of the mash for further processing is determined by its appearance, the characteristic smell of alcohol, and the sour taste. In addition, there should be no carbon dioxide bubbles on the surface of the liquid.

Experienced winemakers recommend using a saccharometer to be 100% sure that the product is ready for clarification. For this purpose, approximately 1.5 liters of the drink are taken and then filtered through cheesecloth. The mash is poured into a transparent container with a wide neck. A regular one is suitable for this. three liter jar, which is in every home. Then a saccharometer is released into the solution and its readings are recorded. You must wait until the device is installed in one position.

If the sugar content level does not exceed 2%, you can begin clarifying the mash with bentonite. The instructions below describe this process in detail. Before adding the powder solution, it is recommended to drain the fermented wort through a thin hose and warm it slightly.

Beverage purification technology

To clarify the mash, bentonite must be thoroughly shaken to lift the settled clay particles. The same procedure should be repeated with a vessel for a homemade drink so that a kind of funnel is formed on its surface. This can be done using a long spoon or spatula. Then the bentonite solution is quickly poured into the center of the funnel. High-speed manipulations help to instantly distribute the clay powder throughout the entire volume of the drink. Sometimes mash is prepared in a container with a narrow neck. In this case, it is recommended to simply pour in the bentonite solution. Then close the neck with a cork and shake the drink.

The rate of precipitation can vary from 15 minutes to several days. It all depends on external factors and the quality of the raw materials themselves. A precipitate forms most quickly in a completely fermented mash. At the next stage, you need to very carefully collect the clarified drink and pour it into another container. During this procedure, it is important not to disturb the formed sediment. To collect and transfer alcohol, it is recommended to use a regular hose or a siphon specially designed for this purpose.

It is worth noting that the remaining sediment from yeast and bentonite should not be poured down the drain. Clay can tightly clog pipes, and it is very difficult to clear the resulting blockage. What to do in this case? Leftover food can be placed in a tight bag or plastic container and then thrown into the trash.

Bentonite for clarifying mash: advantages and disadvantages

Bentonite is a clayey material with a spongy structure. It is absolutely harmless to the body, non-toxic and neutral towards alcohol compounds. The listed properties make it an ideal tool for cleaning mash.

Among other advantages of this substance, winemakers note the absence of foreign odors in the finished product. In addition, when using bentonite, the time to prepare the wort for distillation is significantly reduced.

There are practically no disadvantages to this method of clarifying mash. Its only disadvantage is the reduction in the volume of the drink due to the settling of dense sediment by about 10%.

To ensure that the resulting product delights you with its taste, pay attention to the following tips:

  1. Bentonite must be perfectly clean and odorless. Flavored additives often spoil the taste of a drink made at home.
  2. It is necessary to clarify the mash with bentonite according to the instructions. The proportions recommended in our article will help achieve the desired effect from the drink.
  3. Do not overexpose the product, otherwise it will acquire a sourish tint.
  4. Before starting the clarification procedure, you need to make sure that the drink has passed the fermentation stage to the end. If the distillation process starts earlier, there will be less liquid at the exit, and the sugar will partially disappear.

Making wine at home is a rather complex process that requires strict adherence to all recommendations. But even if you follow the instructions exactly, there are many nuances that affect the quality and taste of the drink. One of them is the clarification and stabilization of wines. Professional winemakers call this process “fining.” How to clarify homemade wine? The following can be used for lightening: fish glue, chicken eggs, bentonite, gelatin and other substances. They also practice clarification of wine with cold and heat.

Why do you need to clarify wines?

You always want your wine to be perfectly transparent.

If you have not deviated from all winemaking, the drink after three to six months should clear on its own, and it can be served. After the active fermentation process, the wine must sit under certain conditions, after which it is bottled in glass bottles. But it also happens that the product remains cloudy, with various impurities of the wine material used and cloudy sediment, and you simply don’t want to use it. As a rule, this happens with white and fruit-bearing species. Winemakers advise that before bottling the drink, be sure to clarify it. It is worth noting that filtration and fining are different concepts. During the clarification process, various substances are added to the wine, which help unwanted impurities form sediment. If wine is filtered through special paper, cloth, etc., its quality and taste are greatly affected. Experienced winemakers recommend using fining.

The most the best way Clarifying wine is aging for a long time. But it is only suitable for collectible vintage wines, since this process takes at least three years. It is clear that at home it is unlikely that anyone will wait that long.

