As pointed out above by Peter in his original post. In theory it shouldn’t matter since the filter mediums used shouldn’t change the taste of the liquid. That ended up not being the case, to our surprise.
I’ve only used a coffee filter three times. twicr it completely changed the taste of the wine and there’s a clear absence of fruit. Third time it tasted fine.
Dunno what the difference was. Maybe the quality of the filter.
Does the coffee filter work on the ultrafine sediment in older Barolos and Chiantis?
Only when the bottle breaks!
I’m saying the “experiment” did not control that the bottom third of the bottle could taste different than the top third. Moreover, the bottom third obviously has more sediment than the top third.
Wow that was fascinating Andy, thank you for sharing. One question, do you rinse and reuse the cloth? Why I ask, sense there are a lot of solvents in wine i.e. alcohol and different acids, maybe the wine is not being striped but leaching something from the cloth and paper filter? So, you can’t reuse the filter but as the cloth is reused one would think the effect would diminish if this is the case? The other option is something in the wine is bonding to or catalyzing with something to a greater or lesser degree in both? Again fascinating.
Are all filters the same? I use the Melitta filter for coffee, not the flat-bottom filters. And there’s a gold filter you can buy too that you re-use.
But honestly, except for something like Port, I see no reason at all to filter and with Port I’d probably use a fine mesh tea strainer.
How much sediment is in your wine? Do you shake the bottles vigorously before pouring? I’ve never found a reason to worry about filtering - the amount of sediment in a bottle is easily enough avoided. Same in the glass, just gently roll the glass until the sediment sits on one side and drink the rest of the wine.
And to Joe - the sediment wasn’t in the same form when the wine was bottled and I don’t think the wine makers want you to drink that. After a few years, sediment settles out but if you drink the wine young, you may have little or no sediment. Not to mention, whether or not they want me to drink it is irrelevant.
Sure that possibility could exist. But the whole point was to see if filtering them through a medium would alter them from the freehand pour. In reality, the whole bottle is constantly exposed to the sediment so what part you drink from shouldn’t matter (if the sediment is removed that is).
Color me a purist. The only time I have ever used anything other than a candle/flashlight and a very steady hand have been when corks have crumbled on contact, when I will use a metal mesh filter. I have opened old red wines of all classical kinds, and never had to sacrifice more than an oz or so.
No, the cheesecloth and coffee filter used were new and just used that one time. Why we didn’t rinse the cheesecloth was the simple fact that we’d lose control over the experiment. I suppose we could have used distilled water, but we didn’t have any. Perhaps one day we can redo the experiment and factor in some other things like this.
Yes the more good and expensive and old the bottle is, the more I tend filter the last half-glass or so after the decant. Yes it definitely affects the taste, tastes like old sediment 
, I think very fine sediment gets through. I use a ceramic coffee pour-over device, seems to help the flow.
I use this: Amazon.com
when pouring into a decanter, whether to aerate or just filter. Perhaps not the most stylish of gadgets but it gets the job done.
I used a coffee filter with an older Bordeaux that I had standing for a week, right after a friend picked it up and turned it this way and that reading the label. But typically I just decant or pour from the bottle carefully.
I’ve tried one of these. They work ok if there is only a small amount of fine sediment. Anything more than that and they tend to clog.
Andy, when you say you used coffee filters in your test, we are talking about the paper Mr Coffee things, right? Not the metal mesh kind? If so, I wonder if the latter type would impact the taste of the wine
Unbleached paper coffee filter. Not the metal kind.
Haven’t tried that test yet. Good idea and next time this may be a good one to add along with testing used and rinsed cheesecloth/coffee filters (if the paper filter doesn’t fall apart rinsing it first that is).
Yeah I’ve had that happen, too. I find that if I pour carefully the majority of the sediment is left in the shoulder of the bottle. I think I’ve had the mesh clog up once or twice and I just removed the pourer, rinsed it and put it back in. YMMV, of course, but I really like that it’s simple and sturdy.
I don’t get it, I generally pay more for producers who do not filter (and frequently don’t fine) their wines, why would I then filter it?
I either take 1 minute to carefully pour by hand and stop when I see sediment or accidentally pour it in my glass and carefully sip the last dregs if the wine is worth it or sometimes I just leave the dregs in the bottle.
I have done this once or twice, but ultimately it seems like a bit of forethought in standing up the bottle, or using a cradle / basket, and then careful service or decanting, make it unnecessary. If a wine hasn’t had time to settle properly, I will just open something else.
A little sediment at the end of a bottle doesn’t really bother me.