White whispy sediment in pinot noir bottles

Wine 101: The Basics
1

I noticed the other day that several bottles of Pinot Noir in my cellar seem to contain this white sediment that appears somewhat wispy and goopy at the same time. The bottles have all been stored on their sides, and the affected bottles happen to be all from the same producer. I’ve heard of tartaric acid forming “wine crystals,” but the sediment here doesn’t appear crystalline at all, but really rather like a wispy goo on the side of the bottle. Any thoughts on what is going on here? Really hoping not to have to open the bottles and have any unnecessary infanticide occur.

Thanks in advance!

2

Possibly precipitated protein.

3

Any thoughts on what would cause proteins to precipitate out of solution? I only opened the shipping container for the bottles the other day (which has just been sitting in the cellar since arrival for about a year), so I really don’t know how long this precipitate has been present in the bottles.

4

Solids eventually settle. Particulate matter comes together. So especially with unfiltered wines proteins are among the biggest molecules left. There is also the possibility it could be precipitate salts. Perhaps a winemaker could elaborate further.

5

white sediment that appears somewhat wispy and goopy at the same time



Possibly precipitated protein.



Particulate matter comes together.

I’m waiting for Ken V’s response…

6

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7

Protein would be my first guess. Usually heat helps proteins precipitate out of solution.

8

Based on your description this fits better for polysaccharide instability in alcohol. Source of this polysaccharide is bacteria most likely found on grapes when harvested. See following article for description http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/grapeweb/OGEN/09252006/FruitRotWineStability.pdf . Also check Wine Science(3rd edition) p496 by Ronald Jackson. This may not cause any taste problems but this is considered a wine flaw by the producer…Gary