Cold stabilisation: stability, not character

The standard

The anticipated precipitation measures the chilling by whether the wine forms no further crystals afterwards under ordinary storage conditions. Decisive are the content of unstable tartrate, the temperature reached and the duration of the treatment.

Criteria

• The need is measured by a stability test, not assumed
• Temperature and duration follow the unstable tartrate content
• The treatment aims at stability, not at clarification
• Crystals in the glass remain harmless, not a fault

Distinction

Cold stabilisation ≠ filtration: it removes dissolved tartrate by crystallisation, not suspended matter through a sieve. Cold stabilisation ≠ cold storage: the anticipated precipitation is a single treatment with a goal, not a lasting keeping at low temperature.