WineXpert Wine Diamonds

[wineh]

At one time it was called the "Selection Estate Series" and now "Eclipse". Every ultra premium Winexpert kit I have made eventually (after a winter in my storage area) get wine diamonds. Other than that flaw, they have all been pretty good wines, but why only them, and never an LE or a Selection with grapeskins?
I am aware that I could cold stabilize these kits and get rid of the problem, but that would be very difficult for me.

 

[Julie]

Lol, sorry, but I never look at wine diamonds as a flaw!

 

[Brian55]

A quote from somewhere on the interwebs:

"Do tartrates affect the quality of the wine?
No. Actually, the presence of tartrate crystals is viewed by many winemakers, sommeliers and academics as a sign of quality, indicating that the wine was not over processed. Wine crystals never impart an unpleasant taste. "

 

[Putterrr]

I was told at a local HBS that the big kits are susceptible to wine diamonds because they have real juice along with the juice concentrate.

cheers

 

[Geronimo]

If you're going to make high end kits, you should cold condition them in secondary. My rule of thumb is simple; you need to hold the wine at (or below) the lowest temp you'll be storing that wine for at least a month. Ideally you'll fill all your carboys in the summer/fall, condition over the winter and bottle in the spring.

 

[SouthernChemist]

Bitartrate crystals are not a sign of wine quality nor are they a flaw. All wines, however mediocre, will precipitate bitartrate crystals under the right conditions. Some kit companies make an effort to remove bitartrates during the manufacturing process, and kits consisting of more concentrate will likely have had more removed. It should also be noted that your storage conditions are a big influence on whether you will even see bitartrate precipitation. Someone who can't cold stabilize may never see it.

 

[wineh]

Lol, sorry, but I never look at wine diamonds as a flaw!

A quick surf of the web tends to confirm your position, and my wines have been very good, to the point I agree with you.
On the flip side, I'll quote an article from WineMaker Magazine (Vol.14, No6, P69, Daniel Pambianchi):
"...Although completely harmless, these crystals, or tartrates, affect the appearance of wine and may be a cause of concern for the uninitiated. Judges at competitions will definitely take points off the scorecard if wine shows any crystals."
I thought this statement alone categorized them as a flaw.