Clearing a Hazy Or Cloudy Wine

It can definitely be frustrating to spend time making wine, waiting months for it to ferment and condition only for it to be hazy or cloudy.

A slight haze in wine isn’t a major problem but it can be annoying. Certain wines may be more prone to having a haze or cloudiness so what can we do about it?

In this article, we will cover what to make sure our wines ferment with much less chance of forming a haze and also how to clear a cloudy or hazy wine if it just won’t clear.

Clear Your Wine Starting With The Basics

All of the recipes here on Home Brew Answers suggest the use of pectic enzymes. Particularly with fruit and floral wines you are introducing pectin which is present in all fruit, vegetables, and plants to some degree.

Pectin is what causes jam to set and form a gel. When there is a lot of pectin in wine it will cause a haze. Pectin haze won’t affect the flavour of wine but it will cause a haze or if there is a lot of pectin such as an apple wine it will be quite cloudy.

Pectic enzymes will break down the pectin which will prevent a haze from forming and has the added benefit of breaking down the fruit you are fermenting which will lead to better extraction.

• Add pectic enzymes at the start of each wine fermentation.
• Add pectic enzyme at any point of the fermentation to clear a pectin haze if it was not added at the start of fermentation.

If you still have a haze in the fermented wine then it may be caused by something else.

Testing For Pectin Haze

If you have used pectic enzyme but still have haze in the finished wine that you think is caused by pectin then you can perform a simple test.

To test for residual pectin you will need methylated spirit or methanol. 

Add a 50ml sample of the wine to 200ml of methylated spirit. If a powdery substance appears in the wine then there is residual pectin in the wine.

If there is residual pectin, treat the wine with further pectic enzyme a little at a time until the haze subsides.

Excess Starch Causing Cloudy Wine

The next most common cause of hazy or cloudiness in wine is starch in solution.

Starches are present in vegetables and fruits and unlike simple sugars aren’t broken down by yeast.

If there is excess starch in your wine and it is causing a haze then the simplest way to deal with it is by adding an enzyme called amylase.

Amylase is an enzyme that breaks down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars. If you have ever brewed beer before you may be familiar with amylase enzymes as these are present in the malted barley and convert the starch or carbohydrates in the grain into fermentable sugars.

• If you are making wine with ingredients you know are high in starch then treat the wine with amylase.

Follow the directions that come with the amylase enzyme and add small amounts, wait 1 or 2 hours for signs of clearing before adding small amounts more until the wine is clear.

Yeast In Suspension

After conditioning, you will be aware that yeast will begin settling out. After racking you will likely end up with a slightly hazier wine due to picking up some of the yeast lees and they will stay in suspension for a week or two. 

In most cases, time will ensure yeast settle and flocculate but sometimes less flocculant yeast strains will cast a haze for a long time.

• If you want to speed up flocculation a two-part fining will be adequate before stabilizing and bottling. This page on wine finings should give you some more information on using wine finings and how to go about it.

Protein Haze

Protein in your wine can cause issues with clearing and is more noticeable according to the temperature of your wine.

If you notice your wine takes on a haze, particularly at lower temperatures, protein is likely to be the cause.

If this is the case then a two-part fining solution like that described above is your best option.

Other Causes Of Haze

If your haze problems are not caused by one of the above issues then the most likely culprit is going to be biological. Wild yeasts and microorganisms that cause spoiling in wine can also be the cause of unwanted haze. 

Unfortunately, there is not much you can do about the causes of biological contamination and may find a sample of the wine is unpalatable. If you think you have a spoiled wine the best thing to do it wait, try samples and if there are no improvements over a longer time period it may be that the wine is destined for the drain.