Page 9 - Grapevine JanFeb 2021_REV

In The Winery

drain off before wine reaches its destination. • Contact your final filter supplier to make sure
the procedures about to be incorporated are
22. Once the wine is completely through the sys- in line with their recommendations and to see
tem – complete the cycle by running several if they recommend other helpful advice about
sets of bottles through the filler and returning their product and the specifications of their
that wine to the wine tank being bottled. This product.
will insure the first bottle of wine off the line
will be exactly the same composition, as practi- • Contact your equipment dealer to make sure
cally possible, as the last bottle of wine. the equipment will hold up to the procedure
and to hear potential areas of concerns. They
23. Resume the normal bottling operation. may be familiar with other wineries that have
done these procedures so they may be able to
24. After bottling rinse the final filter with water give helpful tips and suggestions.
and perform another integrity check to confirm
the filter held all day. If looking to sterile bottle your wines for the first
time - take the above steps and recommendations
25. Once bottling is complete, make sure to rinse and implement them to cater to your specific bot-
all the areas of the transfer lines, final filter tling line setup. Every line is different with a new
housings and filler bowl / spouts to remove set of places on which to focus or of which to be
any residue of wine. Some winemakers (like aware. Open the lines of communication with your
me) will actually rinse and then resteam the suppliers, winemaker and bottling crew to make
line without the final filter while cleaning up at sure the above can be implemented successfully.
the end of the day. This is a great idea espe-
cially after running a cuvee for sparkling wine
on your “everyday” bottling line. Remember
one will still want to steam prior to the next Winemaking Consultant
bottling - too!
Thomas J. Payette
26. Send a bottle off to a certified lab or test in “Winemaker of the Year”
house under a microscope to make sure the
wine is indeed clean and refermentation or a Over 25 Years Experience
malo-lactic is not a concern. Taking samples at
different times of the days bottling run can be Tom Payette, a premier
a great idea to help identify any problem areas hands on and analytical
if they should occur later during the bottling winemaking consultant,
day. serves clients throughout
the United States.
Some Other Helpful Hints: From the construction
of your business to the
• Use water that is clean and free of minerals cork in your bottle to
your consumers.
to extend the life of the steamer. Also, some
water issues may clog the filters prematurely Call Thomas or check
or during the steaming cycle. his website for more
information...
• If the bottling line has ball valves on the filler
or other areas - make sure these are physically Phone: 540-672-0387
clean and sterilized properly with steam. This
is an area that can create cross-contamination www.winemakingconsultant.com
issues with bottling.

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