Bentonite - 2 oz

Clears Stubborn Haze • Removes Protein and Wild Yeast • The Wine Maker's Fining Agent

Bentonite is a natural clay fining agent that carries a negative charge, attracting the positively charged proteins and yeast cells that keep a wine, cider or mead cloudy. As the clay settles it drags that material down with it, producing a clarity that time alone often will not achieve, particularly in fruit ferments that stay stubbornly hazy.

It is the workhorse fining agent in winemaking and is equally effective in cider and mead. Because it works on protein rather than on tannin, it clears haze without stripping the color and structure that other finings can take with them.

What It Does

• Removes suspended protein and yeast
• Clears haze that will not settle on its own
• Speeds up a slow-clearing fruit wine or mead
• Reduces the risk of protein haze after bottling
• Leaves color and body largely intact

Used at the start of fermentation it also gives the yeast a surface to work from and helps keep a ferment healthy, which is why some winemakers add it early rather than waiting for a haze problem to appear.

Usage Recommendations

Use roughly 1 to 2 teaspoons per 5 gallons. Bentonite must be hydrated before use: whisk it into a cup of warm water, let it stand for several hours or overnight until it forms a smooth slurry, then stir the slurry gently into the batch.

Allow one to two weeks for it to settle completely, then rack off the sediment. Adding it dry will leave clumps that never disperse and will not clear anything.

Specifications

• Type: Natural clay fining agent
• Net Weight: 2 oz
• Dosage: 1 to 2 tsp per 5 gallons, hydrated first
• Settling Time: 1 to 2 weeks
• Best For: Wine, cider, mead, fruited ferments

Whether you're clearing a fruit wine that has refused to drop bright, polishing a mead before bottling, or preventing protein haze in a cider, bentonite is the simplest and most reliable fining agent for the job.