Since WSU research enologist Jim Harbertson arrived in the heart of wine country five years ago, the number of wineries has doubled.
“We have a new population of winemakers making wine in the region,” Harbertson said from his base at the WSU Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser. “That means a lot of new winemakers with a need for basic problem-solving methods.”
Enter Harbertson’s latest publication, “A Guide to the Fining of Wine.” The booklet is a free download from WSU Extension Publications. It provides suggestions (including convenient reference tables) for how winemakers can remove unwanted components that affect clarification, astringency, color, bitterness and aroma in both red and white wines.
“I wrote this guide because I wanted winemakers to have a handy reference that lays out the basics of fining,” Harbertson said.
“Winemakers should be aware that the need to fine may be an indication that they have a problem in the vineyard or in their winemaking technique,” he said. “This guide doesn’t address those problems, per se, but rather gives winemakers some options if fining is the only solution available.”
