Stuck Ferment? VA Removal Can Kickstart Fermentation and Get you Big Savings.

Call Winesecrets to remove Volatile Acidity from ferments that just won't finish. Mention the phrase "Tax Relief" during the month of April and receive a $300 discount. 

Last season's lactobacillus bloom has resulted in high volatile acidity and fermentations that will not complete, leaving residual sugar in wine. This particular lactobacillus is producing VA that cannot necessarily be detected by aroma alone.

Winesecrets' Reverse Osmosis VA removal can help. Yeast are inhibited by high volatile acidity. By reducing the VA concentration, fermentations can restart and complete to dryness.

Other benefits include:

• Winesecrets' reverse osmosis process has been used to recover wine flavor for the last 17 years.
• Gentle to your wine.
• No "wine shear" from high pressure centrifugal pumps.
• Flavor integrity guaranteed.
• No tartaric acid add-backs.

Move past the stuck fermentations. Get tax relief at the same time. Call Winesecrets!

For more information or to request services on-line, check out our website atwww.winesecrets.com.

We have answers to your questions Contact us today!888.656.5553

American Winesecrets, LLC. (Winesecrets), North America’s leading wine filtration company, has been awarded the Veteran Employer of the Year by the California Employer Advisory Council (CEAC) in the Small Private Business category. The CEAC Veterans Employer of the Year award recognizes employers who consistently demonstrate positive policies toward U.S. veterans in hiring and promotion, as well as through retention efforts, ongoing training, and benefits. Winesecrets earned the award  for its recruitment efforts, training and successful placement of veterans in Sonoma County. Past award winners include PG&E, the FBI and Time Warner Cable.     

Winesecrets has 15 employees, 12 of which are in technical roles. The company has developed an on-job-training program to provide incoming employees with industry specific skills while working at its wine production facility in Sebastopol, CA. Winesecrets is committed to hiring and training veterans in these entry-level roles and then assisting them with placement in more prominent roles in the local wine industry.

Winesecrets has hired seven veterans since January 2011, five of whom were discharged in the last five years. While most were hired into technical roles, veterans have also filled administrative and marketing roles at the company. Of the veteran hires, two have advanced to more challenging roles at local wineries while four remain with the company.

The veteran hiring program and out-placement efforts have been spearheaded by Winesecrets President Eric T. Dahlberg (US Army, 1986 – 1989). According to Dahlberg, veterans arrive with an outstanding skill set, including technical and computer literacy, mechanical aptitude and motivation to excel at blue-collar jobs. “I am pleased that our company is able to serve those who have served.” says Dahlberg.

Winesecrets was nominated by Claudio Calvo, the Sonoma County Veteran Employment Representative for the State of California Employment Development Department (EDD).  According to Mr. Calvo, “Winesecrets is a perfect example of an employer reaching out to help veterans, especially those recently discharged. Veterans feel proud to be associated with this outstanding organization.”  Winesecrets will be honored at the 2013 CEAC Veterans Employer of the Year luncheon award ceremony on May 9, 2013 in Ontario.

Did you add some carbonate to smooth out your finish? Remember: even if a wine was cold stable, deacidification may render it unstable. By adding potassium or calcium carbonate, deacidification puts back the tartrate components removed through cold stabilization.

Winesecrets' STARS (Selective Tartrate Removal System) stabilizes wine quickly, just in time for bottling. With a detailed analysis before treatment, STARS removes just the right amount of tartrate species to meet your stability requirements.                        

Other benefits include:

• Energy savings. Up to 95% more efficient than tank chilling.
• Wine savings. No wine loss from racking off tartrates.
• Labor savings. No tartrates to clean off of tank walls. 
• Additive savings. No cream of tartar seeding.  

Restabilize quickly and keep your bottling date. Call Winesecrets!

Winesecrets has announced a strategic relationship with Australia’s Diverse Barrel Solution Pty. Ltd. (DBS) to offer  barrel restoration services to wine producers. Available in July, Winesecrets will operate the Phoenix system at its Sebastopol facility. Wineries ship barrels to Winesecrets for restoration by the Phoenix system or purchase Phoenix-processed barrels through Napa’s Premier Wine Cask, Inc. 

