Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/74666
WINEMAKING the basket. After the computer-controlled press cycle is completed, the press cage can be removed and the cake lifted out with a forklift and dumped with a side dumper. After all pressing is done for the day, Volk said the stainless steel components can be cleaned off with a pressure washer. "We can do a very good job with this. It's frank- ly faster; you can clean this pretty easy." He said he's also found that the press cycle causes little shearing and results in a low level of solids in the pressed wine that often can rival the free run. "And even the hard-pressed wine is pretty darn good." OxO racks are used to stir the lees during barrel fermentation. to control which attributes that yeast contribute to the finished wine. The winery has tanks that range in capacity from 350 to 16,000 gallons. Volk said his preferred tanks for red fermenta- tion are Polarclad insulated open-tops in the range of 900 to 1,400 gallons for Pinot Noir, Syrah and some Zinfandel lots. Cab- ernet and Merlot are fermented in larger, closed-top 1,800- to 3,000-gallon tanks. Cellar staffers use hand-held punch down tools by Stainless Steve. For pump overs near the start of primary fermentation, Volk said he likes to get a lot of air into the juice by splashing through a 275-gal- lon sump cart. He said the carts are great during rack and returns for removing seeds if he wants to put anything through extended maceration. Volk said he'll also use a Mazzei 2-inch air intakes to add to the Toads or sprinkler devices he uses for wetting the caps during pump overs. Fermentation temperatures are man- aged with an Apco glycol unit with two 15-horsepower compressors supplying multiple glycol pumps. The winery also has a 10-ton mobile glycol unit with a stainless steel heat exchanger that can be linked to the main system and assist with cold stabil- ity. Tank temperatures are maintained with Ranco and TankNet controllers. Hypac press for reds A key piece of equipment at Kenneth Volk Vineyards is the Hypac red press. Volk said he can fit about 5 tons of drained must into the press. All the press components are stainless steel, making for easy sanitation and clean up. He noted that he can also dump smaller, open-top fermentation tanks directly into the press basket or shovel pomace into bins and dump those into Tel 1-781-933-3570 Fax 1-781-932-9428 sales@vacuumbarrier.com www.vacuumbarrier.com Liquid Nitrogen Handling Specialists Since 1958 WINES & VINES AUGUST 2012 45 After pressing, Volk said he lets the wine settle for a few days before inoculating with malolactic bacteria and then transfer- ring to barrels. A relic of the old winery, Volk said, is "some really ferocious ML bugs" and Volk prefers to use his own bac- teria strain. He added that it's also quite the challenge to prevent anything from going through the secondary fermentation. Some of Volk's Chardonnay is fermented in oak barrels, and he uses French-made OxO racks to spin the barrels. He said he's found that barrel racks are an excellent way to keep lees in suspension, adding that LIQUID NITROGEN DOSING Keep dissolved oxygen levels to a minimum – prefill inerting or headspace conditioning. Extreme precision Industries highest discrete dosing speeds Smartsync Technology Real-Time Graphical User Interface Speed and Dose Compensation NITRODOSE® through Vacuum Barrier and their select group of worldwide distributors G2 the next generation NITRODOSE® systems are sold only