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In The Winery
paper towel to maneuver the door handle and then last in the day of the transfers. Clean the hoses,
throwing away the paper towel. This is a microor- pumps and other areas of wine contact between
ganism conscientious individual that understands movements. An example: If 40 barrels need to
the above principal. COVID 19 also has us all more be racked and one barrel may be suspect to have
aware these days to microbes in general. some spoilage, rack the 39 barrels first then rack
the last barrel separate to another tank – do not
Looking at our own cellars, we may find many mix it into the blend. If the wine is to be returned
areas that need work to prevent microbiological to barrel give serious consideration to returning
cross-contamination. This article will explore some the suspect wine to the same barrel from which it
areas that are culprits in the spread of microor- was removed to “contain” the spoilage and create
ganisms. Every winemaker needs to have great a quarantine type situation. Once the movements
hygiene and sanitation in the cellar to have the of any suspect wines have been made, thoroughly
control a winemaker needs to make sound wines. clean the pumps and hoses before resuming to the
After reading this article, the cellar will become a next transfer. Be sure to clean the racking wand or
different place as other sources of contamination any other devices that have had contact with the
become evident to the cellar team. suspect wine. Mark the exterior of these suspect
vessels so others will be aware of the problem and
SAMPLING: Most wineries, with sound wines, cross-contamination will be minimized during sam-
may taste from vessel to vessel while returning pling.
the leftover portion back to the vessel sampled
with no worries. This is one of the major areas TOPPING: Another area of great concern for cross
that may need tightening up if the winery is expe- contamination is topping. Make sure to top wines
riencing problems. Winemakers sample from one with only clean sound wines of the same type or
vessel to another perhaps expressing discontent variety. Often the topping wine of choice may be a
in one form or another. Often the discontent is recently sterile filtered dry wine that the winemak-
directly linked to a spoilage bacteria or yeast that er has prepared for bottling. This wine should have
is growing “unchecked”. The novice winemaker a greatly reduced yeast and bacterial load. Always
may rapidly move through the cellar’s containers use clean wines for topping because the risk of
in hopes of quickly reaching a vessel that has not spreading organisms is great here.
progressed negatively. What some winemakers
don’t catch on to is that they are indeed the cul- BLENDING: If potential spoilage wines have been
prits to the spread of the very element with which caught early, quarantined, and arrested they may
they are not happy. When sampling a container, still be used in a final blend in small quantities. If
look inside the vessel for a potential surface film. the wines have been cared for and kept “in check”
This may indicate a spoilage position for that wine. they may add to the complexity of the wine. This
Know the sulfur dioxide and ph of the wine. When should always be determined by a lab blending
experiencing spoilage yeast or bacteria, be sure trial first. The trick with blending is to wait to the
to sanitize/sterilize the sampling instrument and last possible moment to make the blend to achieve
wine glass between samples. Do not return the protein, color and tartrate stability of the wine
leftover portion to the vessel and be careful to dis- prior to bottling. This should be done in stainless
card the leftover in an area to be cleaned. Do not steel because it is easier to clean and sanitize after
dump it in the drain or on the floor for reasons to removing the wine from the vessel. After blending,
be explained later. (In clean cellars where sound the wine should be filtered as soon as possible to
wines are made it is not usually a problem to sam- eliminate the bacterial load.
ple and pour back wines – only in unsound condi-
tions should one avoid this habit.) HANDS & CLOTHING: As with many processing
and preparation cellars, always wash your hands
TRANSFERS: If working with wines that are known frequently especially after handling wines that are
to have some risk of infection – always move them suspect. Be certain not to wipe your hands on
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