Tartaric Crystals in Wine

[Rebel Rose]

Let's just say, oh, theoretically, that maybe once in a while a friend of a friend encounters something that looks like ground glass in their wine.

It would be very unusual, in fact almost impossible, for that to happen. Bottles are sanitized and inspected before leaving the warehouse. Bottles are sparged with nitrogen to clean them again on the bottling line. It is inconceivable that glass particles would pass through the micron filters installed on every line. It is possible, I guess, but highly improbable.

However, it frequently happens that tartaric acid, a natural component of grape juice and therefore wine, will precipitate out of the wine and form glass-like crystals that adhere to the cork and fall into the wineglasses of unsuspecting drinkers. It can be very alarming.

We recently encountered a woman in a local restaurant who was freaking slightly over crystals in her 'J' Chardonnay. Dover Dan explained that they were not only edible, but the source of cream of tartar. He dared her to eat the crystals, offering to buy her two more glasses of 'J' if she did. Done deal.

Now, I'm thinking that if a winery, say, a large winery, had a lot of that to contend with, they might possibly want to just recall the wine instead, dump it into a tank, cold stabilize it to drop the crystals out, and repackage it. It would be cheaper, easier, and more marketable than trying to explain the concept of edible glass to consumers.

Just a theory. I could be wrong. I dunno . . .

Edited for typos.

Edited July 23, 2004 by DoverCanyon (log)

[britcook]

Now, I'm thinking that if a winery, say, a large winery, had a lot of that to contend with, they might possibly want to just recall the wine instead, dump it into a tank, cold stabilize it to drop the crystals out, and repackage it. It would be cheaper, easier, and more marketable than trying to explain the concept of edible glass to consumers.

Just a theory. I could be wrong. I dunno . . .

I would respectfully and selfishly disagree. One of the ways I can add to my cellar without going into Chapter 11 is by buying wine that that is spurned by the "discriminating idiot". Some of us know that tartrate crystals, or a sediment, or other minor "abnormalities" have no real effect on the characteristics of a wine, so when wines with these signs are reduced in price because of general public antipathy we can swoop to top up the cellar with quality wines at "abnormally" low prices.