The robotic Phoenix system utilizes laser scanning and a high speed computer controlled cutting tool to remove up to 8mm of barrel surface to reveal clean oak. Each barrel is then infra-red toasted and provided two new heads, either French or American oak  The Phoenix system has been shown to produce “like-new” performance from mature barrels.  The system is so effective that even barrels previously containing red wine can be used successfully for white wine fermentation and maturation.

Diverse Barrel Solutions has been operating Phoenix in Australia over four years.  “We thought that there had to be a way to increase the amount of oak available to a wine from a barrel over a greater proportion of a barrel’s lifecycle.” said Nick Wickham, Managing Director of DBS. “By adapting precision scanning and cutting technology from other industries, we are consistently achieving 80-90% increase in oak extractables, critical to the building of a wine’s structure.”

"Barrel restoration by Phoenix is a precision-guided solution to the high cost of small cooperage” said Eric Dahlberg, Winesecrets Founder and President. “I am confident that our customers see this technology as one more way to control production costs without compromising quality."

Diverse Barrel Solutions Pty Ltd was founded in Adelaide, South Australia in 2003 to offer a range of oak solutions to the global wine industry includingPhoenix, theOptima range of barrels made from 24 month country of origin seasoned French and American oak and theLe Grand range of Bordeaux & Burgundy style imported oak barrels.

To schedule barrel restoration, or to learn more about this outstanding technology, please contact Eric Dahlberg at 1.888.656.5553, or via email ateric@winesecrets.com . To inquire about direct purchase of Phoenix-processed barrels, contact Eric Mercier at (800) 227-5625 or by e-mail ateric@premierwinecask.com.  Visit Winesecrets on the web at www.winesecrets.com.

Laccase is an enzyme formed by Botrytis cinerea on grape surfaces in the vineyard. It is a polyphenol oxidase and is responsible for browning in white wine and loss of pigmentation in red wine. High levels of rot during the 2011 harvest have resulted in laccase issues at many wineries.

Unlike tyrosinase, the polyphenol oxidase (PPO) that is formed in the grape skin, laccase is an issue long after harvest has finished. Laccase is stable in alcohol, does not respond to SO₂, reacts with many different wine components and cannot be fined away with bentonite. For a more detailed discussion of laccase in wine, please refer to the whitepaper posted on our website.

Winesecrets can address your laccase issues with heat treatment or ultrafiltration. Heat treatment requires heating a wine to 60 °C, holding it at that temperature for 20 seconds and cooling it down immediately. For a discussion of this method using Winesecrets equipment, please refer to the upcoming ANZ Grapegrower & Winemaker article at winesecrets.com  

Ultrafiltration (UF) removes both the enzyme and the polymerized phenolics at one time. With filtration of 50,000 Daltons, laccase and the polymerized phenolics it caused are removed from your wine. UF restores the intended flavor and color of wine affected by laccase and Botrytis.   

Laccase is an enzyme formed by Botrytis on grape surfaces in the vineyard. It is a polyphenol oxidase and is responsible for browing in white wine and loss of pigmentation in red wine. 

Winemakers are familiar with Tyrosinase, a polyphenol oxidase (PPO) that is formed in the grape skin. It is typically responsible for browning in white juice. Oxygen exclusion, SO2 or hyperoxidation are effective mitigation steps to avoid issues with tyrosinase. 

Laccase is more difficult to address than tyrosinase. Characteristics that make laccase problematic include:

• Laccase is stable in wine due to its alcohol tolerance. This make laccase a potential threat post-fermentation.
• The enzyme is resistant to SO2. High rates of SO2 can be applied to scavenge the oxygen in a wine, preventing the browning reaction. SO2 will not affect laccase and once SO2 is consumed, the enzyme will promote the phenolic polymerization reaction.
• Laccase can react with many substrates. Tyrosinase reacts with caffeic and coumaric acids. Once those are consumed, the reaction cannot proceed. Laccase can use a broad range of phenolics along with ascorbic acid as a substrate.
• Bentonite fining will not remove laccase.
  • Laccase has an iso-electric point of 2.5.
  • At wine pH, laccase has a negative charge.
  • Bentonite has a negative charge and bonds with positively charged proteins to remove them during fining.

