I bought 20 gal of (Stewbin) ? on spelling)Grape Juice from a winery.I
made it in 4 5gal batches.Here are my steps. Started on 10-16-09 in
fermentation buckets .In each bucket Added 5 crushed campden tablets 2
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme 5 tsp yeast nutrient 3 cups sugar.SG 1.090 covered
and left sit 1 day then added yeast 10 17 09.Then on 10 26 09 syphon
into carboys SG was 1.000 left settlement behind.Syphon again on 11 14
09 left settlement behind wasn't much.Then syphon again on 12 12 09 it
was clear SG .995.It had a sulfur smell. I did at different times stir
it up trying to work the smell out of it then i took a piece of 1/2in
copper pipe put it in the carboy just below the airlock first i
disinfected it clean it real good.Then i would blow through it a couple
times a day after about 4 days the smell was gone.But i noticed these
white flakes some were big. I syphon 1 carboy on 12 24 09 it was clear
except for those flakes i tasted some they were gritty /sandy i thought
it might have been because of the sulfur smell but they had no smell to
them or no taste.The wine was clear so i added 5 1/2 cups sugar and 2
1/2 tsp potassium sorbate and bottle it.I looked at the bottles and they
were clear no flakes.Then after 4 days i looked at the bottles and the
flakes started to come back after it was bottle i open one up and it was
small sandy floaters they have no taste just sandy.I thought it might
have been sugar that has not disoved put no taste and i stirred then
sugar up real good never had this trouble before.So i open all bottles
and ran them through a wine filter using the thick pad it came out
crystal clear so i bottle it up again but after 4 days it came back the
bottles have those small white floaters back in them. I still have 3
carboys left.I took one of them and add the sugar to sweeting it up and
added the potassium sorbate to it and leaving it sit to see if the
flakes get back in it.Does any one have any ideals what it could be .I
might just dump the ones i got bottle the flakes don't hurt the taste
just sandy.Thanks for any help Dan

On Jan 23, 10:42*am, wrote:
> I bought 20 gal of (Stewbin) ? on spelling)Grape Juice from a winery.I
> made it in 4 5gal batches.Here are my steps. Started on 10-16-09 in
> fermentation buckets .In each *bucket Added 5 crushed campden tablets 2
> 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme 5 tsp yeast nutrient 3 cups sugar.SG 1.090 covered
> and left sit 1 day then added yeast 10 17 09.Then on 10 26 09 syphon
> into carboys SG was 1.000 left settlement behind.Syphon again on 11 14
> 09 left settlement behind wasn't much.Then syphon again on 12 12 09 it
> was clear SG .995.It had a sulfur smell. I did at different times stir
> it up trying to work the smell out of it then i took a piece of *1/2in
> copper pipe put it in the carboy just below the airlock first i
> disinfected it clean it real good.Then i would blow through it a couple
> times a day after about 4 days the smell was gone.But i noticed these
> white flakes some were big. I syphon 1 carboy on 12 24 09 it was clear
> except for those flakes i tasted some they were gritty /sandy i thought
> it might have been because of the sulfur smell but they had no smell to
> them or no taste.The wine was clear so i added 5 1/2 cups sugar and 2
> 1/2 tsp potassium sorbate and bottle it.I looked at the bottles and they
> were clear no flakes.Then after 4 days i looked at the bottles and the
> flakes started to come back after it was bottle i open one up and it was
> small sandy floaters they have no taste just sandy.I thought it might
> have been sugar that has not disoved put no taste and i stirred then
> sugar up real good never had this trouble before.So i open all bottles
> and ran them through a wine *filter using the thick pad it came out
> crystal clear so i bottle it up again but after 4 days it came back the
> bottles have those small white floaters back in them. I still have 3
> carboys left.I took one of them and add the sugar to sweeting it up and
> added the potassium sorbate to it and leaving it sit to see if the
> flakes get back in it.Does any one have any ideals *what it could be .I
> might just dump the ones i got bottle the flakes don't hurt the taste
> just sandy.Thanks for any help Dan

When you say "floaters", are they floating toward the top of the wine
when it is sitting undisturbed? If they are at the bottom when
undisturbed, it could be tartrate crystals (from tartaric acid
settling out). You bottled it awfully quickly, and I'm guessing
didn't cold stabilize it. Set the bottles in a cold place for a few
weeks and you could see a lot at the bottom of the bottles. You would
have to rack off the crystals and rebottle at that point. You could
also pour it all back into a carboy to cold stabilize. This might
give you less waste when you are ready to bottle again, but you would
need to be careful about oxidation. It is best to cold stabilize in a
carboy before bottling.

