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 Post subject: Wine questions - anybody?
PostPosted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 3:15 pm 
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Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 4:38 pm
Posts: 536
1. We have been getting a value wine that we like the taste of, but it has the crystal like residue in the bottom of the bottle. So much sometimes that the last 1/4 cup needs to be junked. Is this bad for you to drink when wine gets like this? The wine is from Grocery Outlet, and is very inexpensive but the taste is much better than the price. Thoughts?

2. Our cellar area where we keep our cases and racks of wine is now down to the mid fourties in cold weather. Our friend with the real wine cellar keeps his at 57, he has the special cooler unit in there. Is it bad to keep wine cooler for a while in the winter? We usually keep a bunch of value wines that we buy up when they are inexpensive, but lately we have been buying some things I am more concerned about.

Wino??


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 Post subject: Re: Wine questions - anybody?
PostPosted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 4:48 pm 
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Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:36 am
Posts: 894
Location: Springfield, IL
Lynn,

Those are tartaric acid crystals that form when the wine is chilled. It probably needs storage around 35 degrees F. to form these. The crystals are not really a problem. It may be a rhetorical challenge to find eloquent wine descriptors and "crunchy" just doesn't sound sophisticated.

I can't imagine any disadvantage for cooling. Wasn't it the 200 year old champagne that was perfect having been stored below 40 degrees in a sunken ship? Wino?

Tim


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 Post subject: Re: Wine questions - anybody?
PostPosted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:50 pm 
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Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 1:03 am
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Location: Portland, OR
EB,

Keeping wine cool isn't at all a problem. That temp will retard ageing, so if you're trying to age the wines, it's not so great. However, any rapid fluctuations in temperature are going to be bad; if the wine is 40 tonight, 70 tommorrow, and 40 again the day after, that will destroy it.

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 Post subject: Re: Wine questions - anybody?
PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 5:39 am 
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Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:35 am
Posts: 2305
Location: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Both of dem guyz iz right; ya don't need me anymore (or less :D )

ALTHOUGH, a 1/4 cup is ludicrous and something I have never experienced; I've seen maybe a teaspoon. This is one reason people filter their wine or decant it. To decant, just pour slowly into another vessel with a strong light (the sun, your headlight, if you're driving, your desk lamp, if you're too damn lazy to get up, etc.) behind the neck of the bottle and stop when the chunky stuff gets close. As usual, I offer onsite consulting . . . :roll:


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 Post subject: Re: Wine questions - anybody?
PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:49 am 
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Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 4:38 pm
Posts: 536
Thanks for the input.

One question, if the tartaric acid is removed from the liquid wine due to the crystalization, won't that ultimately affect the taste, ie. it will take out some acid where it needs to be there?

Just curious. Again, thanks. I like that light idea Wino.

Maybe I should just start buying better wine.


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 Post subject: Re: Wine questions - anybody?
PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:51 am 
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Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:35 am
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Location: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
It has nothing to do with the quality of the wine - read on:

From Epicurus.com:

Tartaric acid
One of a number of naturally occurring grape acids which contribute to the acidity of a wine. Other important acids include acetic, malic, lactic, citric and carbonic acid.

Tartrate crystals
During fermentation tartaric acid may be converted into potassium hydrogen tartrate, formed through its reaction with potassium. This compound may crystallise, when conditions are cold, to form small crystals in the wine. These are small, clear or white crystals. Some winemakers wish to prevent their formation and thus perform cold stabilisation. The crystals themselves are harmless and natural so the decision is a matter of aesthetics. See our advisory page on wine faults for more information.

Tartrates
Beautiful, natural and totally harmless crystals that often form in the cask, in the sediment and on the corks of naturally made wines. These deposits come from the tartaric acids present in wines; though they look like cut glass, they are totally safe. In fact, they are a positive indication to experienced tasters that a wine has not been overly processed.


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