What are fining agents and what are they used for?

Many people ask why the back of some wine bottles will mention ‘contains trace elements of egg, fish or milk products’ these are know as fining agents and trace elements of them will be found in bottled wine.

The family of fining agents includes clay- bentonite, egg white, fish- isinglass, gelatine, carbon- charcoal and milk there are a few others, but these are the most well-known.

They are used by winemakers to remove unwanted elements from a wine prior to bottling they bind any solids that have occurred naturally during the fermentation and ageing process, these solids may make the wine look hazy or affect its aroma, its colour or cause bitterness.

Fining agents do not alter the flavour of a wine they are used to improve stability and clarity and the ratio of wine to powdered agent leaves a very small traceable amount.

If a wine states it is vegan friendly the winemaker has used a clay, vegetable or carbon based fining agent rather than the animal based powders.

Not all winemakers use fining agents some prefer not to this is a decision for the winemaking team, therefore you will not always see this mentioned. New Zealand and Australia wine labelling laws require fining agents that may be an allergenic substance to be declared on wine labels.