I’m curious – has anyone heard of adding gum arabic to add body to a wine? It was suggested to me recently that this has been used on occasion.
I’ve certainly heard of that practice, but no experience in it so I’m not really sure how it works or what the effect is. I don’t know how common it is or whether it’s used a lot in high-production wines vs. lower-production ones.
There are a handful of different ‘gums’ used in wine, one referred to as arabic, one referred to as aromatic, and others. Someone with more of a chemistry background can fill you in on the differences. They can be valuable in a couple of ways: improving stability, adding texture to a wine that is thin or angular, giving the wine some aromatic lift especially in wines meant for early consumption. I’ve used them in the past and been in wineries where they were used often. I don’t keep gum in the winery anymore because I’ve found that while there is some immediate rewards, I don’t prefer those wines six months or a year into bottle age.
Thanks. Have you ever heard of it causing a precipitate with age?