the term "fined"

[kershaw]

A wine description I read recently said the wine had been fined by adding 5 fresh egg whites. What does the term "fined" mean?

[barnesy]

Fined is part of the finishing process used by some wine makers. Egg whites is a natural way of attracting certain particles in the wine and taking them out, such as some of the corser tannins. You drop the egg whites through the wine; it attracts what you want to take out of the wine. Some wineries do this, some don't. Its matter of the wine maker's philosophy on how wine should be made and how they want their end product to be viewed.

I am sure some of the member who have more experiance on the making side of wine will be able to explain further.

By the way, welcome to the board!!!

Barnesy

[This message has been edited by barnesy (edited 06-01-2001).]

[winoweenie]

Hi Kershaw and welcome to the board. Fining is one of two methods of removing the solids ( Skins, stems, seeds etc. ) which are present when the grapes are put into the aging barrels after crushing. The egg white are put into the barrel at the top and as they slowly sink to the bottom these particles are trapped. The wine is then transferred into a clean barrel and the solids remain in the old barrel. Most of the great wines are not fined or filtered and that's the reason when you drink an older wine there is sediment on the bottle and in the bottom of the bottle. This is the short explanation. WW