🍷 Isinglass
Glue from fish swim bladders used to clear white wine.
Isinglass is a gelatin-like substance made from the dried swim bladders of fish, most often sturgeon. It is used to clarify wine, especially white.
Right after fermentation the wine is cloudy: tiny particles float in it. If a little isinglass is added, it gathers these particles and pulls them down. The wine becomes clear, and the sediment is removed. This step is called fining. The isinglass itself is practically gone from the finished wine.
Isinglass has long been known in winemaking and brewing. It works gently and has little effect on taste. But it is of animal origin, so wine made with it is not vegan. For vegans winemakers use other agents, for example bentonite clay or plant proteins.
If you avoid animal products, check the label: many bottles now state that the wine is suitable for vegans.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Isinglass → then → 🍷 Vegan wine → kind of → 🍷 Types of wine → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Next step
- 🍷 Vegan wine
- Part of
- 🍷 Fining
Frequently asked questions
What is isinglass in wine?
It is a substance from fish swim bladders. It is used to clarify wine, that is, remove cloudiness.
Does isinglass stay in the wine?
Practically no. It settles together with the particles, and the wine is racked off the sediment.
Is such wine suitable for vegans?
No. Isinglass is of animal origin. Vegan wine is clarified with other agents.
Similar
🍷 Egg white fining · 🍷 Gelatin fining · 🍷 Bentonite · 🍷 PVPP · 🍷 Pea protein fining · 🍷 Casein (fining agent)
Sources
- Wikipedia (en): Isinglass
- Wikipedia (de): Hausenblase
- Wikipedia (fr): Colle de poisson
- Wikipedia (uk): Риб'ячий клей
- Wikidata Q1255331