I read about hot stabilization in Lum Eisenman's The Home Winemaker's Manual, found under "Resources" on the FVW Home Page. But I remembered it wrong. Mr. Eisenman refers to hot stabilization as fining with bentonite to prevent protein hazes which can form when wine is exposed in hot temperatures, such as during shipping. Here's a couple ofexcerpts below.
Winemakers call protein haze "hot instability" because warm storage conditions trigger the phenomena. A graphic demonstration of hot instability can be easily produced by leaving a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc in a car trunk on a hot summer day.
Hot Stabilization
Commercial wine is shipped long distances in warm weather, and under these conditions, protein instability causes hazes to form in white or blush wine. Protein hazes are very unsightly, and the wine industry considers excess protein removal an indispensable treatment for all white and blush wines.
Excess protein is not difficult to remove from most wines, but sometimes Sauvignon Blanc wines can be difficult to stabilize completely without damaging aromas and flavors. The standard treatment for all new white and blush wines is to fine with bentonite.
Combined Hot & Cold Stabilization
All white and blush wines require both hot and cold stabilization treatments, and some winemakers combine both stabilization procedures into a single operation to reduce handling. First, the wine is fined with bentonite, and then the wine is immediately chilled to about 27 degrees. The wine is held at the cold temperature for a week or so while the tartrate precipitates. When the excess tartrate is gone, the cold wine is racked or filtered off the bentonite and tartrate lees.