Note! It is worth noting that lighting homemade wine does not affect the taste of the drink, but only makes it more transparent, eliminating unnecessary impurities and sediment. It is not necessary to clarify the wine; you can skip this step. But any winemaker, even a beginner, dreams of his home wine being of ideal quality, and it is unlikely that anyone will want to serve a cloudy drink.

Methods for clarifying wine

There are several ways to garnish a drink, so it is advisable to experiment first with a small amount wines to understand which one is more suitable. When clarification and stabilization of wines occurs, all proportions specified in the recipe must be strictly observed, otherwise during cleaning you can simply spoil the product.

  1. Gelatin coating. One of the most accessible and effective ways is to clarify wine with gelatin. Its main advantage is that you can accurately determine the required amount of gelatin, unlike, say, a chicken egg. For 10 liters of wine you will need 0.5-2 grams of natural gelatin. We use only high-quality gelatin without any additives. Clarification with gelatin occurs as follows. First, gelatin is soaked in water to swell for several hours, but it can be soaked for a day. In this case, you will need to drain the old water a couple of times and add new water. After soaking, hot water is added to the gelatin and everything is mixed thoroughly. The result is a warm, homogeneous mass. Pour the gelatin into the wine very slowly through the filter, stirring constantly. After all the gelatinous mass is in the drink, the container must be tightly closed with a lid and placed in a cool room for several weeks. As soon as the drink becomes light, it is poured into another container, leaving sediment.
  2. Pasting with egg white. Eggs are mainly used to clarify red wine: cherry, currant, and they can also be used to clarify homemade grape wine. For 100 liters of wine product you will need 2-3 egg whites. They must be thoroughly beaten to form a fluffy white foam. It should be mixed with a small amount of wine material and poured into a bottle. The container must be tightly closed and left for three weeks. The process of clarification with protein will be noticeable within a few days, and after 21 days the wine will be free of sediment.
  3. Bentonite (white clay). Cleaning wine with bentonite is suitable for absolutely any type of drink. It is especially recommended for grape wine.

    Natural absorbent often used to clarify wine materials

    The advantage of this method is that clay has high absorbent qualities, so pasting with its help will be effective and quick. You will need to buy bentonite in the form of a fine powder. You will need 30 grams of it per 10 liters of wine material. Bentonite for clarification of wine is pre-diluted in water. The proportion should be as follows: 1 part clay is diluted with 10 parts water. You will have to wait about 12 hours for the bentonite to swell well. Next, water is poured into the mixture, everything is mixed until a homogeneous consistency. Pour the clay solution into the bottle of wine in a thin stream through the filter, stirring constantly. After about a week, you will notice the appearance of sediment. Now the perfectly pure drink can be poured into another bottle and allowed to brew.

  4. Cleansing with milk. A very simple method of pasting, for which you need to add fat-free cow's milk at the rate of 1 teaspoon per liter of drink. Everything is mixed well and left at room temperature for four days.
  5. Lightening with cold. Tannin for lightening can be bought at the pharmacy

    Table drinks should be cooled in the refrigerator or outside at a temperature of at least two degrees. Cold helps the wort particles and yeast form sediment and sink to the bottom. Once this has happened, the wine must be poured very quickly into glass bottles, without allowing it to become warm.

  6. Application of tannin. Tannin, which is sold in pharmacies, is a yellowish powder made from oak. Suitable for clarification of sweet wines, for example from non-sour apples or pears. It is not recommended to choose tannin as a fining for tart drinks. Tannin (10 grams of powder) must be dissolved in two liters of distilled water. Infuse, strain using a filter. For one liter of wine material you will need 6 teaspoons of infusion. The wine should stand at room temperature for 6-7 days, after which it is drained from the sediment.
  7. Pasting with charcoal.

Important! Wine experts recommend clarification of homemade wine using charcoal only in the most extreme cases.

Charcoal is suitable; do not buy an analogue at the pharmacy. For 10 liters of drink you will need 3-4 grams of charcoal. It should be thoroughly crushed using a press to obtain a powder, then poured into wine. The container will need to be shaken constantly for four days. On the fifth day, the drink must be filtered using a special filter.

Unfortunately, no one can guarantee that after the glazing process the drink will become crystal clear. But after trying all possible methods, you can find exactly the one that will make the wine lighter and remove unnecessary impurities and sediment. After clarification, the drink must stand for at least a month, and only then it is bottled for further storage.

ABOUT good quality Wines are judged by their pleasant taste and clarity with rich color. Slight cloudiness is a sign that the drink is unsuitable for consumption or the composition is unnatural. Wine is a living substance in which biochemical processes occur even during storage. Therefore, an alcoholic product is not capable of being crystal clear indefinitely. But it can be improved by periodically carrying out fining at home, i.e. clarification of the wine.

