Archive for year: 2019

Innovation must be a part of OENODIA’s identity : this year, while preparing for the SITEVI – the Montpellier-based, major tradeshow of the wine industry, OENODIA got the itch to renew the way they showcase their Stars® solutions. So as to reflect the high-end, high-tech quality of the technologies provided, the company found the proper media with a holographic display-window and a 4K touchscreen table.

The holographic window displayed Champagne Mumm’s newest acquisition, a comprehensive OENODIA line of process to complete bottling prep (tartaric stabilization + crossflow filtration) in a single pass: a STARS120 unit paired with a 180 m² XF filter. OENODIA got the wow effect they were aiming for, drawing visitors in to have a closer look at the illusion. Innovation went hand-in-hand with tradition –  swing & champagne livened up the usual after-hour party.

Naturally, with Mumm given the spotlight on the stand, a hot topic of discussion was OENODIA’s growing market in the sparkling industry.

Stars®’s recent successes in Germany, California and the UK follow the continuous development in the sparkling industry, already hooked in the Prosecco region of Italy, or the Cava region in Spain.

Stars® technology is indeed ticking many boxes off sparkling producers’ wish list : it is the only method that can stabilize both potassium and calcium tartrate ; it cuts down gushing issues ; it provides a 6 days/-4°C potassium tartrate stability guarantee ; it offers unrivalled reactivity as a continuous process.

 

So, as both the tradeshow season and the year wrap up, let’s raise a glass to past successes and projects ahead !

STARS Technology offers more than just stabilization to Sparkling Wine Producers – helps with disgorging, adjusting pH and lowering calcium!

OENODIA, the oenology division of Eurodia Industrie SAS, one of the world’s leading specialists of membrane-based treatments for the global agri-food industry, has been providing the breakthrough STARS technology for wine producers for the last 20 years.

STARS technology is not only well suited for red or white wines, but it also presents huge benefits for sparkling wines too which is why it has long been used by many sparkling wine producers worldwide. Such countries as Italy for Prosecco or Spain for CAVA and in the U.S. too, several top sparkling brands have been processing their wines with STARS technology for many years.

The trend towards growth looks set to continue with the first OENODIA STARS XF being commissioned in Champagne, at MUMM’s historic facility in Reims, France, this month.

STARS stands for Selective Tartrate Removal System. It refers to a membrane-based process, unique to OENODIA, that offers winemakers a controlled and measured extraction of potassium, calcium and tartrates from the wine prior to bottling.

Winemakers have long lauded the OENODIA STARS technology for providing 100% guaranteed stability, with zero wine loss, measurable energy savings and without the addition of additives, while ensuring the complete removal of the tartrate crystals that many consumers find objectionable in the finished wine.

Furthermore, in addition to these benefits, STARS technology can play a vital role in the sparkling wine process, as it enables you to lower overall pH and to effectively remove calcium. Indeed, calcium can cause headaches for winemakers long after the wine leaves production.

“Calcium crystallization is a new and growing issue worldwide, with no clear scientific explanation so far,” explains OENODIA’s Sales Manager Fabien Requillard. “It’s particularly important for sparkling wine. Calcium doesn’t respond to chilling. It may appear in the wine aging on lees, promoting extra gushing while disgorging and leading to additional wine losses. Some wineries have also seen problems with late calcium crystallization on supermarket shelves years afterward, a crippling non-quality that had never reached the final consumer beforehand. STARS technology then turns out to be essential to prevent such hazards on the marketplace.”

Requillard notes that the beauty of STARS is a guaranteed reduction of calcium concentration, while simultaneously removing tartrates and potassium from the wine solution regarding standard potassium crystallization.

He points out that the Mumm facility in France first implemented a STARS mobile service to confront the calcium issue on a trial basis. Among the reduction in wine loss from 1.5% to zero compared to chilling, they also realized another 1.5% wine savings by cutting down gushing while disgorging. Following the successful trials that were done over the past 3 years, Mumm management decided to invest in a STARS XF unit, the unique in-line combination between a STARS Stab unit and a crossflow filter to streamline their process.

“Producers are realizing that with STARS, they reduce or eliminate wine loss and see a huge saving in energy costs,” Requillard affirms. “Chilling, which is the most common alternative to our membrane-based technology, uses up to 90 percent more energy in the process. Energy and water savings mean money saving.”

