Clarifying wine with egg white at home: step-by-step cleaning instructions

Homemade wine after fermentation is not always transparent. To solve the problem, the beverage is processed to absorb unwanted wort and yeast particles. One option is to clarify cloudy wines with egg white.

How to understand that you need to do lightening?

Being engaged in self-preparation of wine, it is insisted for 3-5 months, after which the degree of transparency is checked. The need to clarify an alcoholic beverage arises in situations where it remains as cloudy as it was before aging.

The clarification procedure, also often referred to as fining, is not necessary, since particles that have not settled do not affect the taste characteristics of the wine. At the same time, filtering has the following positive aspects:

the drink looks good and does not differ from the products that are made in wineries;
increases the length of allowable storage.

Principle of clarification of wine with egg white

Even a long exposure does not always lead to the fact that all particles of yeast, must and cream of tartar precipitate. The process of binding unwanted particles with their subsequent fall to the bottom of the container is performed by adding special products containing protein and tannins to alcohol.The best option is to add egg white.

Contacting with wine, the protein from small particles forms large flakes, and a kind of wine purification is carried out. The protein containing albumin attracts impurities, binds them and makes them heavier, as a result of which they smoothly descend. Within a couple of days after interaction, the formed flakes begin to settle to the bottom of the container, and the drink gradually becomes clarified.

Preparation of raw materials before starting the process

Before clarifying the wine, you need to make sure that it has matured enough. For this purpose, the sealed container is placed in a warm place. If after a few days bubbles form in it, then the drink is not ripe. Forced clarification of the wine is necessary only in situations where the alcohol has matured, but the dregs still remain.

A few fresh eggs are prepared for cleansing at the rate of 1 protein per 35 liters of liquid.

How to use egg white to clarify a drink at home?

Egg white as a clarifier is effective in clearing all homemade wines, but is most commonly used for drinks made from red grapes. To get rid of unwanted particles and precipitate them, you need to separate several egg whites from the yolks, add a little clean water and beat the mixture until a foamy consistency. Then the whipped proteins are diluted with a glass of wine and then poured into a container where the main part of the drink is poured. It will be possible to visually notice how effective the cleansing was after 18-25 days.

After completing the process, you need to carefully pour the purified drink into another container. Thus, it is possible to separate the wine from the sediment so that it does not fall into the glasses during further use.

Basic mistakes

When trying to clarify wine, many make mistakes due to lack of practical experience or inattentive reading of the instructions. Common mistakes include:

Clarification of the drink at once in large volumes. To effectively purify the wine, it is better to take several small portions and experimentally perform the process by changing the dosage and concentration of egg white.
Wrong amount of clarifier. Adding a small amount of egg white will cause a suspension to remain in the liquid, and in the reverse situation, the wine will go bad.
Single cleansing with strong turbidity. Getting rid of a lot of yeast and wort particles is possible only through several stages of clarification.
Adding egg white to inappropriate steps in beverage production. You can only use a clarifier before the start of fermentation (before the fermentation process), when the drink stabilizes and before direct bottling.
Using stale egg white. It is possible not to spoil the taste characteristics of the wine only by adding fresh protein, preferably from domestic eggs. Otherwise, the risk of a negative reaction of the product to contact with the protein increases.

Compliance with the basic rules for cleansing the drink will avoid these mistakes. The result will be a homemade wine with a long shelf life and an attractive appearance.