Within a 3 day span I had two people refer to sediment in aged wine as “blood clots” and wanted to know what it was. It doesn’t take much more than that kind of coincidence to get this topic in my pipeline. I am always pressing for content. Talk about low hanging fruit.
Many wine connoisseurs understand this concept but in case you’re new to the world of wine, this site and happen to be stopping by because you are just as perplexed and/or want to understand this phenomenon further let’s get down and dirty, shall we? Bottomline is that “blood clots” in your wine are, in most cases, nothing to worry about.
Now, first of all, what have these people seen that makes them relate sediment in wine to blood clots? When I think of blood clots I think of Grandma’s legs… not pretty. I love my Grandma, don’t get me wrong. Otherwise, I might be thinking of clogged arteries or the natural effect of the body stopping blood flow to the gaping wound in my knee when I scraped it up because I didn’t know how to skateboard as a kid. But, never mind that. What they are referring to is sediment discovered in many red wines that have some age on them. So, what is sediment?
In most red wines and less in whites are compounds referred to as phenolics, which include tannins, pigment and other components that give the wine structure, color, flavor, mouthfeel, you name it. Over time, many of these phenolics precipitate out as solids in the wine. The biggest contributor is tannin. Tannins are what gives a red wine that pucker factor or astringency in the mouth when they seek out the protein in the meat of your cheeks and lips and basically dry them up. Aged wines become more subtle, supple and round as time goes by because those tannins are precipitating out (there’s that word again) as a solid, or sediment. Yeah, you might be thinking of the left-over earth after erosion in geography circles and junk… very similar here. In an aged wine you should be able to see in the bottle, if you hold a candle or light up to it, a dark substance that might remind you of coffee grounds. If you don’t filter it out when pouring into a decanter or a glass, you will eventually have some in your teeth.
But, never fear, it will not hurt you. It is simply chunky goodness that is leaving the world of solubility and dropping out to leave smooth, velvety heaven behind (hopefully). However, it is not pretty and can be a little disturbing to drink. So, I recommend buying a filter with your decanter to catch the sediment or employing the sommelier method of opening a really old bottle with a candle and a horizontal cradle. The candle is positioned under the shoulder/neck area of the bottle so the pourer can keep an eye on the sediment and ensure it does not enter the decanter. Yes, it may mean a little wine is left behind in the bottle with the grime, but you won’t need to worry about blood clots ever again.
Here’s a great post on Decanting 101 from WineCountry.com: http://discover.winecountry.com/wine/2009/12/decanting-101.html
Cheers!
I actually had a white wine last night, the Nickolaihof Wachau Gruner Veltliner, that had more sediment in the end of the bottle than any I’ve ever seen. I hadn’t sen any sediment until the final drops had been poured into my glass, but there was so much of it, it almost made the wine cloudy!
Knowing what sediment was, I drank it anyway and it didn’t really effect my wine-drinking experience. If anything, it was only the last sip that left an almost velvety feeling on my teeth.
This particular winery is biodynamic and does not stir lees, simply lets them sit, so I assume the sediment was left over from some wine making technique that was used.
Great article
I think it’s important for people to realize these things aren’t going to hurt them – they’re all just part of the wine!
You know how you decant, and then leave that last 3/4 inch of wine and sediment in the bottom of the bottle? Of course you leave the bottle out so folks can see what they’re drinking. I warned everyone not to drink that last bit in the bottle, but hours after the party, when I was cleaning up, I had forgotten and treated myself to the last splash of a fantastic, well-aged wine. It was like a mouthful of coffee grounds and I was spitting in the sink for five minutes.
I’m always happiest when the sediment has firmly attached itself to the inside wall of the bottle. It ain’t pretty, but it keeps it out of your wine glass.
sort of the same thing with bottle-conditioned beer. I try to leave the settled yeast at the bottom, as they can give your beer a sour, yeasty taste, and contribute to- shall we say- robust activity in the gastrointestinal system. Yet, folks seem to always swirl the bottle to get that last bit out. I’ve seen it done with wine too, then people say, “hey, what’s that dirt in the bottle fer?!” Alas, I shall now direct them to your site, sir.
Good explanation, Ed! I think of it as wines’ way of leaving the chunks behind. I try to avoid it.
My worst sediment experience was in a tasting room. A very expensive wine was being served at a one time per year event. The server must have been told not to waste the wine, so my 1 once pour contained the dregs including about 1/2 once solids. I asked for, and got, another pour from a new bottle.
That was popped and poured by the same server without a hint of decant or tasting it herself to insure that bottle was ok. Needless to say, we were unimpressed with their attention to their pricy bottles, so we let them keep them all.
Also, after pouring out my chunky wine, I had to request water to rinse my glass. You know, if you’re going to charge $50+ for your wine and only give tastes once per year, it might benefit you to find somebody who knows how to run a tasting bar for that one day.
Thanks for the comments! Great stories of chunks and coffee grounds, especially Benito – damn, that’s funny… good to see it’s all a part of the wine learning experience.
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Constance, I bet you are right about the lees and they probably don’t filter.
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Joe, I’ll need to remember this info about “robust activity”
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Chris, yeah, that’s a pretty sad story and it’s amazing how some don’t pay attention to the details.