Ageing Stability: Freedom from Flaws, Not Development

The standard

Verified stabilisation demonstrates a passed test procedure for cold, protein and microbial stability respectively, before the wine is bottled.

Criteria

• Cold stability prevents tartrate precipitation at low storage temperatures
• Protein stability prevents haze from denatured proteins
• Microbial stability rules out spoilage in the bottle
• The proof is obtained before bottling, not retroactively on the aged bottle

Distinction

Ageing stability ≠ Ageing potential: What it describes – and what it does not: ageing potential describes the capacity for positive sensory development, verified stabilisation merely rules out physical and microbial flaws. A stable wine ≠ a wine with ageing potential: stability is a precondition, not a guarantee of development.