The Art of Wine Making: Choosing Whether or Not to Filter a Wine

Just before the wine is bottled, it may go through one of several processes to remove any remaining sediment.

The processes for removing sediment from wine include (1) racking, (2) fining or (3) filtering. Let’s take quick look at each of these processes.

Racking allows for the natural settling of the sediment to the bottom of the barrels. Then, the wine is pumped out of the top of the barrel leaving the ‘bottom of the barrel’ remains. 

Filtering can also be used to remove sediment but too much filtering can remove important particles that yield a wine’s aromas and flavors. 

Fining is a process that also removes sediment from wine but it’s done by adding coagulants to the wine.  These coagulants immediately bind to the sediment particles and under the force of gravity, fall to the bottom of the vessel. Fining agents can include egg whites, gelatin or a milk protein called casein. In all cases, these fining agents do not remain in the wine, do not leave any residual flavor and are removed with the sediment.

The result of each process is a stable, clear and pleasant-looking glass of wine instead of something that would otherwise be cloudy-looking. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Virginia Wine Governor's Cup Winner: 50 West Vineyards

50 West Aldie Heights Cuvée ($70)

50 West is a farm vineyard located on Route 50 just past the historic town of Aldie in Middleburg, Virginia. (39060 John Mosby Highway).

First used by Native Americans as a route to move their migrating herds, Route 50 was later used by the colonists and a portion was even surveyed by George Washington.

As one of the larger farm vineyards in the state, they grow fruit on five properties in northern Virginia and are proud of their reputation for growing 100% Virginia grown grapes to make their wine.

Winemaker Jason Burrus got his start in California where he spent six years in Napa, Sonoma, and the Central Valley while completing his MS in Viticulture & Enology from UC Davis. He’s called Virginia home since 2006.

This Aldie Heights Cuvée was produced from 47% Tannat, 44% Petit Verdot, 7% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon from their Shenandoah Springs & Shenandoah Ridge Vineyards. It was aged for 26 months in French oak barrels.

It is medium purple in color with delicate black fruit aromas along with a hint of the French oak. On the palate, this full-bodied wine has rich dark fruit flavors, is very complex, has wonderful vanilla notes from the French oak aging and has a long, smooth and balanced finish. [ABV: 14.5%, TA: 4.5 g/L, pH:4.0, Residual Sugar: 0.4%]

This is a truly outstanding wine. One sip will show you why this was a winner in the Virginia Governor’s Cup. And, it’s a perfect fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received these samples at no cost for review.

Media Samples Provided by 50 West Vineyards, Virginia Wine and Donna White Communications

The Art of Wine Making: Knowing When to Top Off Oak Wine Barrels

Photo by Sonia Nadales on Unsplash

Another aspect of the art of wine making is knowing when to top off oak wine barrels during the winemaking process. Winemakers need to routinely do this during barrel aging.

Here's why…

1. Evaporation Through the Barrel

  • While the oak staves in the barrel do expand when saturated with the wine, these barrels are not completely airtight. So, they actually allow a small amount of oxygen to enter the barrel and interact with the wine.

  • Conversely, oak barrels also allow evaporation of the wine through the wood over time, especially in dry or warm conditions.

  • This evaporation creates air gaps, called “headspace” inside the barrel.

  • The amount of wine that evaporates from the barrel is often referred to as the "Angel’s Share" because it was imagined that angels must be taking their share of the wine from the heavens above.

2. Risk of Oxidation

  • The headspace is filled with air (that includes oxygen), and too much oxygen exposure can lead to oxidation, which can dull the wine’s flavors and aromas and, in the extreme, spoil the wine and give it a nutty-like flavor (much like Port wine flavor)

3. Knowing When to “Topping Off” the Barrels

  • The “art” of knowing when to top off a wine barrel is a mix of routine checks, sensory observation, and understanding the wine’s environment. Experienced winemakers can even predict when barrels need topping based on subtle cues like how the barrels plug (known as a bung plug) fits or the cellar conditions.

  • Topping off simply means refilling the barrel to its full capacity with the same wine (typically from a reserve tank or another barrel).

  • This minimizes the oxygen in the headspace and helps preserve wine quality.

4. Frequency of Topping Off

  • Winemakers typically top off barrels every few weeks to every couple of months, depending on cellar conditions (humidity, temperature), barrel size, and wine style.

So in short, topping off an oak wine barrel is a key part of maintaining the wine’s freshness during barrel aging. Yet another part of the art of wine making. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Virginia Wine Governor's Cup Winner: King Family Vineyards

2021 King Family Vineyards Mountain Plains Monticello Red Blend ($85)

King Family Vineyards is a family-owned and operated winery. They’re known as one of the best wineries in Virginia.

They specialize in the production of premium wines that showcase the remarkable quality and terroir of the Monticello AVA. Beginning with carefully selected grapes, winemaker Matthieu Finot creates wines inspired by the old world, but uniquely expressive of Virginia wine.

This Monticello Red Blend is produced with 45% Cabernet Franc, 37% Merlot and 18% Petit Verdot.

The grapes are hand-sorted and destemmed. The wines underwent four to eight weeks of maceration in open-top concrete fermentation tanks, allowing for the extraction of color, tannin, and concentration. Following pressing, the wines were aged separately for 22 months in new French oak barrels. After blending, the wines continued to age until bottling.

This Monticello Red Blend is Medium ruby in color with aromas of black plum, blackberry and black currant along with a pleasant hit of the French oak. On the palate, this medium-full bodied Red Blend is rich and complex with big black fruit flavors and notable oak. This wine has a wonderfully long finish that is very smooth. [ABV: 13.8%, TA: 5.27 g/L, pH:3.52, Residual Sugar: <0.1%]

This King Family Vineyards Monticello Red Blend is indeed a winner! And a great fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received these samples at no cost for review.

Media Samples Provided by King Family Vineyards, Virginia Wine and Donna White Communications

The Art of Wine Making: Choosing to Allow a Wine to Age On-Lees

Aging wine on lees (also known as sur lie aging) is a winemaking technique that can play a role in shaping the flavor, texture, and complexity of a wine—especially whites like Chardonnay, Champagne, and Muscadet, but also increasingly in reds and even natural wines.

Lees are the dead yeast cells and other solids (like grape skin particles) that remain in the wine after fermentation. There are two types (1) Gross lees which are heavy, coarse sediment that settles quickly and is usually removed and (2) the fine lees which are the smaller, finer particles that remain suspended longer and are typically the focus of lees aging.

After fermentation, the wine is left in contact with the fine lees for an extended period (ranging from a few months to several years). The winemaker may choose to stir the lees periodically (known as bâtonnage) to encourage more contact or leave the lees undisturbed to preserve freshness and minerality. Over time, the yeast cells break down and release compounds into the wine. 

Aging a wine on-lees can affect several aspects of the final product. It can add texture, giving the wine a richer, creamier mouthfeel. It also adds complexity to the wine with flavors of yeast, brioche, toast and even a bit of nuttiness. Finally, aging on-lees can naturally protect the wine against oxidation.

So, aging a wine on-lees is yet another part of the art of wine making. Cheers!