Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12G—WINE; PREPARATION THEREOF; ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES; PREPARATION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES NOT PROVIDED FOR IN SUBCLASSES C12C OR C12H
  • C12G1/00—Preparation of wine or sparkling wine
  • C12G1/06—Preparation of sparkling wine; Impregnation of wine with carbon dioxide
  • C12G1/062—Agitation, centrifugation, or vibration of bottles
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12G—WINE; PREPARATION THEREOF; ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES; PREPARATION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES NOT PROVIDED FOR IN SUBCLASSES C12C OR C12H
  • C12G1/00—Preparation of wine or sparkling wine
  • C12G1/08—Removal of yeast ["degorgeage"]

Definitions

• the present invention generally relates to the field of the production of sparkling wines and more specifically refers to a method for the production of sparkling wine and to equipment necessary to carry it out.
• the characteristic effervescence of sparkling wines is obtained by causing carbon dioxide to develop, after vinification, through a secondary alcoholic fermentation, known as champagnization and herebelow called fizzing, in a controlled environment and with the addition of sugars.
• the Classic or Traditional Method is based on a very slow secondary fermentation in low capacity vessels, such as bottles, followed by prolonged ageing of the product in contact with the yeasts.
• the starting product is a fermented wine having certain characteristics, in order to be able to manage the subsequent treatments.
• a fermentation syrup known as liqueur de tirage, to the initial wine, said syrup containing wine, refined sugar, selected yeasts and substances used to subsequently remove production lees.
• the Charmat Method is characterised by the speed of the production process, due to the fact that the fizzing takes place in a single high-capacity autoclave (from 10 to 1000 hectolitres and more) and that all of the other steps of the treatment up to bottling take place in isobaric conditions. Indeed, it starts out with the preparation of the base wine, followed by refrigeration and by filtration. Then the yeasts are added in an autoclave. Still in the autoclave, with centrifuging/filtration, the lees are removed; the liquid is then decanted into a second autoclave and from this step, after the wine filtration and clarification steps, bottling is then carried out.
• the sparkling wines thus obtained are generally fresh, but not very complex due to the fact that it is impossible to carry out long periods of refinement due to the expensive nature of technological structures linked to the method and thus to the fact that it is impossible to carry out parallel treatments again due to the difficulty of using the same structures.
• the advantages of the method concern the speed of the production cycle with the consequent possibility of using the technological structure up to four times in one year with a substantial reduction in production costs, substantial operational flexibility that allows intervention on the product at any moment of the treatment and substantial homogeneity of the result.
• the main drawbacks are connected to the high technological investment required, the logistic requirements for the system that also cannot be transported while in use, the need to condition the vessels, the need to exploit the production potential of the system to the greatest possible extent in order to offset its costs, and therefore with low flexibility of choice in terms of the period of refinement of the product, the need to also have the bottling equipment for the product on site and the fact that it is not possible to clarify the product with methods that do not alter its quality since filtration or centrifuging systems suitable for the purpose have to be used.
• the method according to the invention has the purpose of combining the possible optimisations of every single critical point detected in known methods in a single process.
• Another object of the present invention is to provide equipment that allows the fizzing method according to the invention to be put into practice.
• the fizzing still takes place through secondary fermentation of the wine by yeasts that metabolise the added sugars in a contained environment holding in the carbon dioxide produced by their metabolism.
• such vessels are stored laid flat submitted to a periodic axial rotation to improve the homogeneity of the fermentation and, once it has been completed, they are arranged in vertical position for lees removal and final corking.
• each fermentation vessel comprises a lees removal device comprising a lees collecting pot and first and second liquid blocking means arranged upstream and downstream, respectively, of the pot and able to be actuated in succession so that when the first ones are closed the second ones are open and vice-versa.
• figure 1 is a plan view of an equipment for the production of sparkling wine according to the method of the invention
• figure 2 is a side view of the equipment of figure 1
• figure 3 is another side view of the equipment of figure 1 in a first operative position
• figure 4 is another side view of the equipment of figure 1 in a second operative position
• figure 5 is an elevational side view of a fermentation barrel
• figure 6 is an elevational side view of a lees removal device
• figure 7a, b is a schematic sectional view of the way to open and close the lees removal device
• figure 8 is an elevational side view of a fermentation barrel with a different lees removal device.
• the method according to the present invention foresees that the wine fizzing, i.e. the secondary alcoholic fermentation, takes place in relatively small vessels made from pressure-tested stainless steel, or other equivalent material, with a medium size capacity of about 35 litres with an overall weight when full equal to at least about 50 Kg.
• the preselected wine is poured into these vessels or barrels for transformation into sparkling wine, and then the fermentation syrup containing the yeasts is added, after which the barrel is hermetically closed.
• the method also foresees for the fermentation to be carried out while the barrels are arranged in a laid down position on platforms with motorised rollers that are periodically rotated in one direction or the other to promote homogeneous fermentation.
• the equipment for carrying out the method for the production of sparkling wine comprises a roller platform generically indicated with 1 and shown in figures 1 to 4.
• the platform 1 comprises an array of cylindrical rollers 2, parallel to one another and equally spaced, pivotally supported by a frame generally indicated at 3 in the figures.