In article
>,
shbailey > wrote:

> On Jan 23, 10:42*am, wrote:
> > I bought 20 gal of (Stewbin) ? on spelling)Grape Juice from a winery.I
> > made it in 4 5gal batches.Here are my steps. Started on 10-16-09 in
> > fermentation buckets .In each *bucket Added 5 crushed campden tablets 2
> > 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme 5 tsp yeast nutrient 3 cups sugar.SG 1.090 covered
> > and left sit 1 day then added yeast 10 17 09.Then on 10 26 09 syphon
> > into carboys SG was 1.000 left settlement behind.Syphon again on 11 14
> > 09 left settlement behind wasn't much.Then syphon again on 12 12 09 it
> > was clear SG .995.It had a sulfur smell. I did at different times stir
> > it up trying to work the smell out of it then i took a piece of *1/2in
> > copper pipe put it in the carboy just below the airlock first i
> > disinfected it clean it real good.Then i would blow through it a couple
> > times a day after about 4 days the smell was gone.But i noticed these
> > white flakes some were big. I syphon 1 carboy on 12 24 09 it was clear
> > except for those flakes i tasted some they were gritty /sandy i thought
> > it might have been because of the sulfur smell but they had no smell to
> > them or no taste.The wine was clear so i added 5 1/2 cups sugar and 2
> > 1/2 tsp potassium sorbate and bottle it.I looked at the bottles and they
> > were clear no flakes.Then after 4 days i looked at the bottles and the
> > flakes started to come back after it was bottle i open one up and it was
> > small sandy floaters they have no taste just sandy.I thought it might
> > have been sugar that has not disoved put no taste and i stirred then
> > sugar up real good never had this trouble before.So i open all bottles
> > and ran them through a wine *filter using the thick pad it came out
> > crystal clear so i bottle it up again but after 4 days it came back the
> > bottles have those small white floaters back in them. I still have 3
> > carboys left.I took one of them and add the sugar to sweeting it up and
> > added the potassium sorbate to it and leaving it sit to see if the
> > flakes get back in it.Does any one have any ideals *what it could be .I
> > might just dump the ones i got bottle the flakes don't hurt the taste
> > just sandy.Thanks for any help Dan
>
> When you say "floaters", are they floating toward the top of the wine
> when it is sitting undisturbed? If they are at the bottom when
> undisturbed, it could be tartrate crystals (from tartaric acid
> settling out). You bottled it awfully quickly, and I'm guessing
> didn't cold stabilize it. Set the bottles in a cold place for a few
> weeks and you could see a lot at the bottom of the bottles. You would
> have to rack off the crystals and rebottle at that point. You could
> also pour it all back into a carboy to cold stabilize. This might
> give you less waste when you are ready to bottle again, but you would
> need to be careful about oxidation. It is best to cold stabilize in a
> carboy before bottling.

All true, but tartrates don't float. They sink like wine stones.
--
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100119/...ting_activists
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/19/headlines

Thanks shbailey The crystal are at the bottom of the carboy.The one
carboy i bottle had big crystal flakes some the size of a corn flake and
lots of small ones.The bottle have small ones in them. I have them in a
wine rack and the small crystal lay on the down side of the bottle.I
should have explain better what i meant by floaters when you disturb the
bottle or carboy they float then settle back down.I have three more 5gal
carboy to bottle. What would be a good cold storage temp . Where i have
the carboys and bottle the temp is 55.Would it be best to let the
bottles lay in the rack then open filter them then rebottle right away.
When you buy kits to make wine a lot of them can be ready to bottle in
about 29 days.What is a average time when using your own fruit and
grapes.I bottle this Stewbin grape in about 3 months to early still
learning.Thanks everyone for the help Dan

I've had the same thing happen to me before. I assumed it was some
skin layers from the grapes. Never really worried about it and after a
while they dissapeared.



