Wine Fault
Cloudiness
Sensory
Cloudiness is a visual fault where wine lacks brilliance and appears hazy or turbid due to suspended particles — proteins, microbes, yeast, or colloids. Some natural wines embrace haze intentionally; in commercial still wine it signals instability.
Also known as: Hazy wine, Turbidity, Visual haze
Typical severity: Low
Cause
Suspended particulates including proteins, yeast cells, bacteria, or colloidal material not removed before bottling.
How it occurs
Skipping fining and filtration, bottling with active lees, microbial growth, or protein instability leaves particles visible in glass. Haze may worsen with temperature swings.
Prevention
Appropriate fining, filtration, microbial control, and stability testing before release depending on intended style.
Descriptors created
Descriptors reduced
Commonly confused with
- Protein Haze Wine Fault
- Refermentation Wine Fault
- Unfiltered Bottling Winemaking Technique
Common wine styles
Common grape varieties
Common regions
Related winemaking techniques
Serving implications
Beginner explanation
Hazy wine is not always faulty — some pét-nat and natural wines are meant to be cloudy. Context and intent matter.
FAQ
- Is cloudy wine safe?
- Usually yes if from lees or protein — but microbial haze from spoilage organisms indicates a faulty, unstable wine.
- Will decanting clear haze?
- Decanting may remove heavy sediment but not fine colloidal haze — only fining or filtration address that in production.
Related ontology entities
- Grenache Wine Style
- Prosecco Wine Style
- Chenin Blanc Wine Style
- Beaujolais Wine Region
- Loire Valley Wine Region
- Veneto Wine Region
- Flat Descriptor
- Pinot Noir Grape Variety
- Chardonnay Grape Variety
- Unfiltered Bottling Winemaking Technique
- Fining Winemaking Technique
- Filtration Winemaking Technique
- Protein Haze Wine Fault
- Refermentation Wine Fault
- Chilled Serving
- Extended Decant Serving