24 September 2007
[Epi 15] TintoTV - Clarifying showdown part 1: Sparkolloid
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Enjoying making our homemade wine, Stephany and I thought we would do a mini-competition for the fun of the show and also just to learn! We present to you PART I of the first clarifying showdown: “Sparkolloid” vs. “Super Kleer KC”. For this challenge, we are going to follow each clarifier’s respective preparation procedure and apply the Sparkolloid to our blackberry batch and the Super Kleer to our strawberry wine. First, here in Part I, we focus on Sparkolloid and blackberry wine!
Here’s the quick blurb from scottlab.com regarding the Sparkolloid clarifying agent for wine:
Hot Mix Sparkolloid® is a fining agent developed by Scott Laboratories for clarification. It is a blend of polysaccharides in a diatomaceous earth carrier and has a strong positive charge. Hot Mix Sparkolloid® neutralizes the repelling charge of particulate matter allowing aggregation and formation of compact lees. It does not remove desirable color constituents. It is not a cold stabilizing, heat stabilizing or odor removing agent. Hot Mix Sparkolloid® should be used to achieve maximum clarity and sparkle at lowest total cost.
The blurb above hints at the science of the clarifier. In a nutshell, the suspended particles that cloud a wine have an electric charge. By adding Sparkolloid, a positively charged agent, it binds to some of the wine’s suspended particles, adding to the particles’ mass. As it adds to the particles’ mass, they become heavy enough that they fall to the bottom of the carboy and add to the sediment deposit (lees).
Preparation for Sparkolloid is not too tricky; for 1 gallon of wine:
- boil 1/4 cup of water
- add 1/2 tsp of Sparkolloid and dissolve in water
- make sure mixture/solution is still VERY hot when adding to wine and vigorously stir in to wine
At this point, we shouldn’t rack and shouldn’t bottle for at least one week.
Sparkolloid was recommended as a great agent that minimally compromises color, aroma, and taste. Though I’m sure you can purchase Sparkolloid anywhere, here’s a link to purchase it for your convenience from Fine Vine Wines
As a side-note, upon tasting our blackberry batch which has now had about 3 months of bulk aging, the progress is remarkable. What before seemed to resemble jet fuel is now just beginning to find fruit and harmony. We are very excited to see how this first gallon of wine will continue to progress! Patience is key!
View the pictures of the clearing wine after the show and let us know what you think with a comment (and let us know if we did anything wrong)! We’re ready to apply Super Kleer to our very cloudy strawberry wine so stay tuned for part II of this first clarifying showdown where we can see which was easiest and best for our 1-gallon fruit batches! Thanks for watching!
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