Let's start from the beginning, what is and how is Arabic gum produced? Arabic gum is the dried gummy exudate produced spontaneously, or obtained by tapping the trunk of Senegalese Acacia, commonly known as Acacia verek (Leguminosae family).  How does this relate to winemaking? The genus Acacia includes more than 900 species, however, from an oenological point of view, two species are the ones to consider, namely Acacia seyal, whose gum is commonly known as Talha, and Acacia senegal (otherwise known as verek), whose gum is called Hashab. These two species are typically produced in Sub-Saharan Africa (Senegal and Chad)  So, different origin means also different effects? They have many differences; starting from the behavior of Arabic gum solutions to polarized light - in fact, Acacia senegal is levorotatory, while Acacia seyal is dextrorotatory - to the way the exudate dries. And the differences only increase when applied to winemaking. Historically, levorotatory gums obta