Wineries from Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale have been quick to adopt, install and benefit from the ground-breaking new Climate Wizard Supercool system, which provides exceptional control of barrel hall temperature and humidity.
Wine evaporation through oak barrels, commonly known as ‘Angel’s share’, can account for up to 9%* wine loss during the ageing process.
Needing to compensate for that by topping up every six weeks or so, increases the cost of production and can compromise the wine quality. Having to do that over longer ageing periods for premium wines, compounds the cost. Controlling the barrel hall conditions with expensive refrigerated cooling and extra humidification equipment, has been the Winemaker’s only answer to the extremes of the Australian climate, until now.
Climate Wizard’s Supercool now gives winemakers the control over both temperature and humidity to create the constant environment they need, and the benefits don’t stop with a drastic reduction of ‘Angel’s share’.
Auxiliary equipment, like humidification, are no longer needed. With wineries now able to operate with cooling costs up to 80% less than they would be, if conventional refrigerated equipment was used.
Seeley International’s General Manager of Commercial Sales, Michael Hamilton, highlighted his team’s cooling challenge from Peter Lehmann Wines.
“The challenge for Peter Lehmann Wines was providing cooling for three wine barrel halls, maintaining low temperatures and high humidity throughout the harsh Barossa Valley summer.”
A Climate Wizard Supercool, which has an indirect evaporative section and a direct evaporative section, was installed at the Peter Lehmann barrel hall and achieved the winemakers desired storage temperatures, while increasing air moisture to around 80% Relative Humidity.
Mr Hamilton emphasised the amount of wine actually lost is a major concern, particularly for premium wine brands.
In her article on humidification, Cathy Howard from Whicher Ridge Wines, WA, advised that during cooler months, an average topping volume per 225 litre barrel is 1-1.5L; with warmer months being closer to 2-2.5L/barrel. This equates to a loss in volume per barrel of 5% per year. For reds, this was 10% over the two-year period that the wines are maturing in barrel.
The Climate Wizard Supercool system can provide very effective cooling at a fraction of the operating cost of refrigerated systems because of its low energy consumption.
Along with the reduction of ‘Angel’s Share’ and the reduced disturbance of the ageing process, Climate Wizard maintains a high humidity in the cooled space, which helps minimise wine evaporation losses.
Installations of the Climate Wizard lower-energy technology reduces need for power supply upgrades and dismisses the auxiliary equipment, including humidification.
Designed, manufactured and supported in Australia, the Climate Wizard system has no hazardous or expensive refrigerants, reduces a winery’s carbon footprint, and creates a cleaner barrel store environment.
This story and the accompanying image were provided courtesy of Seeley International. This story was edited slightly, prior to publication.