CLEANING AND SANITIZING WOODEN BARRELS WITH STEAM

Test carried out to verify the sanitization efficiency in wooden barrels

GENERAL OVERVIEW

The use of barriques and woods in the wine maturation process is widespread. Among the problems encountered are both the limited number of times in which it is possible to use the single barrel, and the contamination of the wine by organic substances.

IdroEletrika, with its professional high-pressure washers and all-electric industrial steam generators, has developed a system to address both of these problems. The test illustrated below was conducted in order to demonstrate and verify the cleanliness and sanitization of woods and barriques.

CASE STUDY

The test was carried out on wooden barrels of different ages and types at a well-known winery in Valpolicella (VR). All the barrels had contained at least one passage of red wine suitable for becoming Valpolicella DOC.

All microbiological determinations were carried out at the microbiology laboratory of the Edmund Mach Foundation (according to OIV methods) by applying the count on Petri dishes and on differential media for the determination of total yeasts, brettanomyces, molds, lactic acid bacteria and acetic bacteria.

CONDUCT OF THE TESTS

Idreta is ideal for cleaning encrustations, animal deposits, black patinas, graffiti, and porous surfaces. Here are some application examples:

FIRST STEP (Rep.1)

All barrels were washed beforehand with high-pressure water using a barrique washer head. Part of the barrels were washed with cold water and part with hot water generated by the ECOpower pressure washer. Finally, the water was sampled to detect the first stage of the existing microbiological component.

SECOND STEP (Rep.2)

The barrels were treated with steam generated by the vaporONE eco-vaporizer, according to a method developed by IdroEletrika.

The residue of the treatment was sampled and a second microbiological analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of the treatment itself.

THIRD STEP (Rep.3)

At the end of the tests, all the barrels received a final cold water rinse.

After steam sanitization, in order to detect the final stage of the microbiological component, it was sampled and analyzed.

MICROBIOLOGICAL DATA SYNTHESIS

TEST RESULTS

After the first microbiological determination (Step 1 – Rip 1) in all barrels there is a presence of acetic bacteria, total yeasts and molds in concentrations ranging from 15 to 28,000 cfu/ml (colony-forming units per ml) of aqueous sample.

As demonstrated by the second step (Rip 2), this presence is cancelled out by the specific steam treatment with the IdroEletrika method, with a significant difference between the rinses previously made with cold water and hot water, where the latter were decidedly more effective given that the isolated microbial population is lower by at least 1 logarithmic unit (10 times lower).

In all cases, the steam treatment allowed an effective sanitization of the barrels, considering the fact that in the next two samples it was no longer possible to isolate any microbial form, except for some colonies of mold probably due to environmental contamination without oenological significance.

CONCLUSIONS

The cleaning and sanitizing treatment carried out with the ECOpower professional pressure washer and the vaporONE industrial steam generator appears to be very effective in the experimental conditions tested and in sanitizing barrels and barrels for oenological use.

Electric pressure washers can also be used in workshops and by spare parts dealers to clean equipment, components and vehicle parts. Thanks to their power and versatility, they allow you to achieve professional cleaning results and ensure better maintenance of your vehicles. Furthermore, it is known from the scientific bibliography that the thermal resistance of oenological microorganisms is modest and uniform; therefore, the treatment proposed by IdroEletrika is also effective against the microbial forms not isolated in these tests.

Thanks to: Raffaele Guzzoni PhD – Technology Transfer Center – Edmund Mach Foundation – Agricultural Institute of San Michele all'Adige (TN).