Filtering

[Aitch]

I've brewed some wine from kit and I'm at the bottling stage. I've decided to filter into a jug before bottling to remove oak chips etc. Having just watched 750ml take what seemed like an hour to pass through a paper filter, does anybody have any better ides or pieces of kit?

Thanks in advance, you could save my marriage!

 

[ScottM]

I've ordered up a wine filter kit. I don't think they are anywhere near as fine as a paper filter but they still seem to do the job nicely.

Muslin would be another option :)

 

[Aitch]

Thanks scott, I'll give the muslin a try

 

[Moley]

Racking, patience or just following the instructions would be better options.

If you want to filter a few gallons at a time I would recommend the Vinbrite Mk3, the pad is a damned sight finer than a coffee filter but you're syphoning the wine through the filter so there's a head of pressure.

It is NOT a shortcut for clearing cloudy wines.

 

[ScottM]

That's the kit I bought, sounds like it's ideal for what I'm after :)

Clearly pressure is the key.

 

[Aitch]

Racking, patience or just following the instructions would be better options.

If you want to filter a few gallons at a time I would recommend the Vinbrite Mk3, the pad is a damned sight finer than a coffee filter but you're syphoning the wine through the filter so there's a head of pressure.

It is NOT a shortcut for clearing cloudy wines.

I followed instructions and the wine is cleared, I don't have the patience of a saint unfortunately.

I only want to capture the oak chips that were added as part of the process, the wine has been racked to another container so there are no lees left, its just the oak chips. I'll have a look at the vinbrite, at the end of the day I have more time than money so I may just stick with the paper filters as I'm ony doing small volumes, it just takes so bloody long!

 

[hedgerow pete]

i have burnt and or sold all my filters especially the satanic harris ones, they forgot to mention in the posts above that you have to sacrafice three chickens per 5 gallon to get the damm things to work, . evil , absolute pure evil.

they are proberly typing the replies to that right now whilst wearing a dead chicken on there heads. i just went back to time to sort it all out, any thing other than a vinojet that uses paper in any form is the work of the devil, i have spent days trying to get a bucket of wine through those filtres :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

[Moley]

You're obviously doing it wrong then. Wine should be de-gassed and cleared, either by patience or finings. I got 45 litres through one filer pad last night (cost 70p). The first 15 litres went through in no more than 20 minutes, the second 15 litres took 30-40 minutes but the final 15 litres was pushing it a bit and took about an hour and a half.

If the wine isn't cleared then you waste pads and they clog up too quickly. If there's still dissolved gas, that collects in the filter chamber and you have to keep purging it through the vent tube.

No chickens were harmed in filtering that wine or drafting this reply.

 

[Aitch]

You're obviously doing it wrong then. Wine should be de-gassed and cleared, either by patience or finings. I got 45 litres through one filer pad last night (cost 70p). The first 15 litres went through in no more than 20 minutes, the second 15 litres took 30-40 minutes but the final 15 litres was pushing it a bit and took about an hour and a half.

If the wine isn't cleared then you waste pads and they clog up too quickly. If there's still dissolved gas, that collects in the filter chamber and you have to keep purging it through the vent tube.

No chickens were harmed in filtering that wine or drafting this reply.

Sorry mate, I'm a beginner but not a complete twit. I followed the instructions, isinglass was added after degassing (stabilising) I want to filter out the oak chips that were included in the kit, they are supposed to add to authenticity, I'm not trying to filter it to clear it, it is clear, it also has tiny bits of oak floating around in it!

 

[HLA91]

Possibly a Filter is too fine then what about a fine straining bag or as mentioned a piece of muslin. I always thought oak chips, having never used them personally, were around the size of a 50 pence piece and easy to remove. I used my Vinbrite filter for the first time on Friday and it was a pleasure to use, quick simple, perfect, I can't understand how some people don't get on with them.

 

[Moley]

Sorry mate, I'm a beginner but not a complete twit. ...(snip)... I'm not trying to filter it to clear it, it is clear, it also has tiny bits of oak floating around in it!

My post was directed at Hedgerow Pete.

Harry: I've only ever used oak chips once, but it was coarse sawdust, not chunks.