OENODIA is the exclusive developer of the STARS Line which features three cutting edge technologies that have revolutionized the global wine industry: STARS STAB, STARS pH and STARS XF.

STARS STAB guarantees immediate and permanent tartrate stabilization via Electrodialysis (ED) with no additives and no adverse effects on sensory characteristics; STARS pH uses the innovative, membrane-based technology to allow you to dial in your pH, to adjust the pH in your wine and must naturally and with precision; STARS XF merges crossflow filtration with STARS to allow continuous filtration and stabilization of wine with no intermediate tank or multiple control function requirements, which facilitates rapid, automated processing.

For more information on OENODIA and its groundbreaking STARS technology and its STARS Mobile Service, go to oenodia.us or stop by their BOOTH #2406 at the Unified Symposium in Sacramento, January 30th thru 31st, 2019 to talk directly with representatives.

Mid-Feburary, our technical team went to Adega de Borba’s cooperative winery, in the heart of Alentejo, in order to provide the winemaking team with a training for their new equipment: a STARS30 unit for tartaric stabilization. A full week of constructive discussions allowed us to discover a leading winery in a history-rich region.

Alentejo: that Beauty is not Sleeping

Landing in Lisbon, ignoring the coast – thus disregarding the most typical touristic guidebook recommendations – and heading straight to the Spanish border. Welcome in Alentejo, a region covering the biggest part of the southern half of Portugal, east of Lisbon. The cities may seem quiet and the nature untouched, but don’t let that fool you: in Alentejo, slow and steady wins the race. Peaceful streets hide historical treasures, impressive monuments, a cuisine both rustic and on point, and wineries where liquid gems are in the making.

Wines with a personality

Alentejo’s riches can be found raw in its nature: the region produces marble and cork; its soils, made up of schist, granite and limestone are the perfect playing field for winemaking. Across history, royals and noble families took notice and established their holiday quarters in Evora or Vila Viçosa. Nowadays, wine lovers, blue blood or not, can enjoy Alentejo’s brews – and there are many. Red blends give the leading role to trincadeira, aragonez (tempranillo’s Portuguese moniker) and alicante bouschet, the latter being responsible for the reds’ ink-like intensity. Shyraz and cabernet-sauvignon are also given a chance to shine. White wines rely on arinto, roupeiro, and antao vaz’ head-turning aroma. About a million hectolitres are produced on the 22 000 hectares of the DO Alentejo – three quarters of it being red wines. Adega de Borba, with a 120 000hl production, is a key player in the region, in size as much as in name.

Adega de Borba : a pioneering tradition

Though it was encouraged by public policies, founding the cooperative winery in 1955 was a risky bet: winemaking was then carrying very little weight Alentejo’s grain-based economy. The bet was a winning one: today, Adega de Borba brings together 300 members over 2000 hectares, and employs 62 people. Of course, terroir and grape quality are at the root of success, but much more was needed to turn an asset into an achievement: a taste for innovation and constant improvement and a smart use of modern know-hows and technologies have been in Adega de Borba’s DNA for over fifty years. First, the winery looks much younger than it really is: careful maintenance and hygiene can work wonders, together with very modern, high-end equipment, among which a crossflow filter and an FT-IR analyser. The winery’s quality system could make some large industrial groups jealous. Adega de Borba is involved is many research projects. A new site for production and storage has been bought recently. A quest for efficiency, respect for the environment and the search of ease of use are guiding principles for the team, both in the day to day grind and in bigger decisions and investments. It was thus only natural for Adega de Borba to switch to membrane-based tartaric stabilization.

 STARS30: energy savings and ease of use

Acquiring a STARS30 unit will allow Borba’s team to break free from cold stabilization and its shortcomings (notably energy consumption and heavy work for the cellar hands).

The winery also expects increased reliability, flexibility and a protected wine quality – with much less oxygen dissolution than with cold stabilization. Adega de Borba uses cutting edge technologies to give its terroir the spotlight, and the result is worth it: warm, supple and full reds, fragrant and fresh whites, with an unbeatable value for your money.

Nós recomendamos. Bem-vindos ao Alentejo!