FINING: A STEP TO MAKE WINE “SHINE”

It is not uncommon to see labels on the back of your favorite wines with mentions like “contains egg,” “contains egg albumin,” or “unfined wine.” While all these mentions are related to wine fining, do you really know what fining is?

Fining is simply a way to “polish” the wine to make it clearer and more brilliant in appearance, as well as rounder on the palate.

What is Wine Fining?

At the end of the process, it is common to clarify the wine by filtration. But before filtering the wine, the fining method is used to remove the finest particles suspended in the wine. These methods are used to mainly improve four parameters:

• Clarity: Absence of haze
• Filtration efficiency: Easier filtration
• Stability: Persistent clarity over time and no sediment
• Tasting refinement: Color, brilliance, and mouthfeel

It should be noted that fining can also be performed on musts before fermentation, particularly for white wines where clarity is desired for fresh and fruity wines.

How is Wine Fining Done?

This practice has been widespread in wine-producing regions since Roman times. The winemaker adds a fining agent, such as egg white or milk. A physico-chemical reaction occurs between the added agent and the fine, unstable particles in the wine, called colloids.

The objective is flocculation, which is the aggregation into larger particles, followed by the precipitation of these particles so they can be easily removed during filtration. For most fining agents, it is an electrostatic reaction, with the positively charged fining agent attracting the negatively charged fine particles and vice versa, resulting in sedimentation of the flakes, which are then removed.

There are several types of fining agents, each with varying effectiveness depending on the needs of the fining process. Here are a few:

• For clarification:
  • Bentonites: Natural volcanic clays that effectively absorb bacteria and proteins. They are the most widely used agents today.
• For astringency: To soften tannins and remove undesirable tannins:
  • Egg whites: Soften tannins due to the protein content, albumin. Widely used for quality red wines, 3 to 8 egg whites per 225-liter barrel are incorporated.
  • Casein: Found in milk, primarily used for white wines to reduce oxidation during winemaking, giving the wine a second youth.
• To fix color and reduce bitterness:
  • PVPP: A synthetic product that eliminates bitterness and adds brilliance to the wine. In excess, it poses a risk of color and aroma loss.

There are many other fining agents, such as carbon or silica gel.

The wine remains under fining for a few days, and it is advised not to exceed 20 days to avoid a total depletion in terms of color and aroma. At the end of this period, the fining agent is removed either by sedimentation (settling) or by filtration.

Why Do Some Winemakers Choose Not to Fine Their Wines?

The choice is often a qualitative one by the winemaker. These fining agents are not all selective; they remove dead particles as well as elements that positively contribute to the construction and quality of the wine. The decision is then made not to deplete the wine, even at the risk of it being cloudy and not clear.

Today, about 95% of wines are fined and filtered. For fine wines, it is not uncommon for fining to be skipped to retain the maximum amount of material and structure in the wine, thus giving it greater aging potential.

Did You Know?

The recipe for the Bordeaux Canelé is closely linked to egg white fining. Indeed, all the egg yolks recovered during fining were used to make this pastry, which has become a symbol of Bordeaux gastronomy.

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