CREAM OF TARTAR
A natural component of grape juice and wine. The chemical name is potassium bi-tartrate. Removed from wine as a by-product, cream of tartar is used in cooking and as a component of baking powder.
CREAM OF TARTAR: (See Argols) Have you ever noticed a white crystalline deposit at the bottom of a bottle of wine?
Seeding with cream of tartar crystals and chilling hastens the process. If the pH is too low, calcium carbonate will not work for the same reason that cold stabilization will not work.
This comes from the harmless crystals of potassium bitartrate (cream of tartar in the spice section of the grocery store) which precipitate out of the wine when the temperature is dropped.
Although these tartrates dissolve easily and are edible (cream of tartar, commonly used in cooking) and harmless, they can alarm the uninformed consumer who thinks there is "broken glass" in his wine.
Potassium bitartrate is a byproduct of winemaking. It is also known as "cream of tartar". It is a potassium acid salt of tartaric acid.
A major cause of cloudiness is the slow precipitation of potassium acid tartrate (cream of tartar) as the wine ages. Rapid precipitation is induced by lowering the temperature to -7 to -5 C (19 to 23 F) for one or two weeks.
They are a natural product of the wine, and form when the wine gets too cold. It is in essence cream of tartar, forming because of the temperature change. Think of sugar turning into rock candy and you'll have a good mental image.
Authentic port is from the Douro River Valley of Portugal.
Potassium bitartrate
The crystals that sometimes precipitate in bottled wine, but which are normally removed by cold-stabilization. Made of the same compounds as Cream of Tartar.
 See also: Tartar, Acid, Fermentation, Grape, White
  
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