The first UV-treated wine is set to be released later this year following successful trials in South Africa.
The wine, produced by L'Ormarins wine estate in Franschhoek, is treated by a UV (Ultra Violet) light machine that, according to the owners, kills unwanted microbes and yeasts. This, says cellar master Neil Patterson, reduces the need to add sulphites during the winemaking process.
Some wine drinkers blame sulphites for allergic reactions as well as headaches and skin reddening following even the smallest sip of wine.
The Surepure machine – roughly the size of two fridge freezers – has two 40ml pipes to carry wine in and out. The machine contains 40 'turbulators' which mix the liquid to ensure all of it is exposed to the UV lamps.
It takes around 22 seconds for the wine to travel through the machine, which can process 4,000 litres in an hour. The UV rays zap unwanted microbes and yeasts. Winemakers can use the machine numerous times during the production process.
'You don't get that sulphury taste, just a more natural, full flavour,' said Patterson.
He would not reveal which variety of wine would be sold using the new technique, saying it was still confidential.
Have your say... To post your comment on this story, email us at news@decanter.com, making sure the relevant headline is in the subject field
This is a bit of an over-simplification. Sulphites only delay the activity of wild yeasts and some bacteria; their primary function during the wine making process is to prevent oxidation. If this method replaces anything, it will be 0.45 micron sterile pre-bottling filtration, possibly accompanied by a partial reduction in free sulphites.
I'm also sceptical of the number of allergic reactions to correctly sulphited wines. The amount of SO2 in dried fruits and some pre-prepared foods can equal or exceed the amounts used in wine. I've not heard of many people being allergic to ready meals or dried fruit, but I'm happy to be corrected.
Bob Lindo, Camel Valley Vineyards, Cornwall, UK
« …kills unwanted microbes and yeasts. » Yeah! Hoourra ! Bravo! So… wine wich has always been said to be « a… living thing » will become a perfectly tasty… « dead duck » ?
You know what, may be we should consider getting rid of all those « unwanted microbes and yeasts » also in the milk, the yogurt, the cheese, the…
And, the man says « He would not reveal which variety of wine would be sold using the new technique, saying it was still confidential. »…
All right! You know what? « That » makes me sick! I promise that from now on I wont drink any South Afrikan wine : No « Chateau Mr Clean » for me, thank you!
In many consumer's mind, wine has become very « suspect » because they dont know, and they consider that they will never succeed finding out all that has been done to it buy the technicians and the many…Monsanto pharmacists.
Could you please leave the darn stuff alone for a minute for ___ sake! Thank you!
Raymond Chalifoux
That is pretty cool news about the use of UV to kill microbes, but you still need to protect the wine from oxidation degradation which is what the SO2 is also used for.
Joe Hudon, Assistant Winemaker, Goose Ridge Estate, Washington, USA
The technology is fairly old. UV treatment is pretty common to kill unwanted beasties in the sewage industry. I do like the idea of killing yeast. Brettanomyces is very difficult to kill, and almost impossible to filter out, so this could be a good way of getting complexity from Brett without the risk of it going wild.
I agree with Bob, sulphur is not the problem a lot of people believe. And if they want low sulphur wines, just by screw cap.
Chris Scott
Interesting topic, I would suspect that the wine would need to be clean, ie low NTUs, to get the UV to work effectively, thus the wine may need some rough filtering prior to UV exposure to have an effective kill. There are many UV enhanced reactions with sulfide containing compounds in beer (defective attributes) so I would suspect that there could be possible side effect reactions with sulfides in wine specifically white wines. It also seems that killing bacteria and yeast verses slowing oxidation are two different things and sulfur dioxide does a great job at both. I doubt UV would counter act any oxidation processes if not help promote them.”
Nile Zacherle, Zacherle Wines, Napa, California, USA
Register on decanter.com absolutely free for news alerts delivered direct to your email inbox, and our fortnightly newsletter with advance notice of what’s coming up in Decanter magazine, offers, competitions and more.
PLUS registration is a one-stop shop for the Decanter magazine Archive and Decanter Fine Wine Tracker.
