Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/840286
WINERY & VINEYARD EQUIPMENT 48 WINES&VINES July 2017 C larification of wine has undergone a revolution during the past couple of decades, and membrane technol- ogy has led that revolution. The technology of the systems and membranes have significantly improved due to the specific- ity of what and how grape components are removed from the liquid delivered to the win- ery. For some wineries, it starts with the juice, but more often it starts with the wine. There is no one system that provides all types of membrane separation. The following list includes suppliers with widely varying system designs and operating parameters. This information should provide readers with a quick overview of wine industry membrane suppliers. Every winery can make better wine if they have access to membrane technology. If you don't have the budget to buy one, you can hire a service; some services will ask that you take your wine to them, but most will come to your winery. Richard Carey, Ph.D., is a wine consultant in Lancaster, Pa., and owner of Tamanend Wine Inc. He wrote a software program to help small wineries keep track of their wine production records and results of laboratory analyses. VA FILTRATION USA VA Filtration has a wide range of different types of crossflow filters that have mem- branes from microfiltration to nanofiltra- tion. They offer a wide range of services for wine processing. Many pieces of equipment are available for rent, so wineries can see if the equipment meets their needs for pro- cessing and quality considerations. vafiltration.com TAMANEND WINE INC. Tamanend Wine Services provides onsite ser- vices on the East Coast for crossflow filtra- tion, reverse osmosis and Velcorin treatment. tamanend.com PRODUCT FOCUS Membrane Filtration Choosing a supplier that fits your needs By Richard Carey OENODIA NORTH AMERICA Oenodia is the only company that offers tar- trate stabilization through membrane pro- cessing using a system known as electrodialysis. Instead of high-pressure membrane systems providing force to drive molecules through a semi-permeable mem- brane, this system uses direct current as an attractive force. Thus, potassium is attracted to the anode cell through the membrane and tartrates to the cathode cell through a mem- brane, reducing tartrate concentration in the wine. This is more cost effective than glycol cooling. The equipment is expensive to pur- chase. Smaller wineries prefer the service. Another important service is wine pH adjust- ment. Using a bipolar ion selective mem- brane creates an anode/cathode sandwich. A three-compartment system is created where direct current splits water into H + and OH - to carry the current across the stack from anode/membrane/wine/membrane/cathode. In the process, potassium passes from the wine into one compartment stream and is removed from the wine. The potassium is GUSMER ENTERPRISES Gusmer Enterprises is the North American distributor of Bucher Vaslin Crossflow filters. (See the Bucher Vaslin entry on page 52.) gusmerwine.com WINETECH replaced with a H + , reducing the pH of the wine gently and naturally. oenodia.us