I just saw some info on another forum that got my attention. It is something that caught my attention and I hadn't thought about for some time. How come pectic enzyme in my wine just doesn't seem to clear my wine? Why? Other people use it and claim it works for them. It is fermentation temp. If you add pectic enzyme to your wine in the primary and then ferment at 75 degrees the pectic enzyme is no longer viable. Either ferment at a lower temp or don't use pectic enzyme in your wine to clear the haze. I prefer to ferment at a lower temp. Somewhere around 70 degrees. Below 68 and it takes a lot longer to get your wine going in the primary.

The pectinase may have been denatured before it was even used it.

The following is from HOMEBREW Digest #2509 Thu 18 September 1997:

Pectic enzyme breaks down quite quickly even at room temperature, so to get it to do its business before it denatures, don't buy it unless it is refrigerated, keep it refrigerated, don't add it to hot wort/fruit, and try to keep the fermenter in a cool place. My *guess* would be to keep it between 60 and 65F.

So your should store it in a cool place until you use it and as you suggest only add it to fairly cool fermenting wine.

- Scott

thanks for the interesting info. i am about to pick my persimmons for some wine and decided to use pectic enzyme this time around. this will be the first time i've ever used it, but last year both my brother and myself made persimmon wine and for some reason they didn't clear at all so i thought i would give it a try. can you give me any more info on how much to use and when to add? the stuff i bought was a powder in a 2 oz. bottle, and was on the shelf not in a frig. thanks,
gary

They generally recommend using about 1/2 teaspoon of pectinase (i.e. pectic enzyme) per gallon.

I believe you can add it pretty much any time. I'd probably add it once primary fermentation is winding down.

- Scott

You can all use bentonite to clear your wine. Many of the Alexander purees call out the bentonite in their recipes on the can.
If you do use bentonite you should use about 1/2 teaspoon per gallon if you use it in the last stages after fermentation. If you use it in the primary you need to use 1 teaspoon per gallon.

Stihler is right. use 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of pectic enzyme. I don't keep mine in the fridge but I do keep it in a cool cupboard.

thanks for the replys, my persimmon wine has always cleared up nice and taste great except for last year, and that one i froze the fruit for a couple of days before making. this year the tree is loaded with fruit and i left the fruit on the tree until the second freeze so i'm hopeing with that and the pectic enzyme it will clear as good as it tastes. i'll let you know in about
6 or 8 months.
gary

i am in the process of making my first batch of wine (apple - using concentrate) and this is the first i've read or heard about the temp. killing the pectic enzyme.

when i added it this morning the must was at 85 +/-

am i going to have to add more when it cools to room temperature?

can i add yeast tomorrow morning as scheduled and just add more pectic enzyme later on?

I'm afraid I don't have any real experience with pectinaze (a.k.a. pectic enzyme). I just did some research on the topic when I decided to purchase some for use in a fruit beer. I have yet to make that beer in part because I don't recall where I stored the enzyme. I suspect it may be in the freezer but....

At any rate, I strongly suspect you may have denatured the enzyme at those temperatues. The enzyme supposedly works quite quickly so perhaps all is not lost.

The good news is that I believe you can add the enzyme pretty much any time in the process.

I hope this helps and please let us know what your wine comes out.

- Scott

wingnutooa wrote:i am in the process of making my first batch of wine (apple - using concentrate) and this is the first i've read or heard about the temp. killing the pectic enzyme.

when i added it this morning the must was at 85 +/-

am i going to have to add more when it cools to room temperature?

can i add yeast tomorrow morning as scheduled and just add more pectic enzyme later on?

I think 85 degrees is pretty warm for any fermentation. I would watch it closely if it doesn't seem to clear you can add more pectic enzyme. The other thing to keep in mind. In small batches you won't see much temp difference between room temp and primary temp. As batches get larger the temp in the fermentation containers rises due to the fermentation and can be several degrees higher than the room temp. I know it isn't always possible but I like to ferment at 68 to 70 degrees. I installed a cheapo room K-Mart air conditioner in my wine room so I could maintain reasonable temps in the summer.

when i said it was 85* i meant becuase it hadn't cooled down from the night before. it'd only been in the primary 8 hours at that time.

i checked it again this morning, temp was 75* and SG was 1.136, i added another dose of pectic enzyme and will add the yeast tomorrow morning.

+.002 for temperature correction = 1.138

i think everything will turn out just fine. it smells very spicy and apple-y smells good.

wingnutooa,
What yeast are you using? If your SG is at 1.138 you have a possible alcohol of around 18%. Many of the yeasts die off below that level. The champagne yeasts like Premier Cuv'ee and EC1118 will get you close to 18% alcohol. Below is a approx. formula. If you didn't use a champagne yeast you may end up with a sweet wine. It will be interesting what the ending SG ends up being.

Starting SG minus ending SG divided by .00736 equals approx alcohol.

just call me wing.

i have Montrachet yeast.

i was also thinking that it would be a little on the sweet side but someone said montrachet should do just fine.

is it possible to add some champagne yeast later to conert the last bit of sugar?

it started noticeably fermenting about 3 days ago. the airlock hasnt stopped bubbling since i'm sure it'll go steady for a week or so from the sounds of things.

the bag with raisins and spices started floating as soon as it started fermenting also. every other day or two i open it up and push the bag down. squish it around and stir the must.

some people say they stir it every day. others say they don't stir at all. everyone seems to come out with a drinkable wine.

i've read that stirring will re-awaken yeast cells. it seems that the only time you DONT want to disturb it is right before racking.

You should be able to add Champagne yeast later on to make your wine less sweet.

Keep in mind, however, that you need to give it sufficient time to metabolize the remaining sugar otherswise you run the risk of having exploding bottles.

Champagne bottles are thicker than normal wine bottles for that very reason.

Good luck!

- Scott

ok excuse me if i'm asking a newby question but...

from what i understand about champagne, its carbonated. correct?

what does this? is it from the yeast? if so, will adding champagne yeast to my must make it sparkling?

also would i be able to de gas it for the higher ABV without the "sparklies" ?

i also heard a port yeast will handle a higher abv. is this correct?


basically i'm trying to avoid my wine being too sweet but also want to stay away from a sparkling cider.

Champagne is sparkling only because it is bottled while the yeast are still fermenting.

If you wait until the yeast have completely finished you can have a nice dry wine without the carbonation.

I'm afraid I'm not sure about the properties of port yeast so I can't help you in that regard.

I hope I've answered your questions or at least some of them.

Cheers,

Scott