On Jan 24, 9:22*am, wrote:
> Thanks shbailey *The crystal are at the bottom of the carboy.The one
> carboy i bottle had big crystal flakes some the size of a corn flake and
> lots of small ones.The bottle have small ones in them. I have them in a
> wine rack and the small crystal lay on the down side of the bottle.I
> should have explain better what i meant by floaters when you disturb the
> bottle or carboy they float then settle back down.I have three more 5gal
> carboy to bottle. What would be a good cold storage temp . Where i have
> the carboys and bottle the temp is 55.Would it be best to let the
> bottles lay in the rack then open filter them then rebottle right away.
> When you buy kits to make wine a lot of them can be ready to bottle in
> about 29 days.What is a average time when using your own fruit and
> grapes.I bottle this Stewbin grape in about 3 months to early still
> learning.Thanks everyone for the help Dan

On Jan 24, 8:22*am, wrote:
> Thanks shbailey *The crystal are at the bottom of the carboy.The one
> carboy i bottle had big crystal flakes some the size of a corn flake and
> lots of small ones.The bottle have small ones in them. I have them in a
> wine rack and the small crystal lay on the down side of the bottle.I
> should have explain better what i meant by floaters when you disturb the
> bottle or carboy they float then settle back down.I have three more 5gal
> carboy to bottle. What would be a good cold storage temp . Where i have
> the carboys and bottle the temp is 55.Would it be best to let the
> bottles lay in the rack then open filter them then rebottle right away.
> When you buy kits to make wine a lot of them can be ready to bottle in
> about 29 days.What is a average time when using your own fruit and
> grapes.I bottle this Stewbin grape in about 3 months to early still
> learning.Thanks everyone for the help Dan

A lot of it will settle out in a couple more months at 55F. It will
settle faster the colder it is as long as it doesn't freeze (around
27F). If you are in a moderately cold area, you might could protect
it and leave it outside if you don't have large refrigerator space.
Steuben is a pretty low acid grape, so there shouldn't be as much to
settle out of it as there would be with some other grapes. Kits have
the acid adjusted to optimum, and call for the use of bentonite to
force it to clear and remove a lot of stuff that would naturally
settle out over time.

Good Luck,

Stephen

Thanks Stephen.I will let it sit a couple months then bottle a couple
bottles and see if it returns.I will syphon the rest into a smaller
carboy keeping it top off so there is little air space.I will check the
bottles in a week and see if it comes back if not i will bottle the
rest.Thanks again Dan

In article
>,
shbailey > wrote:

> On Jan 24, 8:22*am, wrote:
> > Thanks shbailey *The crystal are at the bottom of the carboy.The one
> > carboy i bottle had big crystal flakes some the size of a corn flake and
> > lots of small ones.The bottle have small ones in them. I have them in a
> > wine rack and the small crystal lay on the down side of the bottle.I
> > should have explain better what i meant by floaters when you disturb the
> > bottle or carboy they float then settle back down.I have three more 5gal
> > carboy to bottle. What would be a good cold storage temp . Where i have
> > the carboys and bottle the temp is 55.Would it be best to let the
> > bottles lay in the rack then open filter them then rebottle right away.
> > When you buy kits to make wine a lot of them can be ready to bottle in
> > about 29 days.What is a average time when using your own fruit and
> > grapes.I bottle this Stewbin grape in about 3 months to early still
> > learning.Thanks everyone for the help Dan
>
> A lot of it will settle out in a couple more months at 55F. It will
> settle faster the colder it is as long as it doesn't freeze (around
> 27F). If you are in a moderately cold area, you might could protect
> it and leave it outside if you don't have large refrigerator space.
> Steuben is a pretty low acid grape, so there shouldn't be as much to
> settle out of it as there would be with some other grapes. Kits have
> the acid adjusted to optimum, and call for the use of bentonite to
> force it to clear and remove a lot of stuff that would naturally
> settle out over time.
>
> Good Luck,
>
> Stephen

Tartrates (potassium bitartrate) are heavy and often require soda ash or
hot water to get them out of tank. It should be easy to rack off
tartrates. Bentonite is used to remove protein and leaves a fluffy
sediment which would just add to your losses.
--
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100119/...ting_activists
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/19/headlines