terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Congress on Grapevine and Wine Sciences 9 2ICGWS-2023 9 Inert gases persistence in wine storage tank blanketing

Inert gases persistence in wine storage tank blanketing

Abstract

It is common to find tanks in the winery with wine below their capacity due to wine transfers between tanks of different capacities or the interruption of operations for periods of a few days. This situation implies the existence of an ullage space in the tank with prolonged contact with the wine causing its absorption/oxidation. Oxygen uptake from the air headspace over the wine due to differences in the partial pressure of O2 can be rapid, up to 1.5 mL of O2 per liter of wine in one hour and 100 cm2 of surface area1 and up to saturation after 4 hours. The industrial solution consists of inerting the gas space by means of an inert gas blanket to avoid contact with air. This procedure can be done with automatic systems that generate an overpressure of inert gas and are able to respond to variations in the filling level of the tanks. This is not common in most wineries and in order to propose an easy and effective system, nitrogen (N2), argon (Ar), and carbon dioxide (CO2), the commonly used inert gases in the wine industry, together with their mixtures, have been compared. The persistence of a gaseous blanket of the inert gas (O2<0.5%)2 in the ullage space of the tank and its ability to reduce the uptake of atmospheric O2 into the wine were analyzed.

In addition to checking which of the five gases tested provided the best protection over time with a simple application, two different application methods were compared. In a third phase, the economic optimization was studied by reducing the amount of gas on the basis of the ability of almost all of these gases to form blankets due to their higher density than air.

Acknowledgements: ITACyL for their financial support to Actividades de Investigación, Promoción de la Innovación y la Transferencia del Conocimiento en Sectores Estratégicos de Castilla y León: SECTOR VITIVINÍCOLA

1 Peynaud E. (1981) Knowing and Making Wine. Wiley

2 Dharmadhikkari, M. (2016) Use of Inert Gases. Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute

DOI:

Publication date: October 13, 2023

Issue: ICGWS 2023

Type: Poster

Authors

Ignacio Nevares*, María Asensio-Cuadrado, Rubén del Barrio-Galán, Elena Pérez-Cardo, Ana Martínez-Gil, Luis Miguel Cárcel and Maria del Alamo-Sanza

Grupo UVaMOX-Universidad de Valladolid. Avda. Madrid 50. 34001 Palencia, Spain

Contact the author*

Keywords

inert gases, blanketing, oxygen, ullage space

Tags

2ICGWS | ICGWS | ICGWS 2023 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Evaluation of phenology, agronomic and oenological quality in minority wine varieties in Madrid as a strategy for adaptation to climate change

The main phenological stages (budburst, flowering, veraison, and ripeness) and the fruit composition of 34 Spanish minority varieties were studied to determine their cultivation potential and help winegrowers adapt their production systems to climate change conditions. In total, 4 control cultivars, and 30 minority varieties from central Spain were studied during a period of 3 campaigns, in the ampelographic collection “El Encín”, in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid. Agronomic and oenological characteristics such as yield, and total soluble solids concentration have been monitored.

Read More

Long-lasting flavour perception of wines treated with oenological additives considering the individual PROP taste-phenotype

The use of oenological additives is becoming a common practice due to the technological and sensory properties they provide to the wines. However, the number of studies focused on the impact that these additives might induce on wine flavor perception during wine tasting is still quite scarce. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of three different types of common oenological additives: two oenotannins (ellagitannin and gallotannin) and a commercial preparation of yeast mannoproteins on the long-lasting flavor perception (aroma and astringency).

Read More

Applicability of spectrofluorometry and voltammetry in combination with machine learning approaches for authentication of DOCa Rioja Tempranillo wines

The main objective of the work was to develop a simple, robust and selective analytical tool that allows predicting the authenticity of Tempranillo wines from DOCa Rioja. The techniques of voltammetry and absorbance-transmission and fluorescence excitation emission matrix (A-TEEM) spectroscopy have been applied in combination with machine learning (ML) algorithms to classify red wines from DOCa Rioja according to region (Alavesa, Alta or Oriental) and category (young, crianza or reserva).

Read More

Reduction of the height of the canopy in fruit set and in pea size: vegetative, productive and maturation effects, in cv. Verdejo

Global warming is accelerating the technological ripening of the grape, with a loss of acidity, which requires that vineyard management can delay ripening to avoid it. The source-sink relation is essential for grape ripening, since it affects the distribution of photosynthates and substances derived from plant metabolism. A work is proposed to know the response of the vineyard to the drastic reduction of the foliar surface by trim down the shoots in cv.

Read More

Combined use of leaf removal and natural shading to delay grape ripening in Manto negro (Vitis vinifera L.) under deficit irrigation 

The increasingly frequent heat waves during grape ripening pose challenges for premium wine grape production. This makes the development of irrigation and canopy management techniques of great importance to maximize yield and grape quality. A field experiment was carried out during 2021 and 2022 using Manto negro wine grapes to study the effect of two irrigation strategies and different light exposure levels on grape quality.

Read More