

If you have bottles with tartrate crystals, you can remove them by chilling the bottle upside down. Normally, they are removed before bottling by chilling them to make them stick to the sides of the tank before the wine is drawn off and bottled. They precipitate from tartaric acid, the most prevalent natural acid in wine. These shiny, little particles, usually the size of grains of sugar, occur naturally in wine. Several readers have asked what they are and whether they are harmful to win or health.įirst of all, they are not harmful to health they can be, on the other hand, injurious to the taste of wine, depending on which ones they are and their concentration. Several things are known to float around in wine: small pieces of cork, tiny crystals, and clouds of dark substances, collectively called sediment.
