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Did I mess it up? Wine is now cloudy

Winemaking
#1

Following the directions on a wine kit (one of the whites in the two-for-one sale) I put in the clarifiers.

This was against better judgement, because - at the time, it was really clear. Being my first wine, I just went for it.

Now I’ve been a homebrewer for 12 years, so I understand sanitizing and infection and now I’m worried.

It’s been two weeks and the thing is milky, hazy and gross looking. Haven’t brought myself to taste it yet, but I’m thoroughly p-o’d that this thing looks the way it does. I’m worried that it’s ruined.

Should I wait it out, or should I start thinking about some other steps I can take?

#2

I think your first step might be to open it up and take a wiff.

#3

Give it another week. If it’s still cloudy add two teaspoons of gelatin dissolved in 1 1/2 cups water. Let it sit fifteen minutes then microwave it til it’s more or less clear. Add to wine and stir in gently. Don’t bother tasting it at this point as it still has yeast cells and such floating in it and will be a little bitter. This has always worked for me. It may strip out some of the tannins but at least you’ll have a wine you can drink. :cheers:

#4

Was the wine completely degassed?

#5

The instructions seemed to indicate degassing while I put this in. I stirred pretty vigorously, and I came back and did it again the next day. We were hoping to give this as gifts, so having it really clear would have been great. I’m not kidding, it was crystal clear before I did this. What an idiot I was.

It tasted great before all this, so maybe I’ll give it a whiff and then dare to take a sip and see where we are at. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take a sample and cold crash it to see what comes down.

I say that carboy opening filter on NB for about $47. Is that worth it? Should I be leaning towards filtering?

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