A Clearer Understanding of Fining Agents

The first thing you notice when someone hands you a glass of wine is its color and clarity. We all expect wine to look clear and appealing and there are many ways to improve the clarity of a wine, the most straightforward of which is fining. Fining is the act of adding a product to wine to remove suspended solids. For many home winemakers, it is what gives their finished wine its high polish. Some home winemakers prefer not to fine their wines. Grape wine will often fall clear on its own if you bulk age it over several months. After fermentation, if the wine is cold stabilized for a period of months, many suspended solids will precipitate. Even so, after you bottle your wine and lay it down, sediment may continue to fall out and it may have to be decanted when you pour it. Even if clarifying your wine is not an issue, some fining agents also reduce astringency or bitterness, remove off-odors, and strip out browning caused by oxidation. Thus, the condition of your must before and