Ultrasound for Continuous Treatment in Grape Maceration

Over the past few years, Ecotecne R&D, has started a path of research and development of ultrasound for extractive processes from multiple organic media and in particular since 2010, this technology has been applied in winemaking processes and since 2022 commercialization has started (TR4 family).
This technology has been approved by the international body OIV and at the EU level published in the Official Gazette in early 2022.
Working with university institutes and experts in the field, a system has been developed for industrial applications and/or in wineries, which provides for the treatment of crushed grapes from both red and white grapes.
Ultrasound is specifically used for continuous treatment in grape maceration in order to reduce or eliminate some traditional techniques.
Specifically, compared with current winemaking systems, the maceration time of white and red grapes is shortened resulting in reduced winemaking costs.
In red grapes, the average maceration time is shortened by 2-5 days, depending on the maturity of the grapes, while in white grapes, the maceration time can be reduced from 10-15 hours to 2-5 hours, or even eliminated by pressing the processed product directly with ultrasound.
The innovation also impacts the adjuvants and chemical additives normally used in winemaking, because the use of SO₂ and certain exogenous enzymes.
Pectolytic enzyme dosage drops from 1-3 g/hl to 0.5 g/hl or even zero.
Another innovative aspect of the methodology is that the system is able to operate indifferently on both pressed white or red grapes, on lees and on wine, so it is a fully usable procedure at the different stages of winemaking, from grape crushing to wine aging. In this working situation, a “reactor” capable of treating all different types of winemaking products can be realized.
The application of ultrasonic technology in the wine industry makes it possible to: