It is quite likely that a crystalline deposit will form at the bottom of your wine after it is bottled. As these sink to the bottom, they are easy to leave behind when pouring the wine. They are nothing to worry about and are quite natural. The main acid in grapes is tartaric acid, C₄H₆O₆, and during fermentation this changes to KC₄H₅O₆, its acidic potassium salt, known also as "cream of tartar" or, when in wine, "argol".
It's rarely seen in modern commercial wine because deliberate steps are taken to force it to precipitate before it is bottled.

Close window