🍷 Membrane filtration
A very fine filter that holds back even bacteria.
Membrane filtration is a very fine filtering of wine in which the wine passes through a membrane with tiny pores. The membrane holds back even yeast and bacteria. It is one kind of wine filtration, the most thorough.
This filtration is done before bottling. The pore size is usually about 0.45 micrometres, smaller than any yeast cell. After it the wine is sterile and does not ferment again in the bottle. This matters for sweet wines with residual sugar and for wines sold far away.
There is a downside. Some winemakers believe that too fine a filtration takes some aroma and texture from the wine. So expensive wines are sometimes bottled unfiltered or with gentle filtering. The decision depends on the wine's style and the winemaker's wishes.
If a bottle says "unfiltered", membrane filtration was not used. Such wine may be slightly cloudy and have sediment.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Membrane filtration → kind of → 🍷 Filtration of wine → kind of → 🍷 Clarification of wine → kind of → 🍷 Winemaking → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍷 Filtration of wine
Frequently asked questions
What is membrane filtration of wine?
A fine filtering through a membrane that holds back yeast and bacteria.
Why is it done?
To make the wine microbiologically stable so it does not ferment in the bottle.
Does it spoil the taste?
Some people think very fine filtration removes part of the aroma, so it is not always used.
Similar
🍷 Clarification of wine · 🔄 Olive oil filtration · 🔄 Filtration