Filtering wine sediment

While drinking a 99 Rhone the other night i found the very fine sediment suspended in the wine to be distracting. I know its not affecting taste, i did filter through a stainless mesh but is there a better way to filter to a smaller particle level ?

Coffee filters or cheese cloth. A stainless steel mesh won’t catch the fine stuff, and that sediment can most definitely effect taste. It can make a wine more astringent, and even unpleasant.

John

Would that work on vintage port if it was not decanted ?

I don’t see why not.

If the sediment is very fine and heavy, you may go through several filters for a bottle.

Handy tip: Make sure if you use a coffee filter that you don’t use a filter holder that smells of coffee, as most of mine do. [cheers.gif]

A full blender treatment will pulverize the sediment and provide aeration.

Yes, highly recommended for Northern Rhones, in particular, to get rid of any reductive/sulfur scents.

FWIW, I tried using a coffee filter on a Beerenauslese last year (for cork, not sediment) and it just never even filtered. too thick and syrupy to really pass through. the filter smelled delicious after but that is about the best I can say about that experience.

Ha! I can imagine that. For a Beerenauslese, a metal strainer would be fine, as the issue would be cork or tartrate crystals, not sediment.

Fine it with egg whites. The Romans did it long before there were filters fine enough. (Get it?)

Take a couple egg whites and stir them up with a little water and pour it into your wine. After a week or so, the tannins and cloudy elements will stick to the egg whites which will settle down. Then pour off the clear wine. It strips out less of the flavor elements than filtering does.

You use between 3 and 8 egg whites to fine a 225 L barrel, so a small egg will be more than enough.

I usually take a funnel and an odorfree paper handkerchief (pack of 100 pieces 0.40 $) … works perfectly …

A free-range egg works best.

Yes. To get all the free radicals.

Good way to lock 'em up.

I will sometimes pour through a scentless paper towel.

I fold them up and place in the top of the decanter and pour through.

Similar to what Gerhard said! [cheers.gif]

I don’t think any of these home filtering techniques sound better than just drinking a slightly cloudy wine. Paper coffee filters, paper towels? I’d just drink the wine.

+1 . . .

I rarely have this problem if I stand the bottle up for a couple of weeks before opening.

If you want to see lots of sediment, try older California reds.
Oh, wait, do not try them. They all suck, especially because of sediment. Stay away. Far away.

Thats assuming you plan ahead that far, i just grab whatever i feel like that night

I use these. They capture a surprising amount of sediment. I have not conducted clinical trials, however.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CF2WP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1