• the rollers 2 are connected to a motor 4 through conventional transmission means, for example a transmission belt 5 and relative pulleys 6, or else a chain and respective pinions, fixedly connected to the rollers 2.
• the equipment also comprises vessels, or barrels, 7 suitable for containing the wine under fermentation, which in the operative step of the method according to the invention, are orderly laid down on the platform 1.
• each cylindrical barrel 7 is sized so as to rest on two adjacent rollers: for this purpose its diameter is substantially equal to the distance between the axes of two adjacent rollers.
• the overall length of each barrel is such that the platform 1 can support two aligned barrels for each pair of rollers, or rather the platform can support two rows of barrels 7.
• the platform 1 is equipped with an actuator 28 that allows it to be lifted, in particular allowing it to be taken from the horizontal position, shown in figures 1 , 2 and 3, to an inclined position.
• the barrels are rotated for a variable period of 10 - 15 days with movements of a quarter turn each day to encourage the deposits to fall into the removal body under the valve, similarly to what happens in remuage for the traditional fizzing method.
• the platform that can be lifted up to a substantially vertical position makes it easier to pick up the barrels and move them by the operators at the end of the treatment cycle.
• each barrel 7 comprises a cylindrical body 7a with a dome 7b and a conical bottom 7c enclosed in a skirt 8 on which an opening 8a is formed.
• a tubular jacket 11 extends from the dome 7b and the attachment 9 and the valve 10 are arranged therein.
• the jacket 11 is provided with handles 12 for gripping and manipulating the barrel.
• a lees removal device extends from the conical bottom 7c.
• the lees removal device comprises a cylindrical vessel 14 closed at the ends and partially extending in the conical bottom 7c of the barrel 7.
• a pair of tubular members 15 and 16, called upper and lower tubular member, are housed in the vessel 14 coaxially one over the other.
• the tubular members 15 and 16 are coaxial to the vessel 14 and are independently rotatable relative thereto around the common axis.
• two diametrically opposed openings 17 are formed, only one of which can be seen in the figures.
• the two pairs of openings 17 and 18, just like the two openings 19 and 20 are arranged at 90° to one another, whereby any communication between the bottom of the barrel 7 and the chamber defined by the vessel 14, on one side, and the same chamber and the outside, on the other, is prevented.
• the angular width of slots 21 and 22 is equal to 90°, whereby moving the two levers 23 and 24 in succession from one end to the other of the slots 21 and 22 causes the two pairs of openings 17 and 18 and, respectively, the openings 19 and 20 to come into alignment.
• the lees removal device operates in the following way. First the lever 23 is moved from one end of the groove 21 to the other, thus aligning the openings 17 of the vessel 14 to the openings 18 of the upper tubular member 15, thus placing the bottom of the barrel 7 in communication with the inner chamber of the vessel 14. Once the vessel 14 has been filled up to a predetermined volume, the lever 23 is brought back into its initial position. In this way the communication between the bottom of the barrel 7 and the chamber of the vessel 14 is closed. Then the lever 24 is moved from one end of the slot 22 to the other to align the opening 19 of the vessel 14 and the opening 20 of the lower tubular member 16 to each other and bring the chamber inside the vessel 14 in communication with the outside so that it can be emptied. By operating in this way lees removal occurs without creating turbulence in the barrel and hence without loss of sparkling wine. Otherwise, since the vessel is under pressure at the time of the lees discharge, turbulence would be created in the barrel.
• the lees removal device In a different embodiment of the lees removal device, still totally equivalent to that described above from the functional point of view, it is foreseen to use two ball valves 25 and 26 arranged upstream and downstream of a collecting pot 27, as shown in figure 8. Also in this case the two valves 25 and 26 are actuated one after the other, first to fill the pot 27 with the lees and then to empty it after having closed the ball valve 25 that places the bottom of the barrel 7 in communication with the pot 27.
• the method according to the invention has the following advantages: • Use of relatively simple and low-cost technology (with the Charmat method initial investments equal to about 1500 Euros per hectolitre are necessary, whereas with the method according to the invention it is foreseen that there will be a reduction of about 40% on this figure).
• the method of the invention is featured by an high operative flexibility.
• a particularly important feature is the possibility to obtain high quality products by submitting the wine to a prolonged refinement time at competitive costs with respect to both known methods.
• the possibility of transporting the barrels makes it easier for companies to choose to fizz their product even if they are not equipped with specific structures like those necessary to carry out the Charmat method and even like the minimal ones that are still necessary for the Classic method, like the stands for the "mise sur pointes" of the bottles, which is an operation that, in any case, must be carried out by particularly trained workers.
• the product ready for bottling can easily be transported to the premises of a bottler equipped with the suitable equipment.
• This method therefore offers an incentive to produce sparkling wines in areas where there is no tradition to do so, but where there is a need to give the market the result of a more easily reached production address especially with regard to white wines.

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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• Bioinformatics & Cheminformatics (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Genetics & Genomics (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Zoology (AREA)
• Mycology (AREA)
• Distillation Of Fermentation Liquor, Processing Of Alcohols, Vinegar And Beer (AREA)
• Adornments (AREA)
• Alcoholic Beverages (AREA)

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• 2009
  • 2009-03-05 IT ITFI2009A000041A patent/IT1393042B1/it active
• 2010
  • 2010-03-04 WO PCT/IB2010/050934 patent/WO2010100620A2/en active Application Filing

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