Winemaking
Stabilisation
Making sure the wine does not change unpredictably after bottling.
Overview
Cold stabilisation chills the wine so potassium bitartrate precipitates out before bottling rather than in the customer’s bottle. It is done purely so consumers do not see crystals.
Protein stabilisation, usually with bentonite, prevents haze forming when a white wine warms.
Microbial stabilisation — sulfur dioxide, sterile filtration — prevents refermentation and spoilage.
Some producers now skip cold stabilisation deliberately, on the grounds that the process can strip aromatics. Crystals in the bottle can therefore indicate a gentler approach rather than a defect.
Sources
Sources consulted
- The Australian Wine Research Institute — AWRI
- WSET educational materials and the Systematic Approach to Tasting — Wine & Spirit Education Trust
More in winemaking
Winemaking
Fermentation
Yeast converting sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide — the step that makes wine wine.
Winemaking
How red wine is made
Fermenting grape juice in contact with the skins, which is where colour and tannin come from.
Winemaking
How white wine is made
Pressing the juice off the skins before fermentation, then fermenting the clear juice.