Why Is My Wine Still Cloudy?
What's actually causing the haze
That cloudiness comes from particles so small they won't settle out on their own — no matter how long you wait.
The usual culprits:
- Proteins — create a soft, milky haze, most common in white wines.
- Tannin-protein complexes — similar effect, shows up more in reds.
- Pectin — especially common in fruit wines.
None of these affect how your wine tastes. But they affect how it looks in the glass, and they can cause stability problems after you bottle. Worth dealing with now.
Step one — fining agents
This is where most of the heavy lifting happens.
Fining agents bind to the particles causing the haze, forming larger clusters heavy enough to settle to the bottom. You rack off the sediment, and the wine is dramatically clearer.
Bentonite
The workhorse for protein haze. A clay-based fining agent with a negative charge that attracts positively charged proteins and pulls them out. Effective, affordable, and what commercial wineries reach for first. If you're making white wine and dealing with haze, start here.
Volclay KWK Krystal Klear Bentonite
The commercial standard for pulling out proteins and clearing white wines.
Enartis Claril ZW
An advanced, plant-protein fining agent combined with bentonite for rapid clarification.
Chitosan + Kieselsol
These work as a duo — Kieselsol carries a negative charge, Chitosan a positive one. Together they attract particles from both directions and clear the wine efficiently. Gentler than Bentonite. Works well on whites and reds. A go-to for a lot of home winemakers.
Super-Kleer K.C. Finings
A powerful, two-part (Kieselsol & Chitosan) fining solution in a single pack that covers all your bases.
CellarScience® Chitosan
A highly active, standalone liquid chitosan for reliable, fast-acting clarification.
Whichever you choose: follow the dosage instructions, give it time, and rack carefully off the sediment before you move on. Rushing this step is where people run into trouble.
Step two — filtration
Fining agents do the bulk of the work. But if you want wine that's truly bright and polished when it goes in the bottle, filtration is the finishing step.
A plate filter run after fining catches whatever didn't drop out — the fine particles too small for gravity and fining alone. It's what gets you from "pretty clear" to "looks like it came from a shop."
Think of fining and filtration as two steps that work together — not two options to pick between.
Plate Filters & Setups
The finishing touch for commercial-level brilliance and polish.
Replacement Filter Pads
Stock up on coarse, sterile, and polishing pads for your next run.
Quick recap
- Don't stress — haze is normal and fixable.
- Identify the cause — protein, tannin-protein, or pectin.
- Fine first — Bentonite for protein haze, Chitosan + Kieselsol for a gentler all-purpose approach.
- Filter to finish — a plate filter gets you bottle-ready clarity.
- Be patient — give each step time before moving to the next.
Still not sure which approach is right for your wine? Give us a call — we'll help you figure it out.
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