The Future of Potassium Bitartrate Stabilization: Minimizing Energy, Wine Loss, and Treatment Time

Aim: Potassium bitartrate (KHT) stability is an important measure for most wines to meet consumer expectations. Batch cold stabilization, the most commonly used KHT stabilization practice today, is both energy-intensive and time consuming. The possibility of using fluidized bed crystallizers (FBCs) to perform cold stabilization in a continuous process is discussed. This review also examines alternative subtractive and additive KHT stabilization methods a winery might use to reduce energy and water use, wine loss, and treatment time.

Key Themes:

• Why is KHT instability a problem?

• What is cold stabilization and how is it inefficient?

• What are FBCs and how can they improve upon cold stabilization?

• What other alternative subtractive methods can remove excess KHT?

• What additives can be used for stabilization?

Impact and Significance: Batch cold stabilization of potassium bitartrate (KHT) is one of winemaking’s most energy-intensive practices. The number of alternative options for KHT stabilization, both additive and subtractive, is increasing. Time of treatment, water and energy use, and changes to wine chemistry are considerations for each approach. In the future, FBCs could perform cold stabilization using a continuous process, reducing time, energy, and wine loss, while minimizing additions to wine. This review describes some common cold stabilization techniques and provides a deeper look at an emerging technology, the FBC.