Wine Fining Agents

The process of wine making has been a long honoured tradition by many artists of the vine. It is considered to be both a practice of art and an application of science. It is art because a lot of vintners rely on imagination to come up with new blends. They bank on intuition to determine when a certain mixture has finally achieved the right taste. It is also a process that uses science because it relies on chemical reactions. Making wine requires a careful study of the components of various grape varieties. It involves a lot of research about how different factors – the duration of the fermentation period, the length of exposure to grape skin, the type of wood barrel used to store the wine, the type of fining agents used, and many others – affect the entire process. All these aspects determine the final taste of the wine. They also affect the way a particular blend matures and ages. They play a significant role in the wine’s final appearance, be it white, rose, red or sparkling. There are certain chemicals called fining agents that are very important to the whole process of making wine. These agents are highly involved in the wine’s taste in the sense that they help remove tannins, which are chemicals found in the grape that produce an astringent texture in the drinker’s mouth. They also serve to remove microscopic particles in the wine. These particles cloud the mixture, making it opaque and hindering it from achieving the quality of translucence that is so ideal in wine.

Wine Making

There are various substances that are used as wine fining agents, and the effects they produce vary to some degree. Egg whites, charcoal, ox’s blood, bentonite, gelatin and Sparkolloid are some of the common substances that are used as fining agents for wine. Seaweed, clay and milk casein are also effective fining agents. Some winemakers use isinglass, which comes from the bladders of fish, as well as polyvinyl-polypyrrolidone, which is a dairy derivative form of protein. Each of these agents is charged, either positively or negatively. When the agents bond with the tannins and the particles that are suspended in wine, they form visible sediments that settle at the bottom. These sediments are then separated from the wine through filtration, making the the liquid translucent. The sediments carry along with them the tannins, leaving the wine less astringent. With wisdom gained form experience and with the help of several machines, winemakers are able to determine the type of fining agent to use for each blend. They are also able to approximate the quantity of agents needed. Remember that fining substances must be used with care, as using too much can strip the wine of its flavour and aroma.