Sediment in Wine

We all love the ability to age a good red wine. As with anything that ages, the longer it sits the more prone it becomes to developing certain unflattering attributes.  Red wine, as appealing and beautiful as it may be, provides us with a perfect example. If you are a serious wine collector, you may be more familiar with this than most.

When you reach for a bottle that you’ve been holding onto for almost a decade, you happily brush off the little bit of dust that may have collected on the bottle. You then uncork the wine and inhale the fresh aromas. However, when you go to serve it, you notice that it has a little bit of a jelly like substance floating around.

Wine that has been sitting for many years, closer to a minimum of ten years, may have begun to form sediment. We know sediment as a matter that forms within a liquid, because of the force of gravity the sediment settles at the bottom. The sediment that forms in many aged wines is no different.

Sediment is a natural formation in wine. It is comprised of the settlement from the tannins and other solid matter in wine. There are at least two distinct forms of sediment that can develop within a bottle of wine.

The most obvious from that you may see is the sediment that resembles pulp. It can easily be seen by holding an aged wine bottle up to the light. If you have stored your wine bottle properly, which is on its side, then the sediment would most likely be found on the side of the bottle. If your bottle has been stored up right, you will see that the matter has settled at the bottom of your bottle.

Another form of sediment that you may encounter is tiny crystals, called tartrate. Tartrate is formed when potassium and tartaric acid unite. As a result of the combination a solid is created in the form of crystals.

Sediment is not harmful to you in any way. Its prime downfall is that it is not appealing to the eyes. Even the tartrate crystals, as gorgeous as crystals can be, are unflattering when seen floating or adhered to the rim of your wine glass. Even more can be said of the pulp sediment. The thick matter sitting in a glass can easily unsettle a stomach.

If you do find sediment in your wine, do not discard the wine. It is still a great bottle of wine, it just has a few unflattering qualities that need to be removed. Before serving the wine take care to remove as much of the sediment as possible. You may even need to aerate the wine before serving. If by chance you are not able to remove it all and a few straggling pieces of sediment remain, do not be alarmed. The sediment itself may taste a bit bitter, but it shouldn’t ruin the complete taste of the wine. (Editor: I had a member in our Reserve Wine Club tell me that he opened one of the first bottles we ever shipped, from Alpha Omega Winery in Napa Valley, here's me stirring the lees at Alpha Omega, the other day, some sediment needed to be removed from the top of the bottle, but other than that, perfect.  As always I hope you'll consider a wine club membership with us!).