Wine Tip of the Week: Don't Fear the Sediment!

Ever get more than you expected from your bottle of wine? Does your cork have crystals or does the wine leave some grit in the glass?  This sediment is a completely harmless byproduct of the wine making process.  Some winemakers prefer to bottle their wines without any filtering (some labels will identify wines as "Unfiltered") as filtering will impact a wines aroma and flavors. The crystals you may see on the bottom of the cork are called tartrates,
and are formed during the aging of a wine. 

If you (properly so) store your wine bottles on their side, leaving a bottle standing for a few hours before opening and serving will help make sure the sediments fall to the bottom.  Better yet, here is when a decanter and funnel with a screen would come in handy to both remove sediment and aerate your wine.  Although not pleasant to look at - the formation in sediment may mean that you will be enjoying a fuller bodied, tastier wine than if the winemaker had decided to treat the wine by filtering, fining, and adding other chemicals to inhibit the formation of tartrates.