FS430 Understanding Wine & Beer
Must & Wine Fining and Stabilization
(+ Filtration and Clarification)
• Definition of terms
• Compounds to be fined (I.e. removed -
Instabilities)
• Fining agents (compounds used to
remove others)
• Chemistry (reactions or molecules)
FS430 Understanding Wine & Beer
Type of Issues Addressed
Adjusting concentration of compounds
turbidity (sediments)
(dis-)colour
odours/aromas
proteins (haze, sediments)
(metal-) cations (sediments)
tartaric acid (sediments)
(microorganisms) (sediments, refermentation,... )
FS430 Understanding Wine & Beer
Tyndall Effect
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Fining
• A process applied to adjust the concentrations of
compounds or compound classes in wines in order to
modify their turbidity, colour, aroma, taste or mouthfeel
Stabilization
• A process used to prevent certain undesirable changes to
occur in the future (usually bottled wine)
• Achieve chemical, visual, microbiological, taste and aroma
stability
• Some procedures may be classified as fining and
stabilization (e.g. protein addition to reds)
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Turbidity
• Sedimentation, centrifugation or filtration
• Problem: Colloids (kolla + eidos): finely dispersed
particles or droplets
• Sizes between 1 – 100/1000 nm
• Not normally visible with light microscope
• Emulsions (liquid in liquid) or sols (solid in liquid)
may be translucent or milky/cloudy depending on
particle size
• Sedimentation / Centrifugation difficult / impossible
(may foul filter)
• Tyndall effect
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• Removal by changing the charge distribution of
particles
• Forces affecting structure and aggregation
• Noncovalent bonds: ion/dipole interactions, hydrogen
bonds, Van der Waals interactions, hydrophobic effects
• Neutralize overall charges - coagulation - flocculation
• enzymes (pectinases),
fining agents
• Flocculants
• Silica-sol (colloidal SiO2
usually with gelatin)
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Colour (Bitterness, Astringency) Decolorization trial

• Active Carbon (adsorption) special carbons
for decolourization, removal of off-odours)
• PVPP (complexes phenols) to treat colour
problems (browning, pinking)
• Protein fining (precipitate with phenols), also
used for fining red wines (next slide)

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Mouthfeel/Taste – Protein fining Odours / Aromas

• Protein fining for softening and balancing red
• Active carbon (see above)
wines
• Gelatin, isinglass, egg white, casein
• Remove „harsh tannins“ to soften mouthfeel (see above)
(reduce astringency and bitterness) • CuSO4
• Egg white, casein, gelatin, isinglass, hydrolized • for H2S
wheat gluten
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Metal Cations (stabilization) Protein stabilization

• Fe, Cu: hazes
• Zn: metallic taste
• Pb, Cd, Al: health hazard
• Sources: Imissions (industry, traffic), pesticides (Cu!),
reactors, valves, dropped tools
• „Sink“: Yeast (biofilter)
• „Rise“: Active carbon, bentonite, silica gel, CuSO4
• Solution: Blue fining: Potassium hexacyanoferrate
K4[Fe(CN)6] leads to formation of insoluble
ferrocyanide with Fe/Cu. Danger: cyanide (poison!)
• Alternative: citric acid (stabilization by chelation)
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Bentonite
• of volcanic origin, „swelling clay“ (max. after 2 d)
• Montmorillonite (Aluminium silicate)
• Cation content (exchange of Al3+ Æ Mg2+/Na+)
regulates swelling, electrical load and cation
exchange behaviour, (-) inside, (+) outside
• Exchange with proteins/amino acids/cationic
polyphenols
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Bentonite; Model of Sub-Structure Cold (Tartaric Acid) Stabilization

Problem - aqueous to hydroalcoholic solution
Solubility product of potassium (calcium) tartrate
Ion-exchange
Cold stabilization (2 d, -2 - -4°C) [red/white]
Contact method [white wines]
addition of seed crystals ( 4 g/l)
cooling (2 h, -1 – 1°C)
constant stirring
separation
hydrocyclon
separator
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Cold Stabilization Process Cold Stabilization Tanks

Tartaric Acid Stabilization
and Separation
tartaric a. recycling
Süß-
reserve hydrocyclon storage
separator

sterile plate
plate filter
cooler contact time clean tartaric a.
start tank in isolated residual tartaric a.
tanks 2h (4
g/l seed)
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Cold Stabilization 1 Hydrocyclon

„the tea cup system“

cp. Whirlpool in
brewing

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Filtration / Pasteurization Filtration

Pasteurization:
Precoat Filtration
heating (68 – 75°C, 2 min)
cooling Frontal Depth Filtration
Semi-sweet / sweet wines
Caramelization, other chemical reactions Membrane Filtration
Generally only for wine coolers, problematic wines Tangential Crossflow-Filtration
Filtration: achieve „brilliance“, absence of turbidity,
hazes, microorganisms
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The Prize Question Precoat Filtration

What do wine, the Nobel prize and my cat have in common?

Vino • Perlite: Silicon/Aluminium oxides of volcanic

Alfred Mausi origin
• DE (diatomaceous earth)
90% SiO2, 5% Al2O3, 2-3% Fe2O3
extremely high internal surface
sieving, adsorption, trapping
different grades determine „tightness“ of
filtration
origin, grinding, heat-treatments
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Diatoms
• unicellular, Diatoms (filter aid)
photosynthetic
algae (true)
• cell wall mainly
SiO2
• form sediments
• water quality
indicator

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DE Filter
• Last
DE Filtration
(look inside)

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Depth / Membrane Filtration Plate Filter

• Cellulose fiber pads, can be used with DE/perlite

as filter aid
• Polypropylene fibers

• Many compounds usable for membrane (surface-)

filters. In wine generally nylon or esters.

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Plate Filter 2

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Frontal Flow Cross Flow

Cross Flow Filter Cross-Flow filter cake

Filtration concentrate
membrane
drainage

filtrate filtrate

time time
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Cross-Flow Filtration Filtration unit w

4 modules
Stabilization
SO2 dosage

hollow fibre
cartridge

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Time Point of Additions

• Must
• SO2
• Bentonite, Charcoal
• De-acidifcation
• Enzymes (pectinases)
• Wine
• SO2, bentonite (protein stabilization),
charcoal, PVPP(?), protein fining
• De-acidification and cold-stabilization
• Copper