Page 28 - Grapevine SeptOct 2021

In The Winery

ing their cased wine warehouse. According to “It can be anything that causes a need for cold
Warnebold, glycol chillers are much more cost-ef- storage that some smaller craft wineries just
fective than other types of systems on the market. don’t have,” said Graves. “It might be a weather
event that causes a mass fruit pick from the vines,
Cold Storage Essential to the something unplanned that changes a vineyard’s
Flow of Quality Winemaking scheduled harvest plans or even complications
with vineyard equipment that causes harvest issues
Chris Graves is the winemaker at Naumes and throws off schedules and deadlines. Wineries
Family Vineyards, operating Naumes Crush and can buy time if they need to pick grapes but aren’t
Fermentation LLC as an outsourcing option for win- ready to process just yet. Plus, with the time to
eries. He told The Grapevine Magazine that cold plan the process, information flows better, mak-
storage capability is an essential tool for the wine- ing the process more accurate and consistent with
maker, not only for proper fermentation but also higher quality and better results. It’s just easier to
for allowing a winemaker to buy time and provide have and stay on schedule. Utilizing offsite cold
improved processing and cold soaks. storage like ours assures a winemaker that their
product is held and processed correctly, if needed,
Additionally, if a winery uses large tanks, chillers by knowledgeable and experienced staff and wine-
are essential in controlling overheating and any makers. It ultimately results in higher quality wines
corresponding sticking issues in the tank. When fer- and better, more efficient logistical flow.”
menting rosés or lighter wines, longer fermentation
times are needed to develop the aromatics, so tem-
perature control is even more critical.

“While grapes are still on the vine, they are nat-
urally protected from microbes like bacteria and
yeast,” said Graves. “But once harvested, that
natural protection is compromised, and exposure
begins.

When the vineyard is at its busiest time of year,
meaning harvest, getting those freshly picked
grapes delivered to the winery for processing and
into the fermentation vessel within an acceptable
temperature range can be tricky. Additionally,
grape varieties’ sugar levels and freezing points
differ after harvest, so it’s important to control
and maintain proper temperatures as conditions
change. If that’s not possible, then offsite cold stor-
age options become a winemaker’s best friend.

Grapes handle the sorting and destemming pro-
cess better when cold and dense, especially in qual-
ity reds that demand more fruitiness and less tan-
nin extraction. Most often in red winemaking, the
winemaker will want to keep the must in fermenta-
tion vat cold for a cold soak before fermentation.”

That’s where facilities like Naumes Crush and Most wineries use standard glycol chillers (shown
Fermentation can help the vineyards produce quali- above) because of the benefits that come with
ty wine, offering cold storage options and space for them. First, they put less stress on pumping equip-
wineries to store their grapes at the preferred 33 F ment because the glycol mixture has built-in lubri-
directly after harvest. cating properties.

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