News & Events
Metodo Ganimede ® at Enoforum 2011
The sixth edition of Enoforum took place at the Convention and Exhibition Center of Arezzo, from May 3 to May 5.
The event, organized by the companies Vinidea and Sive, is a reference point for the R&D sector in the Italian wine industry.
Our company contributed to the event by holding a seminar titled: "Metodo Ganimede: economic and qualitative advantages based on white and red maceration experiences" which featured Italian and international speakers. The advantages of Metodo Ganimede were highlighted at both the scientific and practical level and the topic discussed included winemaking processes for red grapes and the maceration of white grapes. The classroom presentations were followed by tasting sessions of Spanish Albariño, a white wine by Mar de Frades Winery (Ramón Bilbao Group) Galicia.
Below the titles and related summaries of each speaker's remarks:
Presentation No.1:
Prof. Emilio Celotti, Department of Food Science, University of Udine.
Theoretical principles and results obtained at the industrial level in grape skin maceration, particularly for white wines.
Skin maceration requires a more or less prolonged contact between juice and solid element after pressing, usually under pre-fermentative conditions. The extraction of aromatic substances, if any, must be favored, simultaneously limiting the extraction of oxidable phenolic compounds and herbaceous substances.
The process parameters must be optimized in order to operate a selective extraction of the skin components, thus enhancing the winemaking potential of the different white grapes.
The technologies available are the most diversified, from manual pressing to static maceration up to the most modern technologies available on equipped tanks. Among the latest technologies, skin maceration has been refined and developed for application on tank designed to manage the process with the use of technical gases, with the possibility of including the maceration process also during winemaking in "reduction".
Interesting results that highlighted the flexibility of operation of the proposed technique, compared to static maceration processes, were obtained from experiences with white grapes grown in Friuli and harvested in 2010. In addition, it was possible to verify the opportunity of reaching different oenological targets by managing in a planned fashion the maceration conditions, depending on the quality of the grapes along with the possibility of reducing the use of enzymes and sulfur dioxide.
Presentation No.2:
Gianni Iseppi Winemaker. Vini Tipici Dell'Aretino Winery (Arezzo)
Competitiveness and quality improvement through innovation in the existing winemaking departments.
Gianni Iseppi is the CEO of Vini Tipici dell'Aretino Winery in Arezzo, one of the largest wine cooperatives in Tuscany, boasting 420 members and vineyards extending over 800 hectares of land.
In 2008, the company decided to update its old winemaking department by turning 14 standard winemakers, having a capacity of 800 quintals, into Metodo Ganimede winemakers. The new system allowed obtaining substantial overhead cost savings and significant improvements in the quality of the final products.
The upgrade used the same space already occupied and now it allows optimal management of all the fermentation processes through an ideal control of temperature and the possibility of performing targeted macro-oxygenations. Winery personnel benefitted from the reduced operations required to implement the overall process, operations that are now performed with less operating risks and under improved working conditions.
The organoleptic characteristics of the wines obtained allowed reducing both setting time and costs for subsequent refinement, reducing the overall cost of the wines. Despite the upgrading costs required significant efforts, the benefits obtained were such to guarantee a quick return of the investment, mainly thanks to the increased marketability of the products obtained.
Presentation No.3:
Isidro Rodriguez Ferrio Winemaker, Virgen de Las Viñas cooperative , Tomelloso (La Mancha) Spain
Large masses and quality: evidence from the largest Winery Cooperative in Europe.
The Virgen de las Viñas cooperative was founded in 1961 and today it boasts almost 2000 members and about 23,000 hectares of vineyards. It is currently the largest winery in Europe housed in a single facility, producing over 1.5 million hectoliters of wine.
In 2005, after having planted new black berry vines, the cooperative searched the market for wine making equipment capable of producing large volumes of wine. The goal was to invest in a system that could work at a specific speed while maintaining high standard of quality. The choice was Metodo Ganimede.
The characteristics of great flexibility, processing speed, minimum staff requirement, and minimal maintenance, combined with the results obtained, allowed the implementation, between the year 2005 and 2009, of a battery of 18 units with a total capacity of 36,000 hectoliters.
During the last harvest, the plant produced approximately 20 million kg of Tempranillo, Merlot and Shirah grapes.
Watch the video of the presentation (English subtitles)
Presentation No.4:
Alberto Pedrajo Pérez Winemaker, Aspa Ingenieros, Logroño (La Rioja) Spain
Experiences of pre-fermentative dynamic maceration on Albariño grapes at the Mar de Frades Winery (Group Ramón Bilbao), Galicia, Spain.
Albariño is a particular variety of vine grown in Galicia (Spain), located at the same latitude of the Marche region. There are 4 different areas of production: Rosal, Valle del Salnés near the sea, Soto Mayor, and Condado do Tea along the Miño River.
Winters are very rainy (1,300 ml), spring and summer are temperate. Vine cultivation occurs almost entirely on "overhead trellis" for three main reasons:
- production per hectare of vineyard
- Not very sunny
- health of the grapes, due to the high humidity originating from the Atlantic Ocean grape downy mildew issues are frequent (a real danger throughout the year).
The harvest is performed by placing the grapes harvested in small crates.
The cooling of the must is performed with dry ice or with a heat exchanger made of pipes.
Cold dynamic skin maceration performed with Metodo Ganimede produced excellent results with this variety of grapes, characterized by strong and elegant fragrances.
The dynamic action of the of CO2 bubbles is ideal for the selective extraction of polysaccharides and proteins that provide better structure to the wine.
The absence of SO2, which can be omitted thanks to the antioxidant and bacteriostatic action of the CO2 under pressure below the diaphragm, offers a much more selective extraction, which enhances the elegance and power of this wine. Since the Albariño grape is characterized by a very thick and tough skin, with this technique it was possible to increase the extraction, obtaining a product more structured and with significantly increased aromatic power.
