Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/724494
1 4 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | S e p t - O c t 2 016 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m 707-765-6666 • www.scottlab.com A simple solution to inoculate your barrels Selected Wine Bacteria in Tablet Form Tested and approved for its efficiency, Malotabs™ is available for white and red wines and complements fresh and fruit driven wines with balanced mouthfeel. + 1 tablet 1 barrel Easy to add for complete dispersion of bacteria throughout the barrel finally made its way to the United States in 2009. Today, there are two types available, Flash Détente, manufac- tured by Pera (France) and BTC (BioThermo Cooler), manufactured by Della Toffola (Italy). There are other methods for removing smoke taint, including hand harvesting to reduce the amount of leaves, washing before crushing, reverse osmosis (nanofiltration), adding yeasts and nutrients that work to remove unwanted flavors, or even treating the tainted juice with different types of oak. It seems a combination of at least a couple of these efforts would be the ideal method to ensure maximum taint removal. So how does flash technology work to help with all this? It starts with tomatoes. OK, not really. But the idea did originate from the tomato industry, and manufactur- ers have refined the process for the grape industry. Flash removes all sorts of unwanted elements (mold, odors and herbaceous traits, to name a few). Pyrazines in par- ticular have the vegetal aroma. The juice is also steril- ized, eliminating any botrytis, laccase, Brettanomyces or undesirable native yeasts that might come in from the vineyard. "The technology is about extracting the best quali- ties as quickly and stably as possible while removing the least desirable ones," says Rudy Zuidema, owner of Flash Wine Technologies, who is also a consulting wine- maker based in Napa. His Della Toffola system is located at Kunde Estate Winery in Sonoma Valley, yet his flash technology clients stretch from Mendocino County on down to the Central Valley. In a nutshell, Zuidema explains that the grapes are heated to 195 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, just under the boiling point, for only 90 seconds, then rapidly cooled by steam extraction under vacuum pressure. First, the juice goes through the heat exchanger, then the skins are included in small doses (and removed quickly), about one gallon of skins per 10 gallons of juice at a time. The result is sent into a vacuum chamber, where steam is produced and the cell walls are opened, releasing the flavonoids, tannins and anthocyanins (the water-soluble color pigments) into the juice. This is where the steam takes out the heavy mol- ecules, which hold unwanted qualities such as smoke taint, in a matter of a few seconds. The juice is then ready for the winery. The "flash water" (the condensed steam) will have the aromas that came out — it smells like a campfire. "Some wineries just take the juice," says Zuidema. "Others take the must, too, for extended skin and seed contact." The fruit-forward, clean juice can be used however the winemaker decides, such as co-fermenting or even being put onto previously used fermentation skins. "In 2015, there were a lot of grapes with smoke taint," he says. "Largely from Lake County. Clients were floored with what came back. It doesn't remove 100% of the taint, but it does create a much fresher wine." Zuidema serves 20 to 30 clients annually with his sys- tem, which is the smallest size Della Toffola offers (it has a minimum lot size of nine to 10 tons and can do as much as 70 tons per day). Dobson's Thermoflash system is twice the size of Zuidema's, and serves about 20% of Carneros Vintners' clients. "In my experience, flash has a positive effect when it comes to removing unwanted elements from wine," he says. "For smoke taint, I'd take it a step fur- ther after using the flash system, and would press off the remaining skin bits and seeds prior to fermentation." Dobson spoke about the technology at last year's Uni- fied Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento, cit- ing a small study he did comparing some 2013 smoke tainted Pinot Noir that was both standard and flash fer- mented. When tested nine months post fermentation, the flash fermentation measured 5.3 Guaiacol ppb and <1.0 4-methylguaiacol (the two compounds that have been found to cause smoke taint); versus 14.9 Guaiacol ppb and 2.5 4-methylguaiacol for the standard ferment. "It's just a small sample," he says. "Much more needs to be done and on a much larger scale, but the results are promising." Both winemakers state that people are learning they can use the system beyond just removing negative ele- ments. For example, wine made from flashed juice can be used in component winemaking to enhance less desirable wines with more intense color and fruit forwardness. Bottom line, the technology can help winemakers make those all-important, incremental improvements that help the industry move forward.