My first batch of wine is now bottled. When I checked on it after a while, I could see flakes (looks like a crystal snowball that you shake up and see the snow falling all around) in it. I filtered the wine before bottling and it was crsytal clear! What have I done wrong with this batch of wine? It is a kit of reisling.
Wine Problem
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Funky Fish
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My first thought was that you have wine diamonds. They can form after you filter your wine. Did you do any sort of cold stabilization?
But then I saw you said it was a kit wine, and you usually (but not always) don't get these diamonds in kit wines. What type of kit was it? Have you tried contacting the manufacturer?
But then I saw you said it was a kit wine, and you usually (but not always) don't get these diamonds in kit wines. What type of kit was it? Have you tried contacting the manufacturer?
PolishWineP
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I was thinking the same thing as Funky Fish. Is this the case with all the bottles? Or, is it just when you've chilled them?
Did you follow all the instructions to the T? Did you deviate from the instructions anywhere?
I agree and they are most likely crystallized tartaric acid or wine diamonds. They are harmless but a bit unpleasing to the eye in a white wine.
I would also be curious to know the type/brand of kit, length of time after bottling and storage conditions.
I have been finding some crystals in some of my reds that are over a year old after sitting in the wine cellar.
I would also be curious to know the type/brand of kit, length of time after bottling and storage conditions.
I have been finding some crystals in some of my reds that are over a year old after sitting in the wine cellar.
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Welcome mpickler,
Did you happen to use Campden tablets crushed up and added after filtering? Some people read that you can add more K-Meta(Campden) for longer than 6 month storage. Campdens don't always mix well and can precipitate out just as you describe. Powdered K-Meta mixes better, but is a little harder to measure.
Did you happen to use Campden tablets crushed up and added after filtering? Some people read that you can add more K-Meta(Campden) for longer than 6 month storage. Campdens don't always mix well and can precipitate out just as you describe. Powdered K-Meta mixes better, but is a little harder to measure.
Upon further research I found info that you don't normally see crystals in wine made from kits because the juice/concentrates are chilled prior to packaging. I have only found diamonds in my grape skin kit wines so far which is understandable since the skins might not see the chilling as the juice does.
BTW: Riesling is one wine that is known to have a high level of tartaric also.
The simple explanation on what and why:
Tartrate crystals are naturally occurring crystals often referred to as "wine diamonds." When the grapes begin fermentation, they contain potassium from the soil where they grew and tartaric acid, a natural fruit acid present in ripe grapes. Through the increase in alcohol during fermentation, the potassium and the bitartrate of the tartaric acid are combined to form potassium bitartrate in solution form. Upon cooling, the solution changes to crystalline form and precipitates out of the wine.
More reading for those who want to know more...
Have you ever come across what appear to be white flakes floating in your bottle of wine? Did you assume that this snow-globe appearance somehow meant the wine was flawed or ruined?
What you had most likely seen are tartaric crystals, commonly referred to as “wine diamonds” or Weinstein (”wine stone”) in German speaking countries. So do these wine diamonds signal a bad bottle of wine?
Opinions about this issue are divided and the reason is simple: you have bought flawless wine, but you have not bought aesthetically flawless wine. Depending upon where you are from, this can matter to you more or less.
The American wine drinker is not used to finding wine diamonds in their bottles. Here, most wines undergo a cold stabilization process, which is when a wine is cooled down before it is bottled so that the white flakes “fall out” and can be filtered from the wine. But what price beauty? Cold stabilization influences a wine’s balance and taste: as some winemakers put it, the wine is actually being ripped apart, and the rapid cooling changes the wine’s colloidal structure. One might call it a clear case of style over substance.
There is another interesting correlation between wine stones and the quality of a wine: the longer the grapes hang on the vine (familiarly called “hang time”), the more wine acid will accumulate in the grape, and it is this wine acid which is the building block of wine diamonds. Furthermore, the more time the wine is given to ferment, the less wine diamonds will fall out during fermentation, but the more they will instead build up later in the bottle.
Hans Gsellmann, head winemaker of the famous Gsellmann & Gsellmann winery in Austria, explains it this way: “Part of the grapes acid are tartrates, aka salt. As the wine ripens these tartaric acid crystals fall out. It’s a natural process a wine will go through on its path to the peak of its development. When you see these flakes at the bottom of the bottle or on the cork, you can be almost certain that you are opening the wine at the right time. You should consider yourself lucky.”
Wine aficionados in the Old World are known to seek out the bottles with wine stones as a sign of quality: it shows that the wine has not been robbed of its structure through unnatural chilling, and it is a sign of a well-matured wine. Perhaps it is due to the longer history of winemaking in these countries that people have become accustomed to wine stones and seem to accept them.
There is new technology coming out of France that promises to circumvent the entire colloidal issue: electrodialysis. But until every noteworthy winery has bought one of these fancy French machines (and that will certainly be a few decades) this rule of thumb applies: cold stabilization is like tossing out the baby with the bathwater. Perhaps you are left with an aesthetically flawless wine, but you are also left with a lesser wine.
