I keep running across mentions of using egg whites to clear wine, but not the actual description. Is it just one egg at a time, yoke removed? Is it multiple eggs mixed together a little bit? No one ever mentions potential problems with salmonella, either.
I've never done it, since there are so many good clarifyers for wine, so I looked at Jack Keller's website to see what he has to say about egg whites. (He's my winemaking idol!).
He says: Egg white is an excellent fining agent for removing haze caused by excessive tannin. Separate an egg and gently beat the white in a small amount of the unclarified wine. C.J.J. Berry insists that one must add a pinch of salt to the white before beating it. I will certainly not argue with him. Use half the beaten white per 5-gallon carboy. Simply pour the beaten egg white into the wine and stir well with a long sterilized rod. Refit the airlock and set aside for ten days. The wine should clarify. Rack and bottle it at once.
I tend to go with Sparkeloid for most wines that don't clear on their own. But I have used SuperKleer with good results. More info from Jack Keller's site in on this page: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/finishin.asp (about 1/2 way down the finings start).
Oh, okay. No, I don't think I'll be using that method any time soon because I don't usually have problems due to tannin. Actually, I normally don't have problems when I put in pectic enzyme, but I have this 2.5 month old peach wine that isn't clearing. I've heard peaches can be a bugger, and mine seems no different. I'm not really ready to bottle it, but at the same time, I'm getting a bit twitchy.
I've been trying to find out if its possible to reduce the amount of tannin in a wine because I've foraged some Sloes (fruit of the Blackthorn) to make into Sloe wine, but Sloes are known for their mouth drying astringency, so Sloe wine needs a long maturation period before its palatable.
I found this page which talks about using egg white to reduce tannins:-
Can I Reduce Tannins in a Wine Kit Without Aging? - WineMakerMag.comIt seems to me like your Carmenère is a candidate for one of the “Wine Wizard’s” cheapest, easiest and most favorite ways to improve a tannic wine; egg white fining! What could be simpler (or more traditional) than grabbing an egg or two from the fridge. Egg whites are mostly made up of a pure...
Post time 2010-2-5 17:24:12
