Which Wine Is Better, Filtered or Unfiltered?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of drinking filtered vs unfiltered wine? Learn more about the process of wine filtering from Kim Kirchhoff, a German winemaker.
Wine is not simply something to drink, but it can also be thought of as a game. It is a topic; a pastime that people like talking about or exchanging their information, views, and news about with one another. In addition, like to other popular pastimes, it is influenced by many styles and methods.
Unfiltered wine is becoming more popular, which is a significant development in the wine market at the moment. You may look at it as you want — in a natural, genuine, and true-to-its-roots sort of way: healthy. The current trend toward “natural” products goes hand in hand well with the concept of an unfiltered wine.
How Does Filtered Wine Differ From Wine That Is Not Filtered?
Let’s start by comparing filtered wine to unfiltered wine from a technical standpoint so that you can have a better understanding of the distinctions between the two types of wine. As a person who works in the winemaking industry, I can tell you that there is far more to this topic than first meets the eye.
Why Wine Needs to Be Filtered
To begin, a quick primer on wines that have been filtered. When the fermentation process is complete, the wine is full of yeast and sediment that may float to the surface. We speak to this as being “blind,” but in the United States, you may say that it is “cloudy.”
Typically, this cloudy and opaque wine is cleaned up by being filtered. Before the wine is bottled, the yeast cells and other microorganisms are filtered out of it using special equipment.
Filtration is how we achieve this goal. Before being bottled, wine normally goes through two filtering processes. The first of these processes is designed to remove yeast from the wine in order to make it clearer, and the second is intended to remove any bacteria present.
Which wines almost usually have their sediment removed by filtering?
Wines that are sweet and white
dry white wines with floral or fruity aromas and flavors
Large quantities produced wines
wines contaminated with botrytis
Diagram showing the process of Racking Unfined and Unfiltered Wine by Wine Folly
wines that haven’t been filtered out.
In the production of unfiltered wine, the filtering process is skipped; however, this does not always imply that the wine retains its cloudiness.
The yeast is not removed from the wine; rather, the wine is allowed to rest for a period of time (without the tanks being moved or shaken). This causes the yeast particles to spontaneously settle due to the force of gravity.
The wine is separated from the lees and racked after this phase. During the rack, we separate the cloudy wine at the bottom of the tank or barrel from the clear wine at the top of the container.
It achieves a level of purity comparable to that of filtered wine.
Do the tasteful sediments that remain in unfiltered wines make them more enjoyable to drink?
The majority of unfiltered wines have the same level of clarity as wines that have been filtered, indicating that the leftover particles have little impact on the wine’s overall body (scientifically speaking, that is).
Which unfiltered wines are more readily accessible to consumers?
Red wines with a limited production run
Oak aging is done to white wines.
wines that have completed the second fermentation process (malolactic).
Wines of a dry style
Unfiltered wines are a high-risk investment.
This is not to imply that unfiltered wines are of poor quality; just the contrary. Nevertheless, what occurs during the second filtering is of utmost significance.
Keep in mind that wine is nothing more than a beverage that exists in limbo between juice and vinegar from a biological point of view. That is to say, completed wine is not a medium that is stable; rather, it is in a continuous state of transformation. In addition to that, there is a possibility of it becoming bad.
The possibility of the wine becoming bad is increased by the presence of any bacterium that has not been removed.
Therefore, we have the option of either removing bacteria by filtration in order to eradicate microbial activity (this is the traditional approach), or we may allow for the existence of bacteria while suppressing their activity through other means (the unfiltered way).
This suppression may be done during the second fermentation, which is known as the malolactic fermentation so that nothing more will take place in the bottle beyond that point. The basic fruit aromas and freshness of the wine are lost, but the wine takes on the characteristics of a nutty and creamy style as it ages.
One such possibility is to use a greater concentration of SO2 to clarify and preserve an unfiltered wine (sulfites).
The Answer Lies in the Co-Existence of Filtered and Unfiltered Wine
It’s possible that unfiltered wines have a more “open” and “natural” character. But as we’ve shown in the last section, it’s not always the case.
In the sake of maintaining peaceful cohabitation, both approaches need to be acknowledged. A tasting should be held in which both techniques are used so that each individual may form their own choice and opinion. We recommend that you perform it in an environment where the taster is blind!
Unfiltered wine is nothing new, but this is an interesting fact!
Which unfiltered wine has achieved widespread popularity over the course of many hundred years and is still widely consumed around the globe?
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