Credits: Social Media
Wine expert explains why finding random ‘bits’ in your bottle is actually a good thing
A snob-free sommelier explained why crystals forming in a bottle of wine are actually a good thing despite popular belief.�
If you are a regular wine drinker then you have no doubt cracked open a bottle to find crystal-like formations on either the cork or the bottle itself. Its obviously not mould, but surely drinking things that resemble rocks cant be good for you? As it turns out, crystalline formations are a good sign of the wines production process.�
What are wine crystals?
Wine expert Warner, who goes by Confidence Uncorked on social media, is a sommelier based out of Sonoma, California. Boasting an impressive 117k followers on TikTok, and a further 5k on Instagram, she often talks about the ins and outs of wine drinking.�
Answering a fan question on TikTok that asked about crystals forming in a bottle of wine, Confidence Uncorked explained that its nothing to worry about.
She said: Whatever you do, dont dump out your wine. I promise you its a good thing.
She explained that she often gets calls from people confessing that they had thrown out a bottle of wine after finding crystals inside.�
This is actually called sediment, or wine diamonds as I prefer. Its actually solid matter that has settled to the bottom of the vessel that its in, she revealed. Could be just particles from grape seeds or skins. It could also be left over yeast as a result of fermentation.
She continued: Over time, these microscopic particles bind together and eventually become so heavy that they fall out and they collect at the bottom. If youre aging the wine laying down, youll see it along the side, on the neck, and as a result, on the cork.
Dont throw it away!
Naturally, a lot of people think that the wine diamonds are gross and so will use a process called fining to remove the impurities. This is usually done by adding egg whites or fish bladder, which is arguably more gross than the alternative.
This is a big reason why I like finding sediment in my mine, or on the cork immediately after opening it, the TikToker continued. This tells me that this is a minimal intervention wine. It was made naturally without adding some sort of agent.
Drinking wine with sediment in is completely safe, and she said that, if anything, it adds more character.
TikTok users share their thoughts
Many other wine fans jumped to the comments to ask more questions and share personal stories about discovering sediment.
One person wrote: Omg I literally was trying to find the name of a Spanish wine that I loved when I was in Spain because every single bottle I tried had that!
Another said: Pouring wine down the drain because of sediment is so wild.
And here I was thinking I could grow a crystal in my wine bottle, a third joked.
