Solomon Grundy Platinum 30 Bottle Pinot Grigio

Most wine kits can be ready to bottle in less than 4 weeks but some winemakers elect to store the wine longer before they start to drink it. The reason is because a good wine can become a great wine when you allow it to age. However, this is all a matter of taste to the individual. Some wine drinkers really enjoy a bold, strong, new tasting wine, and others want a very smooth, laid back, easy drinking wine. Try a bottle of your wine from time to time until you are happy with the flavor. There is no set time frame on when you will enjoy the wine that you made.

A haze or cloudiness in wine could be due to different causes. There might even be a combination of factors causing the problem.

Kit wines are usually easier to clear than wines made from fresh ingredients where there are more ‘specific’ factors, which influence the clearing.

All wines will clear naturally given time and it is important that we do give them time. However, for a wine to clear the following conditions must apply:

1. The wine must have stopped fermenting.
2. The wine must be free from bacterial contamination.
3. The wine must be in the right environment.

 The addition of fermentation stopper / stabiliser should ensure that the wine is not fermenting. Tasting and smelling the wine will detect signs of ‘off’ flavours and smells. Putting the wine in a COOL environment where the temperature remains fairly constant should allow it to clear.

The addition of a ‘fining’ agent will usually help speed up the clearing process. Sometimes extra finings might be needed, however, it is important not to over fine as this could lead to a permanent haze.

 De-gassing a wine at the end of fermentation helps. The more residual gas that you can get out of suspension the better. You will end up with a cleaner, crisper end product.

‘Racking’ wine from one container to another is also helpful.

Sometimes when you cannot get the wine to clear all that is needed is a change of location. Experience shows that in a good percentage of cases the wine is simply being stored in an environment not suitable for clearing.

Approx 1 Litre.

• Whether or not to filter has been debated by winemakers as long as there have been filters. Some winemakers feel the only way to make wine is the 'natural way', letting the wine clear on its own, even if it does take a year or so. Other winemakers filter their wines to clear them so that they can bottle much quicker, thereby reducing the chance of problems.
• Why filter wine if it will clear on its own? A clear wine is more appealing, the color is brighter. Filtering may make a wine drinkable sooner. A sterile or fine wine filter will remove most yeasts that may cause sediment and possibly refermentation. The disadvantage of filtering is the possible reduction of color and tannins, and possible oxidation.
• There are several types of filters available, ranging from an inexpensive gravity feed Vinbrite Filter, to fully closed pressurized multiple plate filter systems, like the Buon Vino Mini Jet. These systems are similar to larger systems used by high volume wineries. A big disadvantage of gravity feed is the introduction of oxygen and bacteria. The Buon Vino models eliminate oxygen contact.