I opened a bottle of red wine last week and when I got towards the bottom of the bottle, there were small crystal like things at the bottom. What were these and can you prevent them from forming?
2006-10-09 16:52:33 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Food & Drink ➔ Beer, Wine & Spirits
If they were actually crystals, they were probably from the bottle being exposed to sunlight - try to avoid that.
It was more likely the sediment that comes from the Wine settling over time. Red wines, especially, grow lighter over time as the particles from the skins and stems fall out of the wine to the bottom of the bottle. It's all part of the aging process. Normal stuff, and can't be avoided - in fact it's the sign that your bottle was probably fairly decent!
Cheers!
Rob
2006-10-09 16:55:47 · answer #1 · answered by Rob 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Tartaric Crystals in Wine: the “Wine Diamonds” of Quality
By: Stephan Schindler Page 1 of 1
Have you ever come across what appear to be white flakes floating in your bottle of wine? Did you assume that this snow-globe appearance somehow meant the wine was flawed or ruined?
What you had most likely seen are tartaric crystals, commonly referred to as “wine diamonds” or Weinstein (”wine stone”) in German speaking countries. So do these wine diamonds signal a bad bottle of wine?
Wine diamonds are often considered a mark of quality in wines.
2006-10-09 17:23:17 · answer #2 · answered by LAUGHING MAGPIE 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are tartaric acid crystals. They are odorless and tasteless. They occur if a wine has not been cold-stabilized,(stored at 35f for a day or so to allow for certain components to drop out of the wine).
They are not a sign of poor quality and will not hurt you at all. Some people think that they are glass bits and get very upset!
2006-10-09 17:09:26 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
They are sediment. They are in wine that has not been filtered, If you don't like the sediment buy American wine. It is almost always filtered.
2006-10-09 16:57:53 · answer #4 · answered by October 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Keep it a room temperature and always keep it corked. If air gets to it, you would get sediments inside.
2006-10-09 16:56:06 · answer #5 · answered by de_dark_angel71 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
probaby just sugar, I wouldn't worry about it, what were you looking down there for, just hoping there was another sip?
2006-10-09 16:55:35 · answer #6 · answered by Dos 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
its called grapes
2006-10-09 17:00:37 · answer #7 · answered by Scooby 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