Use of polyaspartate as inhibitor of tartaric precipitations in wines.

All additives used to stabilize wines against the precipitations of potassium bitartrate have some limits: metatartaric acid (MTA) is effective but very unstable, carboxymethylcellulose is stable and effective in white wines but affects color stability in red wines, mannoproteins have a variable effectiveness depending on wine composition. This work was aimed at testing the effect of new stabilizing products on tartaric precipitations, focusing on the use of Na and K polyaspartate salts (PASPs). The effectiveness of 4 different PASPs and 1 MTA added to red and white wines was compared using the mini-contact test and cold test. The dose effect and the stability of the products over time were also studied. The PASPs showed a similar stabilizing effect and a longer stability over time compared to MTA. PASPs can be considered interesting as additives for wine tartaric stabilization. Further work is in progress to better characterize their enological properties.