Chapter 15 - Finishing and Packaging P2 Flashcards
(40 cards)
2 most important considerations when bottling:
Hygiene
Oxygen management
What is total package oxygen? Why is it important to measure?
- Amt of dissolved oxygen in the wine
- The oxygen in the head space
- The amount of oxygen in the cork (or other closure)
- The Oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of the cork
Imp bc too much oxygen = oxidized characters & browning
Too little oxygen = reductive qualities
Pros of glass bottles:
- Inert and no taint
- Can be delivered to wineries in near sterile conditions (shrink wrapped when hot)
- Inexpensive to manufacture and comes in a range of colors
- 100% recyclable (in theory)
- Best option for aging wine bc it’s impermeable to O2
Cons of glass bottles:
- High carbon footprint to manufacture
- Heavy
- Fairly fragile
- Rigid. Rapid oxidation once wine is partly drunk
- Clear bottles can be spoiled by light strike
Plastic containers
Pros: 1/8th the weight of glass Tough Inexpensive Recyclable (in theory) Comes in many sizes
Cons:
Only good for wines with limited shelf life
Special equipment needed to inflate and fill the bags
Bag-In-Box
Cardboard box w/ flexible bag inside
Usually bag has lining protection against O2 like aluminum
Pros: Flexible pour size Good protection from O2 after opened - bag collapses inside the box 1.5-20L sizes Easy to store Low environmental impact
Cons: Slightly permeable to air (plastic is not impermeable to air nor is aluminum) Must have a slightly higher SO2 than glass to counter oxidation Needs a low dissolved O2 level No head space Low CO2 (prevent bag from bulging) High quality tap required to prevent O2 Only 6-9mth shelf life on average
‘Brick’
AKA Tetra Pak
Paper card w/ plastic layers and an aluminum foil layer - keeps out light and O2
Pros:
Can be filled entirely of wine (no headspace)
Accepted by consumers at low price points
Cons:
Filing equipment is a big investment (so much so that some producers outsource the filling of bricks)
Pouch
Similar to bag-in-box but available in larger and smaller sizes
Purposes of a wine closure:
- Protect the wine from O2
- Be inert so it does not interact with the wine
- Be easy to remove/reinsert
- be cheap, recyclable, no faults
Can
Pros: Lightweight Robust Easy to Open Impermeable to O2 Recyclable
Cons:
Filing equipment is expensive (often outsourced)
Usually only used for cheap to mid priced wines
Pros/Cons of Natural Cork
Pros:
Light
Flexible
Inert
Natural Resource
Positive image in the eye of the consumer
Comes in all diffrent lengths and qualities
Cons:
- Cork taint via TCA (moldy, wet cardboard)
- Variable rates of oxygen ingress. Wines bottled at the same time can have different aging rates
How do you limit cork taint?
- Cleaning corks w/ steam
- More rigorous QC during cork making and TCA checking
- Inexpensive polymer barrier bt cork and wine that prevents any aroma from reaching the wine
Technical Corks
Corks made out of natural cork but have been manufactured to limit cork taint and lower cost
Examples:
1/ agglomerated cork - cork granules glued together. Cheapest. Only suitable for inexpensive RTD wine
2. One plus one cork - largest, central section is inexpensive aggomerate. Finished with dic of natural cork at both ends
3. Diam corks - corks that have been cleaned and reconstituted with plastic. These have differnet O2 ingress rates winemakers can choose from
Synthetic Closures and major con
AKA Plastic corks
Con:
- Rigid (solution: extruded closures that have more elasticity)
- Moulded closures have limited protection from O2 ingress - only suitable for RTD wines
- Flavor Scalping - plastic absorbs flavor molecules, leading to a loss of flavor intensity
Closure options
- Natural cork
- Technical cork
- Synthetic cork
- Screwcap
- Glass stopper
What do winemakers check for in the wine before packaging? (AKA pre-filling analysis)
- Make sure wine is stable
- Make sure it meets all the technical specifications (ie. Sugar level, alcohol level, pH, stability analysis, VA level, free and total SO2 level, etc. pg169)
- Conforms to legal standards (ie SO2, trace metals)
Modern Bottling Technique
AKA Aseptic bottling - free from microorganisms
Eliminates potential yeast and spoilage bacteria by:
1. Sterile filtration (most popular) - removes all microorganisms.
Cold bottling (no heat added)
Bottling carried out at ambient temp
2. Heat treatments
ie flash pasteurization - wine is heated to high temps 80-90C for a few seconds and then rapidly cooled and bottled
Not really used today bc heat can deteriorate quality and premature aging of the wine
Filing Bag-in-box technique
Sterile filtered to avoid refermentation
Bags are put under vacuum before filtering
Wine must have a slightly higher SO2 than if bottled
Low dissolved O2
No head space
Low CO2
Cans
Pro: Easy to store/transport Can be filled all the way up to the top - no headspace Light weight Easy to open Impermeable to O2 Recyclable Good for RTD market
Con”
Filling is generally outsourced bc it is a big investment
Screwcap
Aluminum with tin seal - impermeable to O2 or saran seal (low O2 permeability)
Con:
Wines can become reductive after bottling - winemakers need to lower SO2 levels in final wine
Pro:
No TCA risk
Easy to open
Glass Stoppers
Glass with plastic ring seal
Wine can be stored for similar lengths as w/ natural corks
Just as expensive as top quality cork
Only suitable for premium and super-premium wines
Wine technical Specifications that are checked prior to bottling
The main measurable chemical parameters:
Free and total SO2 VA Alcohol RS Total acidity PH Malic/lactic acid Total dry extract Tartrates and proteins (stability analysis) Turbidity (how clear the wine is) Minor acids Trace metals Dissolved O2 CO2 Microbial populations Tains (ie TCA)
Traditional Bottling
Wine is fermented to dryness (acid, alcohol, lack of nutrients make it hard for microbials to grow)
Wiens mature for 6-12 mths in cool cellar - then wines become naturally clear
Siphon the wine and bottle
Typical plastic filling technique
Wine is sterile filtered
Wine has slightly higher SO2,
low dissolved O2,
no headsapce,
low CO2
Bags are put under vacuum and then filled