The enzyme can be removed from juice or wine with Ultrafiltration at 50,000 Daltons. Ultrafiltration will remove the enzyme and the polymerized phenolics responsible for browning in white wine and loss of pigment in reds.

To learn more about laccase treatment or to schedule Ultrafiltration for your wine, please contact Winesecrets.

Graton, California – February 14, 2011 -  Sonoma Wine Company, the North Bay Wine Country’s largest, full-service crush-to-bottle contract winery services provider has partnered with Winesecrets to offer cross platform services to their respective clients, providing the wine industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of services in California. Clients of both companies will now have the ability to be supported through the entire winemaking process; from sourcing and managing fruit, custom crushing and blending, bottling, labeling, barrel storage, bulk wine storage, and case goods storage services to a full spectrum of additional specialty vinification services. This newest partnership is a continuation of Sonoma Wine Company’s ongoing Strategy to develop strategic alliances with key supply chain service providers to assist client wineries with opportunities for improved efficiencies and reduced costs by providing a“one stop shopping” alternative. Previously, Sonoma Wine Company announced the formation of a strategic alliance with WTN Services™/The Winetasting Network, to offer a full service platform for Direct To Consumer fulfillment and compliance services, distribution and sales.

Sonoma Wine Company is a full-service crush-to-bottle contract winery partnering with wine producers from all over Northern California to crush, ferment, barrel, bottle and warehouse wine programs of all sizes. Annual production consists of crushing over 7,500 tons, bottling in excess of four million cases, managing over 65,000 barrels, and storing in excess 1.2 million cases of wine for clients both large and small - all while using some of the most environmentally sustainable winemaking practices in the industry

The partnership with Winesecrets will provide winery clients with additional vital services that will compliment their custom crush requirements by providing Crossflow filtration, centrifugal clarification, spoilage taint removal via Reverse Osmosis (RO), Alcohol Adjustment , Velcorin Dosing, Ultrafiltration, , and STARS (electrodialysis for instant cold stabilization), services.

Together, Sonoma Wine Company and Winesecrets becomes the ultimate in one-stop custom winemaking service.

Mark Castaldi, General Manager Sonoma Wine Company, indicated, “We are very enthusiastic about the alliance that we have recently forged with Winesecrets. This new partnership allows us to provide in-house filtration and wine finishing services to our outside clients at an extremely competitive price by eliminating the need for our clients to transport their wines to an outside location and the added costs associated with double handling. Winesecrets is a leader in this field and offers some of the newest and most comprehensive technologies available”.

“Sonoma Wine Company is a clear leader in cost effective production services,” said Eric Dahlberg, President of Winesecrets. “Our alliance with Sonoma Wine Company offers their clients access to cutting edge winemaking technologies while providing Winesecrets with an operating hub to service our new and existing customers.”

About Sonoma Wine Company

Sonoma Wine Company is a full-service crush-to-bottle contract winery partnering with wine producers from all over Northern California to crush, ferment, barrel, bottle and warehouse wine programs of all sizes. With six modern facilities located in both Sonoma and Napa counties we can accommodate any size program. With superior customer service and a wide array of equipment including state-of-the-art crush facilities, over two million gallons of stainless cooperage, and six modern bottling lines, we can tailor our facilities and highly experienced staff to match your program so you can spend the time connecting with your distributors, building your customer base and growing your brands. At Sonoma Wine Company we have tailored our business to match the size of almost any wine program from private label to large contract producers. Whether you’re producing 500 cases or 500,000 cases, as your brand grows, we will always grow with you.

