No, these aren\u2019t what you might wear for pants, and you will be hard-pressed (pardon the pun) to find them in white (though blue is not unusual).<\/p>\n
The lees (pronounced like the jeans) are the dead yeast cells, grape seeds, pulp, stems, skins, and tartrates that separate from the juice during wine making and aging.<\/p>\n
When there\u2019s \u201cstuff\u201d at the bottom of the bottle, it\u2019s referred to as sediment or dregs; when you\u2019re discussing the technical aspects of the winemaking, it\u2019s called \u201cthe lees\u201d \u2014 as in, \u201cthis wine was left on the lees for two months, blah blah blah\u201d.<\/p>\n
Some wines (usually white) are left in contact with their lees to increase the complexity and enhance the structure of the finished wine. By leaving the juice to remain on top of the lees (and\/or occasional stirring) after fermentation, all the dead yeast and skins, etc., can provide additional flavors, body, and richness. After a predetermined amount of time \u201con the lees\u201d, the juice will then be \u201cracked\u201d \u2014 a.k.a., moved to a new container (barrel, tank, etc.) \u2014 with the lees left behind.<\/p>\n
An example of a wine left on the lees is Muscadet \u201cSur Lie\u201d; many white wines in the higher price ranges are also left on the lees \u2014 it\u2019s a common tactic for ageable whites and Champagnes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
No, these aren\u2019t what you might wear for pants, and you will be hard-pressed (pardon the pun) to find them in white (though blue is not unusual). The lees (pronounced like the jeans) are the dead yeast cells, grape seeds, pulp, stems, skins, and tartrates that separate from the juice during wine making and aging.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[18,9,51,10],"class_list":{"0":"post-2095","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wine-basics","8":"tag-featured","9":"tag-terms","10":"tag-wine-basics","11":"tag-winemaking"},"yoast_head":"\n