The goal for experienced and new winemakers alike is a product that is both pleasant in taste and appearance. Unfortunately for many new winemakers the result is stubborn cloudiness with sediment, or worse, a product that develops haze once bottled. A wine that is cloudy is considered a seriously flawed wine and thought to be a sign of shoddy, rushed winemaking practices, or just plain inexperience. This end result will be rejected by potential customers in a professional setting, and a major turnoff for friends and contest judges in the amateur setting. Juice from grapes and fruits used in country wines contains naturally occurring particles and compounds from which hazes can develop at various stages of the winemaking process. Cloudiness due to proteins, pectins, phenols (color pigments and tannin), and tannins from oak barrel aging are things that need to be addressed either by racking, fining, or filtration. Winemakers wanting to make early-drinking, crystal clear wines without waiting for them to clear naturally with time may want to consider the use of fining agents. Fining agents are most often added
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