Term (also deposit, flocculate, crystallise) for the precipitation of various substances in wine in the form of flakes, crystals or similar particles. These include the settling of the lees during fermentation and the sediment (mainly in red wines) or tartar during bottle ageing. The main causes are progressive ageing processes such as oxidation and, in particular, the polymerisation of phenols and tannins, during which ever larger molecular structures are formed that eventually become insoluble and precipitate. These two types of precipitation are not considered quality defects. In the final stage of a wine (dead), the precipitation of larger quantities of substances is also typical because the stabilising structures of the wine have largely disintegrated.
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Markus J. Eser
Weinakademiker und Herausgeber „Der Weinkalender“