The climatic conditions of recent years, with the constant rise in temperatures, are changing various stages of grape processing and wine production.
Vendemmia anticipata e raccolta in giornate sempre più calde, in particolare, rendono sempre più problematiche alcune operazioni di cantina, rischiando di alterare la qualità e caratteristiche dei vini.
In questo contesto, assume sempre più rilevanza l’esigenza di avere disponibili tecnologie adatte a gestire l’arrivo in cantina di uve sempre più calde e, possibilmente, soluzioni in grado di migliorare la qualità del prodotto finale.
The focus has been on methods of cooling the crush through the innovative use of food gases.
Kryos, refrigerazione del vino in atmosfera protettiva
Kryos is the solution developed by SIAD to refrigerate destemmed grapes in a protective, oxygen-free atmosphere through direct contact heat exchange between crushed grapes and liquid CO2. The process takes place inside an exchanger consisting of a tank with characteristics that allow it to operate smoothly, efficiently and reliably.
Kryos operates in a continuous mode with complete automation. Dedicated software both adjusts the amount of liquid CO2 to be introduced to lower the temperature to the required value and transfers the chilled crushed grapes. The operator only needs to set the values and press the start button. Throughout the process, control is continuous: a touch screen allows constant viewing of operation and intervention if necessary.
How is the process articulated?
The exchanger works at atmospheric pressure. It is positioned downstream of the crusher from which it receives the crushed grapes, chills them and transfers them, via pump, to subsequent processing.
The crush passes through the exchanger, where it comes in contact with CO2, which changes from liquid to carbon snow and carbon dioxide gas. This contact allows the dissolved air to be removed, saturating it and at the same time lowering the temperature.
After releasing the frigors and passing completely to a gaseous state, the carbon dioxide is separated from the crush, piped outside and made available for possible other uses as a protective atmosphere.
The construction characteristics and mode of operation ensure:
- The rapid and complete deaeration and saturation with CO2
- Instant refrigeration
- The absence of heat shock and cold burns on the peels.
- The high refrigerating power, up to 400,000 frig/h
- Easy cleaning and sanitizing operations due to the absence in the exchanger of geometric asperities or moving parts
Inoltre, rispetto alla refrigerazione del vino realizzata con frigorie meccaniche mediante scambiatore tubo in tubo, si ha la drastica riduzione dello stress meccanico sulle bucce con conseguente minimizzazione della formazione di feccia, il residuo depositato dopo la fermentazione del vino.
Advantages over other refrigeration methodologies
The use of liquid CO2 with Kryos technology, compared with other cooling methodologies, proves to be particularly advantageous.
Specifically for the following reasons:
- Compared to refrigeration with mechanical refrigeration in tube-to-tube exchanger, it allows instantaneous cooling down to very low temperatures and in an oxygen-free and CO2-saturated environment minimizing mechanical stress on the skins
- Compared with dry ice and carbonic snow, it allows much higher temperature drops and, operating in automation, provides controlled and repeatable performance, released from manual
An extra gear for winery operations
Kryos è un sistema dall’alta semplicità d’uso, affidabilità e flessibilità. È in grado garantire:
- High cooling power
- Lowering the temperature to very low values, 2-3° C
- Absence of oxygen in the crush and its saturation with CO2
Those listed are characteristics that allow for optimal management of the subsequent pre-fermentation stages, adapting them to the specific needs and structures of the winery.
