Why is Clarifying Wine Important?
Wine is a complex product constantly evolving from the moment the fermentation is complete right up to the time the cork is pulled. This complexity enables winemakers to deliver the individual appeal of each wine, however, this evolution can also lead to the formation of sediments and hazes that are not desirable in the finished product.
Winemakers use wine stabilization and wine clarifier techniques to improve the visual appearance and shelf stability of their wines.
The most common forms of wine sediment and haze formation:
- Post fermentation – composed mainly of dead yeast cells (lees), bacteria grape skins, grape seeds and tartrate crystals.
- During ageing – proteins, tannins and polysaccharides combine in various ways depending on the nature of the wine, leading to amorphous hazes and/or deposits.
- At low temperature – the Bitartrate instability at low temperatures can lead to significant deposits of tartrate crystals which are harmless but can have an appearance similar to glass in white wines.
Our Wine Stabilization & Clarification Systems Improve Quality and Reduce Costs
Winemakers have several filtration methods available when clarifying wine, each has its own pros and cons which are further explained below.
Flat Sheet Filtration
Sheet filters have been used for wine clarification for over 130 years and continue to be used in smaller wineries throughout the world. For smaller wineries that need the flexibility to produce a variety of small batches, sheet filtration in plate and frame format can demonstrate advantages from both an economic and operational standpoint.
Lenticular Filtration
Lenticular modules, a modern adaptation of sheet filters assembled in an enclosed housing, avoid drip losses and provide additional flexibility, hygiene and ease of use.
Diatomaceous Earth (DE) Filtration
Diatomaceous Earth (DE) filtration, also known as Kieselguhr filtration, was once the most common method for wine clarification on the larger scale. More recently DE has commonly been replaced by crossflow filtration equipment in all of the world’s winemaking regions.
Crossflow Filtration
Crossflow membrane systems enable cost savings by reducing wine loss, consumables and labor typically associated with filter aid based technologies. Furthermore, with a DE - free process and no solid waste for landfill, both environmental and operator safety are improved.
Centrifugation
Wine clarification using centrifugation is typically used at the larger wineries and is generally followed by a crossflow filtration system in order to achieve the clarity needed prior to bottling.
Settling By Gravity
Settling by gravity combined with the addition of fining agents may also used but requires a significant amount of time that many modern wineries do not consider to be efficient
Evaluating Wine Clarification Methods
| Crossflow | Flat Sheets | Lenticular Modules | Diatomaceous Earth (DE) Filtration | Disk Stack Centrifuge | Settling by Gravity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAPEX | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| OPEX | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Hygiene | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Footprint | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Filtrate Clarity | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Product Losses | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Changeover/Set-up Time | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | NA |
| Oxygen Pickup | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 1 = low/good 5 = high/poor | ||||||
Explore our Wine Stabilization solutions
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