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Why are there crystals in my wine?

Tartrate crystals or 'wine diamonds' inside a bottle or lining the inside of a cork are no cause for alarm. They might in fact be an indication of quality-led winemaking decisions.

Tartrate crystals form due to the natural tartaric acid in grapes reacting with potassium, particularly when wine is exposed to cold temperatures.

While industrially-produced wines often undergo tartrate stabilisation to prevent these crystals, higher-quality or ageworthy wines may not, as the stabilisation process can affect flavour. The presence of crystals does not affect the aroma, taste or quality of the wine, and they can be removed by decanting or filtering if desired.

Have you ever opened a bottle of wine to find white or red crystalline deposits stuck to the bottom of the cork, glinting at the base of the bottle, or even floating in the wine itself? Did you feel unsettled or not sure whether you should drink it? Hopefully you did enjoy your bottle with abandon.


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