Napa Valley: even the USA oenology chooses VLS

Many visitors showed interest for VLS solutions introduced at the latest Unified Grape Symposium of Sacramento, the biggest wine Exhibition in the USA. Particularly interesting was the new VLS’ technology called Lees- Stop. It is the suitable solution for high solids liquid filtration and it replaces the standard polymeric membranes of the crossflow filters with innovative membranes in sintered Stainless Steel (sintering is a thermal treatment for the Stainless Steel powders; the high temperature “welds” the powders together heating them up under their fusion point). It has been verified that this kind of material is perfectly suitable for cross flow filtration of difficult products, with about 70% of suspended solids. Sintering creates porous surfaces with a typical configuration of tubular membranes used standardly in the crossflow filtration. Moreover, the sintered Stainless Steel has a configuration which assures a high mechanical and chemical resistance which becomes a high resilience to pressure, thermal shocks, tampering and high pH chemical cleanings. This system allows to get more juice and more wine; volumes which would be discarded otherwise: it is clear that this is a factor for producers of high quality wines.

We are making a name for ourselves in the USA market thanks to our partnership with Scott Laboratories, a Company that have been an answer to American wineries for over 80 years now. Scott Laboratories provides the entire range of solutions and services, from the grape reception to fermentation, from filtration to bottling.

The NAPA VALLEY is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) inside the Napa county in California; it is considered one of the most important region for wine vocation.

The NAPA VALLEY numbers are noteworthy:
– Approximately 700 wine producers;
– 475 wineries which produces over 1000 different brands;
– The 95% of the wineries are family-run.

Except for the indigenous Zinfandel, Napa Valley’s viticulture is entirely based on internal varieties of French origins. Among the white grapes, over the 65% of the vineyards are planted with Chardonnay. Among the other white grape Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Sémillon e Gewürztraminer are cultivated. The Cabernet Sauvignon is the most cultivated red grape (over 50%). The other red grapes are Pinot Nero, Merlot, Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc e Petite Sirah; the latest does not have any link with the most well-known Syrah which is typical of the Rodano Valley in France.