🍷 Fining

Fining is a way to clarify wine. A substance is added to the wine that binds the haze and settles to the bottom together with it. Then the wine is drawn off the sediment and becomes clear.

How does it work? Young wine holds tiny floating particles: proteins, tannins, bits of berries. They make the wine cloudy and sometimes spoil the taste. The added substance bonds with them, forms flakes and pulls them down. Such substances are called fining agents.

There are many of them. The classic ones are casein, a milk protein, and egg white, which is why milk has long been one of the old clarifying aids for wine. There are also isinglass, gelatin, bentonite (a clay), polyvinylpolypyrrolidone and pea protein. Some are of animal origin, so people who avoid animal products should check how a wine was made.

Fining is part of wine clarification and is described in the code of oenological practices. It is not always used.