Filtration
Now that your wine has gone through cold stabilization and has settled all the sediment to the bottom of the carboy it's now time to filter your wine into a new clean, sanitized carboy.
Filtration is another optional step, however, if you’re out to make a brilliantly clear wine that is less likely to referment, this step is highly recommended.
Filters can be picked up at your local wine making store for between $100 - $200 for a small home production version. They can cost thousands of dollars for industrial scale models. (So, for now stick to something small).
This step is pretty self explanatory once you have the filter all set up. The most important things to note here is to make sure everything is very clean and sterile. That last thing you want at this point is to contaminate your wine after you have worked so hard on it. As well, try to minimize the wine coming in contact with the air. Oxidation can also throw off your wine so keep it to a minimum.
A couple important points to note regarding filtration:
1. Make sure to soak your filter pads in cold water for at least 2-3 minutes before placing them into the filter to be used.
2. Once the filter is set up with the filter pads in place you should run at least 19 litres of water through the pads first before filtering the wine. Doing this will ensure that the 'card board taste' associated with the filter pads is not transferred over to your wine.
3. Be very careful while filtering the wine not to knock or shake the carboy that has the sediment in the bottom of it. You want to try to leave as much as the sediment behind and not clog up your filter pads.
Once you have filtered your wine it should be brilliantly clear at this point. If there is space at the top of the carboy make sure you top it up with same or a similar type of wine. You can now proceed to the next phase.