I made a white wine from welches frozen concentrate. The wine came out good.
I have drank a few bottles of it. I went to put a bottle in the fridge and
noticed some clear crystals in it. They look like glass, and are less than
1/8 inch. I looked in the rest of the bottles and they all seem to have it.
I didn't find any in the bottles I drank. Nothing was broken when I bottled
it so I doubt it is glass, just has that appearance. Anyone have any idea
what it could be?

Mark,

The crystals are a common phenomenon. They're potassium tartrate, formed
from the mineral potassium and the grape acid, tartaric. At warmer temps
the compound stays dissolved in the wine, but lowering the temp makes
it less soluble and the crystals begin to form. Relax, you've just "cold
stabilized" your wine.

Enjoy! Mike MTM

likely these are the 'wine diamonds' precipitating out
from an overly acidic blend. will result in a smoother
drinking beverage, and you could do this in bulk by
chilling carboy for a length of time. simply decant beverage leaving the
precipitate behind and enjoy.
this is also a great example of the beverage healing
itself, imho.
sante
scott
"Mark" wrote in message
link.net...
I made a white wine from welches frozen concentrate. The wine came out
good.
I have drank a few bottles of it. I went to put a bottle in the fridge and
noticed some clear crystals in it. They look like glass, and are less than
1/8 inch. I looked in the rest of the bottles and they all seem to have
it.
I didn't find any in the bottles I drank. Nothing was broken when I
bottled
it so I doubt it is glass, just has that appearance. Anyone have any idea
what it could be?

Thanks for the info. I am happy that it wasn't something that I would have
had to pour the wine out for. I have never tried cold stabilizing, I like to
ferment my wine out dry. The bottles I have drank didn't seem as dry as it
should have been but the ending sg was .997. I put the bottle in the fridge
and will open it tonight. Thanks again.
Mark

excellent question answers

-----
here try this one.....

On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 19:49:02 -0400, MikeMTM wrote:

Mark,

The crystals are a common phenomenon. They're potassium tartrate, formed
from the mineral potassium and the grape acid, tartaric. At warmer temps
the compound stays dissolved in the wine, but lowering the temp makes
it less soluble and the crystals begin to form. Relax, you've just "cold
stabilized" your wine.

Enjoy! Mike MTM

Hi Mark,

Definitely potassium bitartrate (cream of tartar). Welch's juice may
have more potassium, not necessarily more tartaric acid. There might
also have been less water--either way, the saturation point was
reached. This is not a bad reflection on your winemaking or on
anything else. The crystals are kind of pretty if you look under
magnification.

In any case, the chilling is the right way to get the excess out.
Malolactic fermetation reduces malic acid, not tartaric. Cold
stabilization by adding chemicals is an iffy business if you're not a
chemist. You will from now on be improving your decanting skills with
each bottle.

--Irene

"Mark" wrote in message hlink.net...
I made a white wine from welches frozen concentrate. The wine came out good.
I have drank a few bottles of it. I went to put a bottle in the fridge and
noticed some clear crystals in it. They look like glass, and are less than
1/8 inch. I looked in the rest of the bottles and they all seem to have it.
I didn't find any in the bottles I drank. Nothing was broken when I bottled
it so I doubt it is glass, just has that appearance. Anyone have any idea
what it could be?

Mark,
0.997 is not necessarily dry. The hydrometer reads a little high if
the fluid is colder than the calibration temperature of the
hydrometer, it may have a bit of residual sugar, it may be the acid is
lower, it could be the alcohol is a bit higher. All of those
influence the taste.

A better way to check dryness is to use Clinitest tablets to check
residual sugar if you want to know that. I doubt you have more that
1.0% with 0.997, probaly less than 0.5%. If that is the case the
worst that can happen is the wine will be a little fizzy when it warms
up.
Regards,
Joe

"Mark" wrote in message hlink.net...
Thanks for the info. I am happy that it wasn't something that I would have
had to pour the wine out for. I have never tried cold stabilizing, I like to
ferment my wine out dry. The bottles I have drank didn't seem as dry as it
should have been but the ending sg was .997. I put the bottle in the fridge
and will open it tonight. Thanks again.
Mark