🍷 Clarification of wine
Removing haze so the wine becomes clear.
Clarification of wine means removing haze so that the wine becomes clear. Fresh wine after fermentation is cloudy: it holds yeast, bits of berries, proteins and tiny crystals in suspension. This is harmless but looks unappealing, and the taste may be poorer.
There are several methods. The simplest is to let the wine settle: the suspension sinks, and the clear wine is drawn off the sediment. Another is fining: a substance such as bentonite (a clay) or egg white is added, which binds the particles and drags them down. Another is filtration, when the wine is passed through a filter. For fast clarification a centrifuge is used, which separates the haze by spinning.
Clarification is part of winemaking. It does not change the wine fundamentally, but makes it stable and attractive. Some winemakers skip fining and filtration to keep more flavour and texture: such wines can be slightly cloudy. The label then says "unfiltered".
What it includes
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Clarification of wine → kind of → 🍷 Winemaking → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍷 Winemaking
Frequently asked questions
Why is wine clarified?
To remove haze and make the wine clear and stable.
What methods of clarification exist?
Settling, fining (for example with bentonite), filtration and centrifuging.
Why are some wines cloudy?
They are not fined or filtered, to keep flavour and texture; the label says "unfiltered".
Similar
🍷 Sorting table · 🍷 Must · 🍷 Acidification · 🍷 Deacidification · 🍷 Fortification · 🍷 Dealcoholisation
Sources
- Wikipedia (en): Clarification and stabilization of wine
- Wikipedia (fr): Clarification et stabilisation du vin
- Wikidata Q5126958