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Pectic enzyme

Nutrients and enzymes

pectinase

Breaks down pectin to clear haze and free juice and colour.

Typical dose

Per the product sheet, a fraction of a gram per litre of must.

When to add it

Into the cold must, twelve hours before pitching. Heat destroys it.

In practice

Fruit pectin sets a permanent haze that no settling clears and holds juice inside the pulp. The enzyme breaks it down, clarifying the wine and lifting both yield and, in reds, colour. It must go into cool must and be given time; a must heated to help extraction has already denatured the enzyme, which is why it goes in before any heating and never after.

Linked faults are the ones this addition either treats or, used wrongly, causes. The fault page says which, and whether it can be undone.