Wine-making is a noble craft that has existed for many thousands of years, with some archaeological evidence dating commercial production back nearly 6,500 years. Over the ages, the pursuit of the perfect wine continues, with multiples of fermentation procedures and storage methods tried.
Many of these wine storage methods have been adopted by family vineyards through tradition, some through trial-and-error. For the most part, vineyard growers and wine producers alike have worked together to achieve that balance that optimizes both yield and quality, and once they find it, to utilize the best storage method that will keep their prized consumables at the peak of perfection.
Oaken barrels have been the norm for many hundreds of years, their majestic stands and stacks a familiar sight that almost instantly brings the product they contain to mind. And their usefulness and inherent quality for flavor and finish are often preferred to this day. But once a wine reaches its ideal state, Oak barrels can become a liability over the most recent advances in wine storage facilities and tank stands.
Largely because of mandated sanitation requirements in many regions around the world, many newer wine storage methods, wine tanks, and vats have been developed in an interest in keeping wine stored at optimum levels and reducing maintenance and sanitation costs to a minimum. Plastic tanks and epoxy-lined steel tanks have been tried with limited success, but also each with its own set of complications.
Because durability, practicality and cleanliness are so imperative in the current economy, stainless steel tanks have become the current standard in the industry. And while stainless steel tanks have proved to be sturdy, economical and efficiently dependable, there have been some unique challenges they have presented.
One of these challenges, while not necessarily unique to stainless steel tanks, is the need for temperature control. When using stainless steel tanks in the wine fermentation process, we often find the need for a greater heating or cooling capacity than one might expect,
The initial fermentation of wine in vats generates the most heat, and usually takes place at the warmest time of the year. Attempts to combat this issue have been fought with “cooling jackets” that tend to be both inefficient and undersized or have a poor flow pattern.
With Global-Therm insulated tanks, the effectiveness of Cooling Plates is greatly improved, offering greater temperature control with less fluctuation and a much more consistent temperature, during all phases of wine fermentation and storage.
Never before has there been a greater degree of control in the wine-making process: initial fermentation, malo-lactic fermentation, and long-term storage can be optimized by utilizing Global-Therm insulated tanks, providing the greatest control over harmful temperature extremes, and your Global-Therm insulated tanks are available in a wide array of sizes and styles. and can be completely customized to suit your every need, including essentials such as top, bottom, and racking doors, pressure and vacuum-relief valves, internal fittings for tying-down oak chip bags or mounting oak staves . Give them a call at 417-858-5588 for more information today!
