Cold and Heat Stabilization
See also: Clarification and stabilization of wineCold stabilization is a process used in winemaking to reduce tartrate crystals (generally potassium bitartrate) in wine. These tartrate crystals look like grains of clear sand, and are also known as "wine crystals" or "wine diamonds". They are formed by the union of tartaric acid and potassium, and may appear to be sediment in the wine, though they are not. During the cold stabilizing process after fermentation, the temperature of the wine is dropped to close to freezing for 1–2 weeks. This will cause the crystals to separate from the wine and stick to the sides of the holding vessel. When the wine is drained from the vessels, the tartrates are left behind. They may also form in wine bottles that have been stored under very cold conditions.
During "heat stabilization", unstable proteins are removed by adsorption onto bentonite, preventing them from precipitating in the bottled wine.
Read more about this topic: Winemaking
Famous quotes containing the words cold and, cold and/or heat:
“Our American professors like their literature clear and cold and pure and very dead.”
—Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951)
“The poisoned rat in the wall
Cuts through the wall like a knife,
Then blind, drying, and small
And driven to cold water,
Dies of the water of life....”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)
“She knows the heat of a luxurious bed.
Her blush is guiltiness, not modesty.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)