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WINEMAKING weeks. The result: no significant differ- ences here, either. Over time, changes certainly were de- tected in the wines—but the same chang- es occurred regardless of treatment. As a bonus from this study, the Block lab may have been the first to scientifically docu- ment the phenomenon of bottle shock. Block says that this study is much more comprehensive and detailed than anything in the existing literature. But one study is one study, and that's not the way science works. It is, however, a heck of a start. Now what? Wine filtration methods analyzed in the UC Davis study include pad filters (seen above at Rivino Winery), micron filtration and sterile filtration using various membranes. they are, and cut to the take-home: No significant differences were found on any measure, chemical or sensory, that were re- lated to the filtration method or lack of it. For the Merlot and the white blend, the filtration options were increased: In addition to the control, there were rep- licates using a pad filter, using a pad and then a 1 micron depth filtration, and then pad/depth followed by sterile PVDF and PES membrane filtration. And this time, the evaluations went out to 16 2 BARREL STEAMING MACHINE AUTOMATED STEAMING! The Block lab has a few more things in the research pipeline. First up is to redo the experiments, this time using pumps in- stead of gas pressure, to see what pumps might have to do with anything and to replicate the tests with crossflow filtra- tion. Bohanan, who is now trying to write up everything and no longer doing the work, speculates that the different physi- cal mechanism that cross flow employs to remove unwanted stuff might have some kind of shear effect—or perhaps change the wine because of the much longer dis- tance it travels in multiple passes through the filter. Or, maybe not. 2 & 4 Barrel Washing • 2 & 4 Barrel Steaming Barrel Processing Lines • 1/2 Ton Bin Washing Systems 35 lb. Picking Lug Washers • Custom Cellar Equipment 444 Laguna Vista Road Santa Rosa, CA 95401 e-mail: vickitec@aol.com www.transitionequipment.com 1650 Almar Parkway, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 P. 707-573-3150 F. 707-573-3140 www.tombeard.com E. jmendoza@tombeard.com Tel: (707) 537-7787 Fax: (707) 537-7174 Cell: (707) 484-8776 WINES & VINES NOVEMBER 2012 93 NEW!