Brent Null
Roseville, CA
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2193
 | | 04/25/2003 10:31 PM |
| Last night, when my father-in-law opened a bottle of 2000 Miner Syrah, he noted there were tiny sugar-looking crystals on the cork. I thought this curious, because a year or more ago, I opened a bottle of their Zinfandel and found the same thing.
What is this?
Thanks in advance. | | | |
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gus fleener
gilroy
Barrel Filler
Posts:1343
| | 04/25/2003 10:39 PM |
| hey brent, checkthis out  . | | | |
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Brent Null
Roseville, CA
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2193
| | 04/25/2003 10:43 PM |
| I think that was for champagne. Not sure I followed the thread very well...   | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts:8568
| | 04/25/2003 10:43 PM |
| | They are tartrates and nothing to be concerned about. | | | |
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Brent Null
Roseville, CA
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2193
| | 04/25/2003 10:51 PM |
| Great! Thanks, JW1! | | | |
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skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5452
| | 04/25/2003 11:00 PM |
| | Wine Diamonds! Actually Jones is correct. I see them frequently on bottles I open (especailly Paul Hobbs wines for some reason). | | | |
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Jeremy Matthew
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2067
| | 04/25/2003 11:18 PM |
| | Any wine that has during it bottle phase had unfiltered wine in it (ie champagne ) or is an unfiltered wine that undergoes cold stop fermentation during the wine making process is very likely to exhibit these. They're generally a sign of a well made wine. | | | |
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Dick Bonder
Grape Fermenter
Posts:484
| | 04/25/2003 11:28 PM |
| Strange how the tartrate crystals seem to be more prominent on zinfandels. Any science behind this?
Dick | | | |
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Jeremy Matthew
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2067
| | 04/25/2003 11:42 PM |
| Same with rieslings.
The reason being the dominance of sugar over malic acids.
Heres the technical explaination for those that are interested.
technical term- Tartrates.
The general term used by wine makers to describe harmless crystalline deposits that separate from wines during fermentation and ageing. Also known as Argols, tartres and weinstein (wine stones in English).
The principle componant of this deposit is pottasium acid tartrate, the potassium salt. Small amounts of pulp debris, dead yeast cells, precipitated phenolic materials such as tannins and anthocyans and traces of other materials make up the impurities contaminating the potassium acid tartrate. Because cold stop fermentation allows greater build up of yeast and pulp debris, tartrates form more freely. Unfiltered wine likewise contains greater pulp debris and thus same result.
Tartrates separate from new wines because potassium acid is less oluable in solutions of alcohol and water such as wine than it is in water and grape juice (ie so you won't see it in water or grape juice).
Wines with higher sugars and alcohol(Zin), or with balanced occurances of alcohol to acids ratios (Germanic Riesling)tend to develope tartrates more regularly and more frequently than other wines because the soluable balance of alcohol to water/acid is less and therefore the tartrates form more freely. Older saurterne is also susceptible to this.
Considering that my first year study into my MW was on German riesling I spent a reasonable amount of time learning how these little blighters occurred. Most customers think them to be a fault.
Hope that helps. | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15709
| | 04/25/2003 11:44 PM |
| | You can really see them in the bottle on older unfiltered Chardonnays. | | | |
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