Why are tartrate crystals in some wines and not in others?
Many wines are “cold stabilized” at the winery to remove the crystals before bottling. This can be done by chilling the wine to near freezing for a period of days to accelerate the formation of the crystals, followed by filtration. This is done purely for aesthetic reasons since it is difficult for the wine industry to inform all consumers about the natural occurrence of tartrate crystals. The drawback to this technique is that there is the potential for oxidation of the wine since chilling makes oxygen more soluble. Our emphasis with all of our wines is to use the most gentle winemaking techniques possible, with minimal processing, to fully retain the wine’s depth of flavor and complex character. Because these wines remain very natural, you may find a small amount of tartrate crystals occurring in the bottle after extended storage at cold temperatures. How to serve: The proper way to serve a wine that has tartrate crystals, or other natural sediment, is to first allow the wine to sit
