Page 15 - Grapevine NovDec 2020
P. 15
In The Winery
Fining Agents
By: Thomas J. Payette, Winemaking Consultant
N ext to sound ripe fruit, great winemaking ed to bring in the aromatics desired and reduce
control during the harvest and excellent
or negate the need for a fining. Always perform
blending – finings trials are a next great
agents since not all wines and fining agents work/
resource to possibly “fine tune” your successful the fining trials and use a large spectrum of fining
hard work. This task is often overlooked or under react as predicted. We, as winemakers, are often
performed due to time and the skill limits of the surprised at unexpected findings.
winemaker. Fining agents must be used as a deli-
cate tool to refine a wine or juice and one should The most difficult portion of fining trials is to have
not seek to make a flawed wine desirably drinkable an understanding of working with the limited and
with the wave of a “magic fining wand”. small volumes of juices or wines and how to apply
the small scale lab trials to the larger tank volumes.
Before attempting to refine a wine with fining Once one has a clear understanding and method-
agents make sure the wine is aromatically sound ology the tasks become easier. It may take several
and at optimum by doing a quick copper sulfate fining trials under ones belt before it becomes sec-
aroma trial. This may be the simple action need- ond nature and the task becomes “a piece of cake.”
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