# Cold stabilization, when to, when not to



## tonyt (Oct 19, 2013)

My question is concerning a red wine kit , wine expert Eclipse lodi Cabernet Sauvignon. Since my question is general in nature I am posting it here rather than in wine kits forum. 

Today I bottled the above mentioned wine kit. It was begun in April of this year. Typical and successful fermentation, clearing, degasing and 5 months bulk aging. In July of this year I racked from the 6 gallon carboy down to 5 gallon carboy. After bottling and cleaning the empty karbalai I noticed that during the last 3 months of baulk aging the wine threw off a large amount of wine diamonds. 

I usually cold stabilize my white wines and RJ Spagnols EP kits. I have read on here to always cold stabilize whites and I have also read that it is a good idea to cold stabilize the RJS EPs. 

My question , is there a rule of thumb when I should cold stabilize. This was my first Eclipse kit also my first straight Cabernet Sauvignon.


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## tonyt (Oct 19, 2013)

I forbot tomention that this was my WE Eclipse kit and I am very impressed. Cabernet tastes great at bottling.


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## Pumpkinman (Oct 19, 2013)

Tony, personally, when I'm ready to bottle, I usually cold stabilize whites and reds for approx 2 weeks at 32°, I bought an inexpensive Rubbermaid type cabinet at Lowes for under $50 last year that I keep on my back deck, mother nature takes care of the temps, I sit back and wait. I also have a 4.6 cu ft Magic chef refrigerator that I picked up for $35, in pristine condition, I use it to make Lagers and to cold crash my beer, this unit easily gets down to 32° with a 6 gallon Carboy in it, no problem. I'm using it to cold stabilize my Chilean Moscato as we speak.


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## tonyt (Oct 20, 2013)

Tom, I have a freezer set up for the job just didn't realize I should CS everything. I must add that I have never had diamonds th carboy, bottles yes but not carboy.


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## salcoco (Oct 20, 2013)

normally wine kits should not need cold stabilizing as they have balanced the acids. Cold stabilizing is a method used to reduce the acid in wine and subsequently raise the ph without resort to chemical means. Both whites and reds are candidates usually when wine is made from grapes. If TA is high post ferment and after clearing then cold stabilize.


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## Pumpkinman (Oct 20, 2013)

Sal, although I agree 100%, I hear more and more kit makers talking about seeing wine diamonds in their carboys. I don't know if this is just with the high end kits, but a few weeks cold stabilizing to put your mind at ease isn't a bad idea, at the very least, the time spent at 32-ish° will help any stubborn sediment to drop out of suspension.


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## salcoco (Oct 21, 2013)

Cold stabilization precipitates acid not sediment. White diamond are tartaric acid. if not racked immediately while wine is cold, acid redissolves into wine once temperature increases. If wine taste okay bypass cold stabilizing. If TA is high or PH out of wack then try it. Wine kits should be fine without it.


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## jswordy (Oct 21, 2013)

I've never had to stabilize a wine kit, but if I found diamonds in the carboy, I would definitely do it before bottling.

On wine from grapes, I just transfer into gallons and stick it out in my "shop fridge" for 2-3 weeks. That seems to do the trick well. As Pumpkinman pointed out, the back porch works well too when it gets cold enough outside. I'm still a month from cold enough here, though.

I agree with both posts on cold stabilization. It does indeed precipitate out tartaric acid (wine diamonds) and it does indeed help settle out any sediment still in the wine. It can have value even in fruit wines for the latter purpose.


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## Elmer (Oct 21, 2013)

residing in the great white northeast.
I am going to wait until NOV and put my wine in the garage from some 30 degree cold.

I hope this will help with the diamonds.

But how cold is too cold?


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## Pumpkinman (Oct 22, 2013)

> Cold stabilization precipitates acid not sediment.


Sal, I have to respectfully disagree, when making beer, we cold crash (cold stabilize) the beer in order to clear it faster, any sediment and hops drop to the bottom withing a few days.


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## Geronimo (Oct 22, 2013)

sal said:


> If wine taste okay bypass cold stabilizing.



I've heard from many white wine makers that cold stabilization can effect the flavor and aroma of a white wine significantly. 

In my personal experience with reds, once the diamonds drop they do not reabsorb into the wine. Of course they might and I've just never seen it happen.

I think your statement about the taste is spot on. It's weird in this pasteurized world how a tiny bit of sediment causes people to flinch. I made beer for 12 years and the goop that drops out in the keg is really nasty looking stuff, but totally harmless (most beers improve with cold aging). I suggest a person try a wine both ways and decide. For me, the 2 reds I've split to see the difference of makes me think worrying about wine diamonds is a waste of time.


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## calvin (Dec 2, 2014)

Last weekend I opened a bottle of my eclipse Lodi ranch cab. I had probably a teaspoon? of wine diamonds in the bottom. Are others experiencing this? The wine is coming around nicely. Maybe 8 months old now? I'm assuming I should have bulk aged this wine for 6 months or so before bottling but I have limited space in my winery and I'm still trying to build up my cellar. Others doing this kit could use this as a heads up. "Don't bottle your eclipse kits too soon."


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## Fsim (Dec 2, 2014)

You only need to cold stabilize your wine for 36 hours. Any longer introduces oxygen into the wine which causes oxidation. You can actually add potassium bitartrate powder which is merely small tartrate crystals. These additional crystals serve as seed crystals for the tartaric acid the bond to. This speeds up the crystallization process. But I don't play around with all that stuff. I put my wine in an enclosed trailer for 36 hours than rack it when I bring it inside to eliminate the crystals reforming back into the wine.


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## GreginND (Dec 2, 2014)

Fsim said:


> You only need to cold stabilize your wine for 36 hours. Any longer introduces oxygen into the wine which causes oxidation.



How exactly does cold stabilization introduce oxygen the longer it sits? Care must be taken as more O2 dissolves in cold wine than warm wine. But the length of time won't change how much is dissolved if you have it protected with an airlock.


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## Fsim (Dec 10, 2014)

Sorry been off the website for a little. Just saying that when you cold stabilize you increase the ability for your wine to absorb oxygen. This will lead to premature aging, most of us don't have the ability to cold stabilize below 30 degrees F. So yes keeping everything tight is an absolute must.


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