BTW: Riesling is one wine that is known to have a high level of tartaric also.
The simple explanation on what and why:
Tartrate crystals are naturally occurring crystals often referred to as "wine diamonds." When the grapes begin fermentation, they contain potassium from the soil where they grew and tartaric acid, a natural fruit acid present in ripe grapes. Through the increase in alcohol during fermentation, the potassium and the bitartrate of the tartaric acid are combined to form potassium bitartrate in solution form. Upon cooling, the solution changes to crystalline form and precipitates out of the wine.
More reading for those who want to know more...
Have you ever come across what appear to be white flakes floating in your bottle of wine? Did you assume that this snow-globe appearance somehow meant the wine was flawed or ruined?
What you had most likely seen are tartaric crystals, commonly referred to as “wine diamonds” or Weinstein (”wine stone”) in German speaking countries. So do these wine diamonds signal a bad bottle of wine?
Opinions about this issue are divided and the reason is simple: you have bought flawless wine, but you have not bought aesthetically flawless wine. Depending upon where you are from, this can matter to you more or less.
The American wine drinker is not used to finding wine diamonds in their bottles. Here, most wines undergo a cold stabilization process, which is when a wine is cooled down before it is bottled so that the white flakes “fall out” and can be filtered from the wine. But what price beauty? Cold stabilization influences a wine’s balance and taste: as some winemakers put it, the wine is actually being ripped apart, and the rapid cooling changes the wine’s colloidal structure. One might call it a clear case of style over substance.
There is another interesting correlation between wine stones and the quality of a wine: the longer the grapes hang on the vine (familiarly called “hang time”), the more wine acid will accumulate in the grape, and it is this wine acid which is the building block of wine diamonds. Furthermore, the more time the wine is given to ferment, the less wine diamonds will fall out during fermentation, but the more they will instead build up later in the bottle.
Hans Gsellmann, head winemaker of the famous Gsellmann & Gsellmann winery in Austria, explains it this way: “Part of the grapes acid are tartrates, aka salt. As the wine ripens these tartaric acid crystals fall out. It’s a natural process a wine will go through on its path to the peak of its development. When you see these flakes at the bottom of the bottle or on the cork, you can be almost certain that you are opening the wine at the right time. You should consider yourself lucky.”
Wine aficionados in the Old World are known to seek out the bottles with wine stones as a sign of quality: it shows that the wine has not been robbed of its structure through unnatural chilling, and it is a sign of a well-matured wine. Perhaps it is due to the longer history of winemaking in these countries that people have become accustomed to wine stones and seem to accept them.
There is new technology coming out of France that promises to circumvent the entire colloidal issue: electrodialysis. But until every noteworthy winery has bought one of these fancy French machines (and that will certainly be a few decades) this rule of thumb applies: cold stabilization is like tossing out the baby with the bathwater. Perhaps you are left with an aesthetically flawless wine, but you are also left with a lesser wine.
Thanks for all the suggestions! I hope this answers most of the questions. Also, they don't llok like crystals. It is almost looks strings of milk and then flakes. Here are the answers:
1. I sterilized everything before and afer use. I stabalized before bottling.
2. The kit is a California Connoisseur kit.
3. I filtered with a vinbright filtering kit.
4. All the bottles look the same ( I have taken a couple out of the box and put in the fridge to see what that does)
5. They are stored in a closet that is not used. Temp probably between 75 to 78.
6. SG was.090 when bottled.
Thanks for all your help!
1. I sterilized everything before and afer use. I stabalized before bottling.
2. The kit is a California Connoisseur kit.
3. I filtered with a vinbright filtering kit.
4. All the bottles look the same ( I have taken a couple out of the box and put in the fridge to see what that does)
5. They are stored in a closet that is not used. Temp probably between 75 to 78.
6. SG was.090 when bottled.
Thanks for all your help!
Funky Fish
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Wine diamonds can appear as white flakes. Did you keep the instructions with the kit? If so, see if there is a customer service number that you can call. I'd be interested to hear what the manufacturer says.
mpick,
Do they look anything like this?
The crystals were still there.
The wine looked horrible. I moved it onto the table, and nothing moved. The (sorry) crap that was on the sides of the carboy yesterday were still there.
So, I thought I'd give it a try and rack the darn thing.
When I started to rack, I freaked.
That was STILL there! But it didn't move as the level of the wine in the carboy was lower.
"Aha!" I thought. This must be tartaric crystals that every book talks about!
That was what was left. It was a salty sound when I swooshed the carboy with the left over muck at the end of racking.
Do they look anything like this?
The crystals were still there.
The wine looked horrible. I moved it onto the table, and nothing moved. The (sorry) crap that was on the sides of the carboy yesterday were still there.
So, I thought I'd give it a try and rack the darn thing.
When I started to rack, I freaked.
That was STILL there! But it didn't move as the level of the wine in the carboy was lower.
"Aha!" I thought. This must be tartaric crystals that every book talks about!
That was what was left. It was a salty sound when I swooshed the carboy with the left over muck at the end of racking.
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