Making wine is an ancient art, but at the same time one that is constantly evolving. From vineyard to distribution, along the entire wine supply chain, wineries are increasingly feeling the need to introduce best practices and facilities under the banner of both technological and organizational efficiency. A necessary commitment in order to further strengthen the great tradition of quality Italian wine, also in the name of environmental and economic sustainability.
This in-depth article is devoted to the use of nitrogen in wine, particularly in the stages from fermentation to bottling. We will go into detail about what are the benefits of this use, how and what facilities are useful in the economy of a meticulous process, toward the evolution of the winery of the future.
What are the main characteristics of nitrogen? It is in the form of a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas. In addition, it is a nontoxic gas that is slightly soluble in water and most other liquids.
And again, nitrogen is inert (meaning that it does not react or reacts minimally with other substances). Because of this property, it is used in wineries to preserve wine from losing some of its organoleptic characteristics. Degradation can be prevented mainly by the introduction of nitrogen into the upper part of the storage tanks, replacing air.
Nitrogen occurs naturally in the Earth’s atmosphere, making up about 78 percent of it. It is part of the human body and is found in many foods in the form of proteins, nucleic acids and other organic compounds. Food is an important source of nitrogen; the main ones are meat, fish, eggs, milk and cheese, and many legumes, especially beans, lentils and peas.
Nitrogen ensures proper wine preservation and improves processing steps.
It inhibits the proliferation of aerobic bacteria, protects wine during storage and handling from external contamination, and allows easy, pump-less, and safe push racking. In addition, during bottling it allows air to be removed from the bottle both before filling and later in the headspace.
Let’s look in more detail at all the applications and when wine nitrogen plants are useful.
Fermentation is the process by which the sugars in grapes are converted into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide.
This process is accomplished through the action of yeasts, which feed on the sugars in the must and produce alcohol and carbon dioxide as waste products. During fermentation, nitrogen is an essential element for yeasts, as it provides them with a source of nutrients. There can be the natural presence of nitrogenous substances in the must, or it can be added in the form of yeast nutrients to ensure uniform and complete fermentation, this again due to the nitrogenous substances for the wine.
After fermentation, the wine undergoes other processes, in which nitrogen can be used as an inert gas to protect the wine from oxidation and bacterial contamination. Gas is often used to “bleed” wine from aging vessels, that is, to remove wine without introducing oxygen into the environment and thus prevent oxidation.
In addition, nitrogen is able to remove any oxygen that may already be dissolved in the wine. This operation is made possible by devices called line strippers, specific nitrogen installations for wine, through which the gas is dispersed into the liquid in the form of microbubbles that, with the stripping action, drive away the oxygen present.
In the storage stages, reclamation and protection with nitrogen are discussed. In this case, gas is used as a diluent by introducing it into the tank through the use of gas supply lines equipped with double-acting valves. During filling, they let out a volume of internal storage mixture equal to the volume of wine introduced. During emptying, they allow a volume of nitrogen equal to the volume of wine removed to enter the tank.
Then there is the bottling stage, by which the wine is physically put into its final container, ready to be transported to the final consumer.
Nitrogen, used in its liquid or gaseous state, allows air to be removed from the bottle both before filling and afterward in the headspace between cap and liquid.
In state-of-the-art wineries, a system that complements wine bottling equipment is used to perform this function efficiently: the nitrogen dripper. Placed between the filler and capping machine, the dripper introduces a drop of liquid nitrogen, which in the ensuing transition to the gaseous state increases its volume by about 860 times, so that air can be removed. This prevents the contained oxygen from becoming trapped in the bottle and subsequently being absorbed by the wine.
Ultimately, the use of nitrogen in wine production is critical to ensure the quality and stability of the final product.
As mentioned, nitrogen is an inert gas, which does not alter the flavor and aroma of wine. On the contrary, it protects it from oxidation and contamination by aerobic bacteria. For this reason, the use of nitrogen is particularly important in the production of high quality wines, which require great attention to detail and a careful process.
In summary, nitrogen:
Nitrogen, one of the most widely used industrial gases, is produced industrially through the fractionation of air.
This process consists of separating the various components from which it is made. SIAD’s current air fractionation plants have achieved a high level of automation, and their control is operated through automated tools manages the entire production cycle and the subsequent product distribution phase up to storage or use.
We can proceed to supply nitrogen in different degrees of purity:
Thanks to the Group’s engineering expertise, SIAD is not limited only to the production of nitrogen for wine of the highest quality, we stand as the ally of any winery or winery that wants to experiment with alternative solutions in the name of quality and efficiency.
We build specific paths that go beyond supply, but touch on aspects such as safety, optimization of production processes and environmental sustainability, valuing each and every production peculiarity, including with the design of purpose-built plants and systems.
About us
SIAD Group, a century of history in gas production
Among Italy’s leading chemical groups, SIAD is a leader in the production and commercialization of the full range of industrial, specialty, and medicinal gases and related services. The business extends to sectors in synergy with that of gases, including Wine, Food and Beverage.
