Page 24 - Grapevine SeptOct 2021

In The Winery

“To us, this is the ‘voice’ of the membrane telling bentonite, a settling agent easy to filter through
you how well it is permeating either during filtra- crossflow. He said that when using adjuncts, not to
tion as it rises or during the CIP cycle as it is begin- incapacitate the system by plugging the tube and
ning to lower through the chemical cleaning pro- hollow fibers with a heavy load of particles moving
cess. The goal is to keep the system ready for the too quickly under pressure. This can result in a cost-
next filtration run.” ly error in which membranes need to be replaced.

Other troubleshooting tips include monitoring the Russell has seen an uptick in the use of Della
fouling rate and not running the system too quickly Toffola, a crossflow supported by Aftek. “It allows
in the beginning. The transmembrane rate should for reduction of manpower and the ability to
be kept low for as long as possible to allow the remotely monitor and control the unit,” he said.
membranes to flow and not plug up too fast. Heyes
Filters regularly helps customers develop strategies Choosing a Filtration Method
for using fining agents before initiating the cross- for Your Winery
flow system.
When in the market for a new crossflow system,
Aftek Filtration Options winemakers should work alongside a company
with extensive system experience, service backup
Rochester, New York’s Aftek Filtration Options has and available parts and is responsive to customer
over 35 years of filtration expertise. It offers flota- needs.
tion, pad filtration, cartridge filtration, membrane
and crossflow options for wineries. “Choose a company that not only can provide you
products but can help with the setup and usage,”
Jim Russell, who handles regional sales for Aftek, said Russell of Aftek. “Saving $50 on a membrane
said he has seen many wineries that produce less only to get a shortened life or use five times the
than 25,000 to 40,000 cases using pads during number of cartridges when one might be used all
post-fermentation. He highly recommends using season isn’t a better value. Make sure they under-
membranes for pre-bottling filtration to ensure stand the process and have good service and assis-
sterile filtration into packaging. tance.”

“The membrane is integrity testable and allows Researching filtering techniques helps the wine-
for us to challenge the filter media before and maker know what to expect before they’ve even
after bottling to ensure stable shelf life. Some of made the call to the manufacturer and may make
our customers are shifting to crossflow for wine to the process–both buying the system and filtering
replace pads, and this is a discussion we have for wine–go easier.
sizing and timing to make the best use of capital for
growth and packaging,” Russell said. “The filtration “I have often told prospective Heyes Filters’ clients
products we work with our customers on are min- to do their due diligence and research the different
imizing any oxygen pick-up and degradation of the crossflow technologies that would best suit their
flavor profile while maximizing shelf-life stability. needs, knowing that the systems do not really care
We work with our customers and their processes to what you send them,” Laffey said. “The crossflow
enable good practices, better quality and lowered system will do its best to process the wine being
filtration costs.” filtered through it. Quite often, the expectation of
the winemaker can be challenging to overcome or
Trends in Wine Filtration satisfy depending on their knowledge of the tech-
nology and the ‘prep work’ done on the front end
Concerning industry trends, Laffey said that on any given wine style.”
ceramic and polymeric have been popular in the
crossflow realm. Heyes Filters offers these types,
as well as titanium membranes if they are the best
solutions for the application.

He has also noticed advances in adjuncts, such as

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