Fining Agents – Eggshell
A few years ago, I had some problems with a Mead I was making that wouldn’t clear. I had tried a few different fining agents but to no avail. In retrospect, I probably could have given it more time as I let the mead bulk age for another couple of years before bottling it but I had concerns and wanted to see some clearing.
I had heard of crushed eggshells being used as a fining agent, but couldn’t find much information on how to use them other than the eggshells should be washed, dried in the oven, and then crushed to a powder. I had no idea how much to use in five gallons of mead.
I ended up using a teaspoon of the crushed to a powder eggshell. After adding it to the mead, I stirred and then let it sit. A week later, I checked and found that the mead had done a marvelous job of clearing after I had added the eggshell powder!
Eggshells, a source of calcium carbonate, have been used as a fining agent for years. Although not very “high tech,” eggshell powder works very well. It’s inexpensive. Just keep your eggshells from your morning breakfast, wash them using tap water, dry them in the oven at a low temperature until they are completely dry and crush them into powder. Some suggest two to three eggshells per gallon of wine. I used a teaspoon and don’t know how many eggshells that amounted to.
Many winemakers believe that fining agents can affect the taste of a wine, but there seems to be agreement that eggshells are neutral in this regard. The calcium in the eggshell will attach to carbon dioxide in the wine, float to the top releasing the CO2, and then slowly fall down, collecting particulate on it’s way to the bottom of the carboy.
Because eggshell is so inexpensive and doesn’t seem to change the taste of wine, give it a try if you’ve got a cloudy or off colour white wine and see if it works for you.
Caution
As was pointed out to me by Daniel Pambianchi, author of Techniques in Home Winemaking, the calcium carbonate in eggshells could have a neutralizing effect on acidity. When Daniel reminded me of this, it became clear why my dry mead had that I had used eggshell in to clarify had lost it’s mouth feel or “bite.” So bench testing is in order if you plan to use ground eggshell and careful consideration to possible acidity reduction.
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Egg shells, that’s interesting! I’ve run across several winemakers (including Robert Mondavi) that swore by egg white recipes. This is worth keeping in your back pocket if your wine needs clarifying or is overly acidic.
Cheers! -Matt
Hey Matt – glad you found something new. Yes, the ground eggshells did the job for me when I couldn’t find anything else to work on this particular batch. Haven’t needed it since then, but you never know!