Inline Wine Racking Filter Problems

Inline wine racking filtration is done several times prior to bottling.

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One step in winemaking is the racking process, which includes siphoning the wine into another secondary unit to remove sediment, which is referred to as “lees.” This process is repeated several times before the wine is bottled to remove deposits from the wine. Filtering the wine can be done with filters in .5, 1 and 5 micron ratings but if problems occur with the filter, some troubleshooting is required.

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If the inline racking filter is not filtering the wine as well as before or the amount of sediment in the wine seems to be increasing, the filter pads may need to be changed. One set of inline racking filter pads should filter approximately five gallons of wine but if the wine is particularly heavy, less than five gallons may filter before the pads need to be replaced.

Filter Pad Size

Different types of inline racking filter pads produce different filtration results and skipping a filtration step or not filtering the wine enough can affect the wine quality. Number 1 pads are coarser and used for heavier wines or as a first filtration step. Number 2 pads are less coarse, improve the wine clarity and color, and are the secondary filtration. Once the wine is ready to bottle, number 3 pads remove yeast and remaining particles from the wine.

Dirty Filters

When the wine has moved through the inline racking filter, cleaning the filter mechanisms is an important process, or the taste, quality and color of future wine batches may be affected. Disconnect the drip tray tubing from the filter system and connect the tubing directly to the pump outlet. You can leave the intake tube in the pump and then the other end of the intake tube in approximately three gallons of clean water. Set the outtake tube into a large, empty container and turn on the pump to clean out the filter. Turn off the unit when the water has been pumped through and disconnect the power cord, then remove the filtering plates and hoses. Rinse everything well with water to clean.

Filtration Timing

Winemaking is not a speedy process under any circumstances. This includes properly filtering the wine prior to bottling the wine. Wait at least five days between filtrations and progress to lower micron-size filter pads each time. Balance and stabilize the wine prior to filtering using a stabilizing product to help maintain the proper percentages of various products in the wine.

ReferencesWinemaking: Racking the WineE.C. Kraus: Racking Your WineBuno Vino: MiniJet Filtration User ManualPhoto Credit Ablestock.com/AbleStock.com/Getty ImagesRead Next:

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