FOOD NEWS
Is It Safe To Drink The Sediment In The Bottom Of Your Red Wine Bottle?
BY RYAN CASHMAN
You may have noticed a bit of sediment at the bottom of a bottle of red wine before, and if you’re wondering if you can drink those final drops, here’s everything you need to know.
Sediment is not a sign that the wine is defective or has gone bad. It’s actually organic matter settling at the bottom of the bottle, similar to the dregs of coffee or tea.
This sediment is perfectly safe to consume and is typically an indication of a wine’s age, with older bottles collecting more sediment over the years.
The sediment is known in wine circles as "fine lees." Lees are residual yeast from the wine fermentation process, and red wine in particular produces "gross lees."
Gross lees like yeast and wine skin left over after fermentation are removed from the wine by producers, leaving behind fine lees or sediment that settle as the wine ages.
Red wine isn’t stabilized like white wine is, so these particles build up over time. You can remove using a cheesecloth or fine mesh sieve to filter your wine while you decant it.