Page 20 - Grapevine July-Aug 2020
P. 20
In The Winery Around The Vineyard • March - April 2011
Instructions sand, two pound per thousand gallons and so
on up to 5 pounds per 1000 gallons trials. Some
1. Select and prepare a 5% bentonite slurry solu- varietals may require more bentonite but those
tion by carefully dissolving 5 grams of bentonite will start to identify themselves in your winery
in about 80 milliliters of 80 degree F water. and each year you will “know or anticipate”
After properly mixed bring to volume with they may require more.
water to exactly 100 mils to make the 5% solu-
tion. This step may be done in the 100 milliliter 4. Now we know the above mixed solution is a
graduated cylinder listed above. strength that 0.24 mils of a 5.0% solution per
hundred milliliters of wine sample will equal a
2. Collect the proper volume of wine from the one pound per 1000 gallons addition rate.
wine tank desired to perform the fining trial
on. Make sure the sample is representative of Extrapolating that out for example: If one pre-
the complete wine tank otherwise results will fers to make a 400 milliliter trial and to settle in
not be reflected properly after the fining has a 375 milliliter screw cap bottle one would add
been completed in the wine tank. If planning 0.96 milliliters of a 5% solution to a 400 millili-
to do 5 different levels of additions in a trial you ter sample to represent 1 pound per thousand
may need 3 liters or more of wine. Break down gallons; mix and transfer into the 375 milliliter
the volume of wine into 6 - 500 ml Erlenmeyer bottle. Further – add 1.92 milliliters of a 5%
Flasks and have them remain as close to the cel- solution to 400 milliliters of sample to equal 2
lar tank fining temperature as possible. pounds per thousands and so on.
3. Label the Erlenmeyer flasks at the rates desired Metric: For those that prefer metric the addi-
to be tested in the lab trial. Typically each wine tion can be viewed this way. One pound per
will have two controls, a one pound per thou- thousand gallons equals 454 grams per 3785
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