Hi guys!
Just wanted to update you on the filtering of my mead wine. It’s now to the point where it’s ready to be filtered. Using my wine filter system went OK, though I have to say the one thing that went “wrong” per se was my own stupid fault and I’m such an idiot.
I’m blaming it completely on the mental fatigue due to all the wedding-related things, and not the fact that I didn’t read the instructions that came with the wine filter system carefully enough.
First thing I did before using my wine filter system is bust out all the parts. Looks simple enough! One thing that should have been really obvious to me and taken about 2.5 seconds was hooking up the pump plunger to the unit, but for some reason is stumped me. I was sitting there all confused trying to figure out how the heck I was supposed to take it apart and attach it to the unit, and then it dawned on me after LOOKING AT A PICTURE how silly I was and how ridiculously easy it was to do it. Basically, all I had to do was insert the plunger all the way into the unit and screw it in place. Seriously? So much confusion for one of the easiest things I’ve ever done.
If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, after I put together the entire wine filtering system, ran some water through the unit to make sure there were no major leaks or anything, AND filtered the entire carboy of wine did I realize that I didn’t put the wine filter pads in the housing correctly.
What I was supposed to do was this according to the instructions: “The filter unit consists of three parts: Bottom Housing, Top Housing, and Separator. Into this assembly the two filter pads must be inserted. The pads are assembled with the cloth looking flat side outwards. The correct sequence is thus: Bottom Housing, Filter pad, Separator, Filter pad, Top housing.”
So what did I do? Well, I foolishly kept the two filter pads TOGETHER and placed then between one of the housing pieces and the separator. I was supposed to take the filter pads apart and place each one separately between one of the housing units and the separator. I have no idea why my brain decided that I wasn’t going to do it the proper way. While I didn’t end up with much leaking, I probably ended up leaking more wine out of the unit than if I had set it up properly.
Quite embarrassing that I would do something like that when it was obviously incorrect. I guess I wasn’t having a very good day! In the end though, I did end up partially filtering my wine, which is more than I have ever done in the past. Half filtered wine is probably better than no filtered, right? I won’t be making that silly mistake again when using my wine filter system. Read the directions. More than once. Sigh…
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My name is Leigh Erwin, and I am a brand-spankin’ new home winemaker! E. C. Kraus has asked me to share with you my journey from a first-time dabbler to an accomplished home winemaker. From time to time I’ll be checking in with this blog and reporting my experience with you: the good, bad — and the ugly.
Leigh, you will want to assemble the unit (correctly) and flush the pads with several tanks of water. I usually use two tanks of hot and one tank of cold water. The reason is that the pad are cellulose (cardboard). If not flushed, the cardboard flavor come tight through to the wine and the first carboy is ruined (or not what you want it to be) Flush with water until no taste or smell of cardboard is detected in the water coming out of the filter. Then drain the unit and filter the wine. Note that about a bottle of wine will remain in the filter pads when the tank is empty. Add some water to the tank and keep going until you get water out of the unit again.
Run the mead through the filter again, it won’t hurt it a bit, just pour yourself a glass to enjoy while you do this and you will feel better. Merry Christmas!