I have found some of my aged reds (>1.5 years) from kits with grape skin packs like the Crushendo are now producing wine diamonds. I believewineries use temperature with extended time and also seeding to help form the crystals so they can be filtered off. I would not be ashamed at all and in countries outside of the US this is a sign of a quality wine!
I found this info:
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CRYSTAL-FREE ZONE<O
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By
BRUCE KIRK Scios Ltd
The protection of wine against crystallization is an important matter particularly when wine is the subject of varying conditions during storage.<O
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Young wine is often super-saturated with dissolved tartrates, which may have a tendency to crystallise in the bottle - a feature often regarded as a fault by consumers.<O
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Crystallisation in bottled wine can be addressed either by precipitation of excess tartrates or prevention of crystallisation through addition of other complexes, which interfere with seeding of crystals.<O
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Most common crystals appearing in wine are those of potassium bitartrate and calcium tartrate or in some rarer cases calcium mucate. The key components of wine responsible for the formation of crystals are tartaric acid as well as calcium and potassium and the wine’s tendency to crystallise is increased by the production of alcohol during fermentation. Also, natural crystallisation is influenced by storage temperature and duration and also by the degree of brilliance (clarity of the product) and the content of dissolved high molecular weight substances. The earlier a wine is bottled the greater the danger of subsequent crystallisation in the bottle.<O
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The formation of crystals in wine depends on alcohol concentration, temperature and storage duration and for practical operation methods of cooling and contact procedures for crystal stabilisation were developed.<O
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The formation of crystals can be expedited by cooling, however the wine has to be cooled under special conditions and should be mixed thoroughly each day resulting in a very high energy consumption.<O
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An improvement in effectiveness of crystal stabilisation has been accomplished by the development of the contact procedure where ground potassium bitartrate (Erbsloh Kali-contact) is added to the cooled wine. These tartrate crystals act as inoculation crystals and can lead to spontaneous crystallisation with excess tartrate dissolved in the wine. This effect is intensified by repeated stirring and after several hours the separated crystals can be eliminated.<O
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Cooling as well as contact procedures require a lot of apparatus and can result in high energy costs. Also, in the case of induced crystallisation a loss of extract substances and minerals can occur. <O
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There are several methods available for testing the crystal stability of a product besides the storage of samples in a refrigerator, if necessary with the addition of alcohol. T he following procedures to test the stability of the wine have been proved successful in practice:<O
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1. The mini-contact procedure to determine the crystal stability of potassium bitartrate. Here finely ground potassium bitartrate acting as inoculation crystal is added to the cooled wine while its conductivity is constantly measured. The intensity of the reduction of conductivity shows the degree of the tendency to crystallise.<O
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2. The mini-contact procedure to determine the stability of calcium tartrate. To determine the stability of calcium tartrate the mini-contact procedure is altered and adapted to the conditions of precipitation of calcium tartrate.<O
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3. Erbsloh Krista-Test-Konduktometer for the determination of the potassium bitartrate saturation temperature. The saturation temperature is the actual temperature of the wine when dissolved tartrate in the particular wine forms a saturated solution. The lower the saturation temperature the higher is the crystal stability of the respective wine. The determination of the saturation temperature is carried out using the new Erbsloh specially designed conductivity measuring instrument referred to as Krista-Test-Konduktometer. The measurements with this instrument are based on the following principles:<O
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The ingredients dissolved in the wine (acids, alkali ions) can provide a measurable electrical conductivity. When potassium bitartrate is additionally dissolved, then the conductivity of the wine to be tested increases correspondingly to the quantity of dissolved tartrate. Since the solubility of tartrate in wine is limited by the temperature of the wine, a saturated solution is formed at the actual existing temperature. The original saturation temperature of the wine can be calculated from its initial conductivity and its conductivity after the dissolving of additional potassium bitartrate in consideration of the measuring temperature.<O
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For the determination of the saturation temperature a small portion of the wine at a temperature of approximately 20ºC is filled into a graduated cylinder and the measuring electrode inserted. After starting the instrument a very small quantity of finely ground potassium bitartrate is added and the sample is stirred. During the dissolving of the potassium bitartrate in the wine the conductivity measuring instrument registers the alteration of conductivitiy in the wine and calculates directly the measured saturation temperature. After 5 to 10 minutes this process is completed and the measured stabilised value can be read off the display of the Erbsloh Krista-Test-Konduktometer.<O
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<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Assessing saturation temperature <O
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[/B]Using the instrument, the following standard values apply:<O
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Potassium bitartrate saturation temperature in base wine for sparkling wine equal or less than 10ºC. Due to the increase in alcohol content during the second fermentation phase this low value is required for stability.<O
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Potassium bitartrate saturation temperature in white wine <O
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* 12ºC or less. Stable if stored in cellar or refrigerator.<O
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* 12-16ºC. In the case of storage temperature more than 3ºC below the saturation temperature a crystal precipitation can occur. It is recommended to employ metatartaric acid such as Erbsloh Metavin Opti in this wine to prevent crystallisation.<O
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* Higher than 16ºC. In the case of storage temperatures which are more than 2ºC below the saturation temperature it is possible to have crystal precipitation. The application of metatartaric acid or prior to this cooling/contact procedures are required.<O
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* In white wines with a higher sugar-free extract content (over 25g/l) the limiting values can be assumed as being <?:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 /><ST1:TIME Minute="58" Hour="2">2 to 3</ST1:TIME> ºC higher.<O
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Potassium bitartrate saturation temperature in red wine<O
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* 12ºC or less. Stable at normal storage conditions.<O
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* 15-19ºC. In case of storage temperatures which are more than 6ºC below the saturation temperature crystal precipitation can occur. It is recommended to employ metatartaric acid (such as Erbsloh Metavin Opti).<O
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* Greater than 19ºC. In cases of storage temperatures which are more than 5ºC below the saturation temperature crystal precipitation would likely occur and employment of metatartaric acid following cooling/contact procedures is suggested. In red wines with higher sugar-free extract content and higher tannin the limiting values can be assumed as being 2-3ºC higher.<O
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Calcium tartrate saturation temperature in wine<O
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* A value of below 20ºC should be aimed for.<O
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<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Prevention of crystal precipitation<O
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[/B]Crystallisation in bottled wine can be prevented by an addition of metatartaric acid. This material is produced from natural tartaric acid found in grapes by water separation due to heat input. Metatartaric acid is a high molecular weight polymerised tartaric acid which prevents potassium bitartrate dissolved in wine from forming crystals. During storage metatartaric acid can slowly decompose into natural tartaric acid depending on temperature and storage duration. Typically protection with metatartaric acid can last 12-18 months. <O
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A new generation of metatartaric acid products is currently being developed including the new Erbsloh product MetaGum which is a blend of completely esterified metatartaric acid together with soluble gum Arabic. This product can provide a significantly longer period of protection compared with metatartaric acid alone.
Gum Arabic is currently being evaluated as an approved wine treatment material under the Australian and <ST1:COUNTRY-REGION>New Zealand </ST1:COUNTRY-REGION>food regulations.<O
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Edited by: masta 
I told them to drink around it!
