I have only made these wines in 5 gal. batches and use superklear. But
superklear comes in premeasured packets for 5 gallons and it can not be
opened and then used later. There is no problem with letting the wine have
30 min. air contact while racking and working with it if you do not do it
more than a few times before it goes into bottle.

For future batches you could probably use the same technique used in
commercial batches. They add the betonite at the start of fermentation so
it percolates with the yeast and then settles at the end.

Do not drink it cloudy. Work at getting it clear. It will taste and smell
much better. Most of my wine I try to let patience clear it. Time will
work. But for this particular wine, it is better drunk young so I would
encourage you to use a clearing agent.

Ray
"Adam Preble" > wrote in message
...
> I'm working on winemaking basics by making small batches of white wine. I
> am using that Welch's white grape concentrate that has been discussed on
> here before. I prepare a gallon, which gets me four bottles easy, with a
> little leftover that can be discarded as gunk. This first batch tastes all
> right, but it's very cloudy. I'm hoping for some clarifying tips, and
> I've also become concerned with oxidation.
>
> I read some things in the FAQ about clarifying, and I outright adding
> clarifying agents to the first wine I ever made--it was a kit and had
> betonite included. That wine still has some clarity problems, which I
> presume will subside with age. While that wine was a red, I made a white
> this time, and want to drink it right away. So I'm a little impatient.
>
> For the secondary fermentation, I had dabbled with chilling the must in
> the refridgerator. This seemed to help to some extent, just looking at
> all the crap that had settled to the bottom. I had let it sit for a
> little over a week. That was a good idea, but what likely wasn't a good
> idea was trying to rack through a coffee filter going between primary and
> secondary. I thought it'd take out some of the yeast flavor, but some of
> the hobo wine people I've been talking to about this probably just do it
> out of superstition.
>
> That racking step had me concerned about oxidation. It took a lot of time
> to filter that gallon, and everything was exposed to air during this time
> (30 minutes or so). Once in the secondary, the container was filled
> almost to the top and appropriately sealed. Was I invited trouble during
> that racking?
>
> I have some bentonite on supply, but I wanted to see how chilling would
> help. It looks like it's a good idea to use bentonite with chilling, and
> that's likely what I'll use next time. However, I was curious how
> effective different clarifying techniques ultimately are. Say, would I
> have had a clearer wine if I had just used bentonite without
> refridgeration?
>
> I should also add this wine smells of yeast too, even if it doesn't taste
> of it. Perhaps priority one should be to get rid of that; I figure
> unclear is related.