Dear Wine Wizard, I made a Concord wine about nine months ago and bottled it for Christmas. I put gelatin in it twice to remove sediment and to clear up my wine. Then I added yeast stabilizer and let it sit for four days prior to bottling. During the next nine months, I racked it off four times to be sure no sediment remained in contact with the wine. The wine has been bottled for about six weeks now and is a beautiful color and crystal clear. My problem is that once the wine is open and has been sitting with the cork back in the bottle either in the refrigerator or out on the counter, a sediment appears in the wine that looks like a very fine sand. Could you please give me some advice on what is going on? Alan BrownHerrodsburg, Kentucky Wine Wizard replies: You’ve got a case of the common “tartrate fall-outs.” The “fine sand” sediment you’re seeing in your bottled Concord wine is probably small tartrate crystals — or solidified tartaric acid. I’m sure you’re
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Get some pointers and considerations a winemaker needs to keep in mind when topping off your aging wine vessels. The Wizard also answers questions on fining agents and malolactic fermentation after cold stabilizing a wine.
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Oxygen Ingression, Volatile Acidity Interventions, Sorbate Question, and Malolactic Timing
Sometimes we get several questions that revolve around a similar theme. The Wine Wizard had several questions this go-round on volatile acidity and malolactic fermentation. She provides some specifics for winemakers who have bigger picture problems on their hands.