(324 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



A MEANS OF PREVENTING CLOUDINESS IN 

 WHITE WINES. 



By M. d'A. Burney. 



In many districts of Victoria the perfect clarification of dry white 

 wines offers a serious difficulty. Much can be done towards prevent- 

 ing this by a commonsense treatment of the vintage. Apart from, 

 specific microbian diseases, cloudiness is often produced by an excess 

 of albuminous matter formed naturally in the must. It stands to 

 reason that the sooner this excess is eliminated the sooner will the 

 wine clear and the less danger will there be of its becoming cloudy 

 again afterwards. 



The grapes when crushed should be pressed rapidly, and the must 

 pumped into fermenting vats, and racked off the sediment formed 

 before fermentation sets in. The must while being pumped, should 

 be given as great a fall as possible into the vats, so as to insure 

 complete aeration. At the same time tannin, in the proportion of at 

 least 2 oz. per 500 gallons of must, should be added in order to assist 

 the precipitation of the undesirable albuminous matters. An overdose 

 of tannin is of no consequence, as it is easily got rid of by fining later 

 on. In vineyards which contain both red and white grapes, the 

 red grapes can be picked in the cool of the morning and the white 

 grapes later on in the day. As the warm must cools down during the 

 night, the precipitation of impurities is assisted, and, as a rule, the vat is 

 clear enough to rack into casks the next morning. Care must be 

 taken to eliminate any scum that may have formed on the surface^ 

 and to keep the thick lees quite separate from the bulk. They can be 

 put in with the red grapes or else kept in a separate cask. 



It is, of course, easy to elaborate this system by sulphuring the 

 must so as to prevent fermentation, and only racking it after several 

 days have elapsed, and when the must is quite bright. In this case 

 it is necessary to get rid of the sulphurous acid by oxidation, and to 

 add yeast to insure proper fermentation. In most cases the first 

 process will be found sufficient, and two spare vats of a size in 

 accordance with the pressing plant are all that is required. The 

 moment the first violent fermentation ceases the wine should be 

 racked and well aerated during the process. It can then be left in 

 casks which are kept carefully filled until the winter sets in, when, if 

 not perfectly bright, it should receive a light fining. 



