Skip to content
Winemaking.net
← All additives

Chitosan

Antimicrobial and reduction treatmentVegan: check source

An antimicrobial fining that targets Brettanomyces and clears haze.

Typical dose

Fungal chitosan around 0.1 to 0.5 g/L; follow the product sheet.

When to add it

On a finished wine, to lower a spoilage population or polish clarity.

Legal limit

No specific limit that this reference states. Additions are still governed by the treating-materials rules where you make wine, so check them.

Vegan

Depends on the source. One form is animal-derived and an allergen, another is not, so the product, not the name, decides.

In practice

Reduces Brettanomyces and other spoilage organisms while also clarifying. The fungal form, from Aspergillus, is acceptable to vegans; the shellfish-derived form is an allergen, so the source matters. It will not undo aromas Brett has already made; it lowers the population that would make more.

Linked faults are the ones this addition either treats or, used wrongly, causes. The fault page says which, and whether it can be undone.