Hi there,
I am a recent homebrewer turned winemaker. I was wondering if it was appropriate to filter the wine before bottling. I am making a European Select Verdicchio at the moment. I have a 10 inch sediment filter unit with either a 0.5 or 1.0 micron filter. Can I put wine through this and is it worth it? Thanks, any help would be great.
Regards,
Dean R.
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Dear Dean,
There are many advantages to making wine using our concentrated juices such as the European Select you are using. One of the more significant ones is that all of the solid particles in these juices have been removed. What this means for you, as a home winemaker, is that the only sediment that you will need to deal with is what is created by the yeast.
If given enough time, these yeast cells will settle to the bottom of the fermenter with the additional aid of some clarifiers that are included in these juice kits. So, filtering is not necessary just as long as the wine is not rushed along and given enough time to clear on its own. This is easily accomplished by following the time-table provided in the directions that come with these juices.
Where wine filtering can play a real beneficial role for concentrate wines is in the visual aspects of the wine. While these finished wines will look completely clear and beautiful as is, running them through a wine filter will add a polish or luster that almost seem illuminating.
I personally do not filter all my wines, but I do make sure that any wine I plan on passing out as a personalized wine gift is filtered. I put custom wine bottle labels on them and they are ready to pass out and impress.
To sum this up, when it comes to learning how to make your own wine, filtering is not on the top of the list, and a wine filter will probably not be the first piece of homemade wine equipment you should purchase, but you will certainly want to consider filtering your wines, eventually, particularly if you plan on sharing them as wine making gifts with decorative wine bottle labels and such.
Happy Wine Making,
Customer Service
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.
