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In The Winery
cipal is one must have physical cleanliness before WINE
quality, aromas and flavor(s) of your wine.
The first principal to understand is that water is
the major cleaning agent one has. The second prin-
attempting to sanitize or sterilize. Tank, Door & Other Gaskets
This article will go into detail about how water
works, the ways to have physical cleanliness, and
how to understand sanitation versus sterilization.
Water (non-chlorinated) G-M-I, Inc.
Variable Capacity
Water (non-chlorinated) can be used to physically Tank Inflatable Seals
clean an area. This can be done by using high-pres-
sure water to remove deposits from the surfaces
to be cleaned. The other property of water is
that it dilutes and dissolves particles. Water has a
low surface tension that makes it physically wrap
around particles and carry those particles away
from the surface to be cleaned. Water is also used For more information contact...
to form steam to sterilize surfaces. As one can
conclude – water is a major component and essen- G-M-I, Inc.
tial for proper microbe management! Willoughby, Ohio 44094-4634 USA
Website: www.gmigaskets.com
The water quality must be proper. If the water Email: gmiinc@msn.com
contains many minerals or it has properties that do Phone: 440-953-8811 • Fax: 440-953-9631
not allow the job to be done correctly – it may not
work well and may even damage some of the win-
ery equipment. We often add things to water to Glass Apparatus for the Wine Laboratory
help it work better. Acclaimed by enologists across the continent!
One example of this is soda ash. Adding soda ash The RD80 Volatile Acid Still, which
(sodium carbonate) will raise the pH of the water now is the Wine Industry standard, is
an improvement on the Cash Still for
and further lower the surface tension of the water determination of volatile acids in wine.
helping it to perform its cleaning function. Always It features an aspirator pump to remove
remember that when using a high ph cleanser with the spent sample, which speeds testing,
water to follow that action with a low pH rinse saves water, avoids repair bills and pre-
water. A common winery low pH solution for this vents cross contamination of samples.
application is a citric acid and water solution. The R&D SO2 Apparatus uses the
Aeration Oxidation Method to maxi-
Equipment such as steamers may be damaged by mize testing accuracy. It was specifi-
cally designed for this mandated test
high mineral loads in the water. As the steamer in consultation with enologists.
does the job of creating steam it will boil off pure Flexible spherical joints and inter-
water leaving behind the minerals. Over time and changeable flasks facilitate simple
extended use, these minerals begin to build up operation and minimize breakage.
causing the steamer to become inefficient. We manufacture a full line of wine laboratory
equipment, and also provide Glassware Design
Engineering, Custom Fabrication & Repair Services.
It is for this reason the author recommends the CONTACT US FOR OUR CATALOG
use of distilled water in winery steaming units to
eliminate mineral buildup. It is a small cost when Research & Development Glass Products & Equipment, Inc.
one calculates that it takes about 3 gallons of dis- “Suppliers of Lab Glassware to the Wine Industry since 1967”
1808 Harmon Street • Berkley, CA 94703
tilled water, or less, to properly steam two 20-inch Phone: 510-547-6464 • Fax: 510-547-3620
cartridge filter and a 12 spout filler. At $0.85 per Email: RD1967@aol.com • Website: http://go.to/RandD
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