Aitch: I'm sure mine must have sunk and been left behind when racking, it was a Beaverdale red and I wouldn't have filtered it.

 

[Aitch]

Possibly a Filter is too fine then what about a fine straining bag or as mentioned a piece of muslin. I always thought oak chips, having never used them personally, were around the size of a 50 pence piece and easy to remove. I used my Vinbrite filter for the first time on Friday and it was a pleasure to use, quick simple, perfect, I can't understand how some people don't get on with them.

Thanks, the oak chips are the size of a grain of sand

 

[Aitch]

Sorry mate, I'm a beginner but not a complete twit. ...(snip)... I'm not trying to filter it to clear it, it is clear, it also has tiny bits of oak floating around in it!

My post was directed at Hedgerow Pete.

Harry: I've only ever used oak chips once, but it was coarse sawdust, not chunks.

Aitch: I'm sure mine must have sunk and been left behind when racking, it was a Beaverdale red and I wouldn't have filtered it.

Yes caorse sawdust, it is a california con merlot, v nice too. The saw dust is not all floating but some is, its no biggy but the mrs wont like drinking if she's getting "tea leaves" if you know what I mean. It just seemd ages to filter through a paper but time I have, I'll also use muslin and see if thats any better. thanks all for your help.

 

[benjaminehill]

have u tried a tea strainer.
they are very small but metal so easy to wash if they get clogged up by the oak.

good luck

p.s. i have been having the same problem with filtering using filtering pads. but i know all i need to do is wait a little long for it to clean that little bit more and ill be filtering freely.

when the wine is drinkable it hard to wait.

 

[bobsbeer]

Not sure what the problem is with the oak chips. I have used them a few times and never had a problem getting them out. Even the sawdust type seem to sink and the floaters stay on top until the end and don't get into the syphon. Any that do seem to sink after finings are added and settle on the bottom. I have a filter and after taking hours to do 25lt gave up and relied on the finings to do a good job, which they do if you give them time. Degasing and finings does it for me every time. With crystal clear results.

 

[hedgerow pete]

Sorry mate, I'm a beginner but not a complete twit. ...(snip)... I'm not trying to filter it to clear it, it is clear, it also has tiny bits of oak floating around in it!

My post was directed at Hedgerow Pete.

Harry: I've only ever used oak chips once, but it was coarse sawdust, not chunks.

Aitch: I'm sure mine must have sunk and been left behind when racking, it was a Beaverdale red and I wouldn't have filtered it.

thats what i thought as well, :wha:
i must have tried all the filters and style and i have come to the desision that they are not worth the flaff. i would rather rack it and leave it myself and leave the wine to get on with it,

i have made a wine filter a proper mans version of a wine filter and it does work so the harris and vinebright ones i have used must be naff insome way, i would expect to filter a gallon of wine in less than half an hour max and five gallons in less than two max,


the commercial ones i have used take days rather than hours , there proberly someone sat waiting for a wine to finish filtering from when he started it in 1976 :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[alanwh]

Next time, Pop the oak in a nylon mash/straining bag, tie the top then like mashing a big cuppa keep pulling the string up and down a few times a week to circulate the oak "tealeaves"
When youre done simple as turning the bag inside out into the bin and rinsing it through
One of these bags would also be useful to filter out the sawdust from your wine and only cost a few quid.

PS
I've found that wine filters are just for polishing wines, trying to clear a cloudy wine just blocks the filter with **** in a second.

 

[Aitch]

Next time, Pop the oak in a nylon mash/straining bag, tie the top then like mashing a big cuppa keep pulling the string up and down a few times a week to circulate the oak "tealeaves"
When youre done simple as turning the bag inside out into the bin and rinsing it through
One of these bags would also be useful to filter out the sawdust from your wine and only cost a few quid.

PS
I've found that wine filters are just for polishing wines, trying to clear a cloudy wine just blocks the filter with **** in a second.

There's an idea! I'll try that the next time, there isn't any oak dust floating, just a few bits sort of in suspension, I'll bag them the next time or just leave them out, my palate osn't refined enough to notice them in or out!