About Winesecrets

Winesecrets was founded in 2003 to bring STARS, an environmentally friendly solution for tartaric stabilization to the North Ameican wine industry. Winesecrets other filtration services include Volatile Acidity Reduction, Brettanomyces (4EP/4EG) mitigation, and other taint removal. Winesecrets also provides mobile and fixed Alcohol Adjustment (at its Sebastopol, CA hub), Ultra Filtration, Cross-Flow Micro-Filtration and mobile centrifugal clarification. Other services include pH adjustment through bi-polar Electrodialysis, Thermo Flash must treatment and lees filtration via cross flow.

Sebastopol, California – February 8, 2011 -  American Winesecrets, LLC., North America’s leading mobile wine filtration company, announced a strategic relationship with Separator Technology Services, US Inc. to supply mobile centrifuge technology to wine producers. Available in September, American Winesecrets (Winesecrets) has two skid mounted Separator Technology Services (STS) 45 High Performance Clarifiers available on the west coast.

The High Performance Clarifiers are a strategic fit for Winesecrets. The company is noted for improving wine making efficiency through both its mobile service offerings and its leading edge equipment sales technology.

“We are excited about the opportunity to diversify our extensive offering of mobile wine filtration services,” said Eric Dahlberg, Winesecrets Founder and President.  “This technology enhances our offering of value-added, highly efficient separation technologies.”

Winesecrets’ other filtration technologies include Volatile Acidity Reduction, Brush-Fire Smoke and Brett Taint Removal and Alcohol Adjustment using Reverse Osmosis, Tartraric Stabilization and pH Reduction using STARS, Cross-Flow Filtration, and Ultra Filtration.

Mobile centrifuge is made possible by the unique skid mounted design. The STS skid allows for safe transport to customer site along with necessary leveling to assure optimal operation. Winesecrets considerable experience with delivery of mobile technology to wineries assures efficient, trouble free operation.

“Centrifuge usage can streamline winemaking operations during both harvest and bottle preparation,” said Ashley Whittington, President of STS US.  “From white juice settling to bentonite lees removal, the STS technology will greatly improve the efficiently of the most time consuming winemaking operations.”

The STS 45 is ideal for juice settling, primary fermentation lees removal, red gross lees settling and quick removal of malolactic and bentonite lees. The mobile unit will process juice and wine with fermentation lees at rates of 53 gpm while removing fine lees and bentonite at rates of 7 gpm.

Winesecrets was founded in 2003 to bring STARS, an environmentally friendly solution for tartaric stabilization to the California market. In 2008, Winesecrets acquired Vinovation and its suite of filtration technologies.

STS is a based in Melbourne, Australia with offices in France, South Africa and San Francisco. The company has over 25 centrifuge units in operation throughout the world including the largest producers in South Africa and the USA.

To reserve your STS 45 for harvest or to learn more about this outstanding technology, please contact Eric Dahlberg at 1.888.656.5553.

Sonoma, CA - - - October 28, 2010 - - -for immediate release - - - Carneros Vintners announced the availability of an artisan-scale version of Della Toffola’s Thermoflash  system at their facility in Sonoma, CA  Thermoflash technology was developed to improve extraction of color and to reduce unripe flavor characteristics prior to the fermentation of red wines.  Treatment by thermoflash may prove beneficial for grapes whose maturity has been set back by recent rains, as it may boost the brix of treated must.

Thermoflash streamlines red maceration by rapidly heating must and then cooling it instantaneously in a vacuum chamber. The treatment results in the rupturing of cell walls initiating an efficient breakdown of the structure of the berry.   The mobile Thermoflash unit is capable of processing up to 1.5 tons per hour of must.   It will be sited at the Carneros Vintners facility during the remainder of this harvest season. Della Toffola’s full-sized system, newly installed at Lodi Vintners, is designed to treat 35 tons of must per hour.

“A whole new dimension of winemaking” says veteran winemaker Barry Gnekow. “Flash technology may redefine our view of terroir.  It may reveal that ’air-oir’ eclipses ‘terroir’ for flavor expression”.

 “Thermoflash has key advantages over standard maceration,” said Maria Angela Guarienti CEO of Della Toffola, USA.  “The system maximizes phenolic extraction while flashing off the pyrazines and denaturing damaging enzymes such as polyphenol oxidase and laccase. Thermoflash reduces skin contact time, improving efficiency during harvest,” added Guarienti.  