Concept of wine clarification

Clarification, also known as fining and gluing, is a winemaking stage that cloudy wine must undergo. When gluing, various products are introduced into the drink that can cause sedimentation of dense particles. Interacting with wine, protein and tannin compounds seem to glue the dregs together and form flakes from the particles. Within a few days they sink to the bottom of the dish along with the smallest grains. As a result, the alcohol is clarified.

Is it possible to clarify homemade wine yourself? Yes, and to begin with, the bottle is sealed and taken to a warm room. The appearance of bubbles indicates insufficient maturity of the product and the need for repeated fermentation. To do this, it is kept in warm conditions, bottled and stored. The drink will become clear during ripening.

If the matured wine remains cloudy, it means that not all suspended particles have precipitated. For this reason, pasting is carried out forcibly using gelatin, eggs, bentonite or casein. It is important not to overdo it here, because an excess of clarifier spoils the wine even more, and a small amount of the auxiliary substance does not have any effect.

Gluing wine in different ways

There are many fining methods in winemaking, and we will not describe each option in detail. Let's focus on the most simple ways wine clarifications that can be done at home. Experts recommend cleaning red wines with egg white, and white varieties with tannin or gelatin.

Recipe with bentonite

Bentonite is a white clay. It is used in wine garnishing due to the absorbent properties of the substance. It looks like a fine-grained powder. To purify wine, bentonite is used in a proportion of 3 g per 1 liter of alcohol.

How to glue wine with bentonite:

  1. Bentonite is soaked in water for 10 – 12 hours. The ratio of components is 1 part clay to 10 parts cold water.
  2. During infusion, bentonite turns into lime. It is diluted with water to a liquid, cream-like consistency and introduced into the wine in a thin stream.
  3. The updated product is removed from the grounds after 5 - 7 days.

Quick coating with milk

If clarifying grape wine with bentonite seems difficult, the procedure can be carried out using milk. The winemaker should take the low-fat cow product and add it to the cloudy drink at the rate of 1 tsp. milk for 1 liter of wine. The intoxicating liquor can be drained from the sediment after 3–4 days.

Clarifying wine with tannin

It is good to clean fruit wines with tannin, especially apple or pear ones. Tannin will add the missing astringency to drinks and make them crystal clear. The substance is sold in a pharmacy.

To improve alcohol, tannin is diluted with water (5 g per 1 l) and infused. Then the solution is filtered and added to cloudy wine, maintaining a proportion of 3 tbsp. l. infusion for every liter of intoxicating infusion. The improved wine is removed from the sediment after a week.

Gelatin wine cleaning

Gelatin is used to clarify plum and apple wines. The product is first soaked for 24 hours in water (1.5 g per 10 l). The solution is poured into a bottle of wine and waited until the cloudiness falls in flakes to the bottom. This happens in 2 weeks.

Similar to gelatin cleaning, clarification of any wine is carried out using fish glue. Only the substance is taken in a different dosage - 0.2 - 0.5 g of fish glue is added to 10 liters of intoxicating alcohol.

Option with egg

High-quality clarification of red wines chicken egg occurs due to the interaction of protein with tannins, which abound in the composition of drinks. Let's look at how you can clarify wine at home using an egg.

For 50 liters of hop products you will need either 1 large or 2 medium-sized eggs. The white is carefully separated from the yolk and whipped with a fork into a foam, gradually adding boiled water (half a glass). The resulting mass is first combined with a small amount of wine. Then slowly pour the protein into the bottle. The contents of the jar are thoroughly mixed and allowed to stand for 2 weeks. The clear drink is drained from the sediment.

External wine clarification

You can clarify wine without the help of products and substances, since there are three more options for improving the drink:

  1. Filtration through a thin cloth or special paper. The procedure is not ideal because it does not eliminate small particles. Fabric and paper trap only large particles.
  2. Heat treatment cloudy wine suppresses fermentation processes, causing microorganisms to die and settle from the grounds to the bottom. The intoxicating thing becomes light.
  3. Cryostabilization. In order for the particles that create turbidity to sink to the bottom, the wine is cooled to -2 or -5°C (table or unfortified varieties). The drink is drained from the sediment and filtered cold.

Regardless of the chosen clarification option, the wine is infused for an additional 20–40 days. A long exposure is needed so that all the microscopic particles that are invisible to the naked eye fall to the bottom.

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