The mobile system at Carneros Vintners is being operated by Winesecrets, who recently operated the unit in Eastern Canada.  “Thermoflash appears to be an exciting tool for improving wine quality,” said Eric Dahlberg, Winesecrets Founder and President.  “We have it on wheels”.

The Della Toffola Group (Della Toffola S.p.A.) is based in Treviso, Italy with subsidiaries in France, Spain, Australia, Chile, Argentina and Windsor, CA. The company has been supplying process equipment to the wine industry for over 40 years.

Carneros Vintners, opened in 2009, is part of the Vintners Group, which also operates Lodi Vintners near Woodbridge, CA.  

To schedule grapes for processing with the artisan-scale Thermoflash, please call Caneros Vintners winemaker Dave Dobson at 707-933-9349.  To schedule full production-sized lots at Lodi Vintners, please call Tyson Rippey at 209-368-5338.  To learn more about Thermoflash or how this technology can streamline harvest operations, please contact Rick Jones at 1 707 319 1376, or via email atrick@winesecrets.com. Visit Winesecrets on the web atwww.winesecrets.com.

Sebastopol, CA - for immediate release - Winesecrets, and Della Toffola, USA, subsidiary of the Della Toffola Group, announced the implementation of a demonstration scale version of the Thermoflash “Flash Détente”  thermovinification system . Thermoflash streamlines red maceration by rapidly heating must and then cooling it instantaneously in a vacuum chamber. The treatment results in the rupturing of cell walls initiating an efficient breakdown of the structure of the berry. The demonstration-scale system will be operated in the Canada’s Niagara Region during this harvest season.

“Thermoflash appears to be an exciting tool for improving wine quality,” said Eric Dahlberg, Winesecrets Founder and President.  “Working with Della Toffola on this project is part of our mission to help our customers evaluate and implement leading edge production technologies from all over the world”

 “Thermoflash has key advantages over standard maceration,” said Maria Angela Guarienti CEO of Della Toffola, USA.  “The system maximizes phenolic extraction while flashing off the pyrazines and denaturing damaging enzymes such as polyphenol oxidase. Thermoflash reduces skin contact time, improving efficiency during harvest,” added Guarienti.  

Thermoflash is a stand-alone system available from Della Toffola. Production-scale Thermoflash installations range in size from 5 to 60 tons per hour.

Winesecrets was founded in 2003 to bring STARS, an environmentally friendly solution for tartaric stabilization to the North Ameican wine industry.   Winesecrets other filtration services include VA Reduction, Taint Removal and Alcohol Adjustment, Ultra Filtration, Cross-Flow Micro-Filtration and mobile centrifugal clarification.

The Della Toffola Group (Della Toffola S.p.A.) is a based in Treviso, Italy with subsidiaries in Spain, Australia, Chile, Argentina and Windsor, CA. The company has been supplying process equipment to the wine industry for over 40 years.

To learn more about Thermoflash or how this technology can streamline harvest operations, please contact Eric Dahlberg at 1.888.656.5553, or via email at eric@winesecrets.com. Visit Winesecrets on the web at www.winesecrets.com.

Wouldn’t you like to dial in the alcohol profile and unlock the potential of your wines? With Microstar, you can have bench top trials and find where your wines taste best (the “sweet spot” of your wine), so you can sculpt it to the way you want it.

Simply send us your samples and we do small scale trials for –

Alcohol Sweet Spot – you can get back lower alcohol wine to do your own lab trials, or get back a tasting sample series, so you can just taste and pick the right alcohol, or sweet spot, for your wine at your winery.

Taint Removal trials – would you like to know what that wine would taste like without the taint (such as smoke, brett, or others)? We can run a sample through the unit and return them for you to evaluate.

Winesecrets, North America’s leader in bringing innovative technology to the wine industry, proudly introduces Microstar, portable units for running trial lots, from Memstar Australia.

Don’t forget – Winesecrets offers RO Services, Cross Flow micro filtration, Ultra Filtration and STARS wine stabilization as well.