The Client –
South Coast based wine producer
The Challenge –
Emergency cooling requirement
The Solution –
Aqua Pro chiller hire
The UK wine industry has experienced considerable growth over recent years, with the sector worth billions of pounds annually. The number of vineyards has increased, as well as wine tourism, and the UK experienced its biggest vintage to date in 2023. Numbers were up 50% on the previous record year of 2018, resulting in over 20 million bottles of still & sparkling wine being produced.
Vineyards typically harvest their grapes between late September to early October. There are a number of factors that affect timings, including the weather, the type of grape being grown and the desired ripeness for the grape. All winemakers strive for the perfect harvest and some years are naturally better than others. It’s a pivotal time, trying to get the perfect balance of sugar, acidity, and tannins in the final product. Pick too early and you risk a lack of favour, richness, and complexity, pick too late and you risk too much sugar and therefore too much alcohol.
Each year Aqua partner with wine producers across the UK, supporting them with their temperature control requirements. Last Autumn, we helped a vineyard’s harvest stay on track with emergency chiller hire, when the unit within their processing facility failed.
Situation
Once a decision is made to pick the grapes, the vineyard & winery teams go into over drive, to ensure the grapes are picked and taken to the winery as fast as possible. Then the processing starts which includes several stages, including crushing, pressing, fermentation, clarification, and aging/bottling.
Temperature control plays an important role throughout the process. For example, when the grapes are crushed, cooling limits oxidation. Then, during fermentation, yeast converts the sugars into alcohol, which generates heat. The heat needs removing to maintain the optimal temperature. Effective cooling also prevents unwanted reactions or microorganisms growing, consistent cooling important to the success of the final product appearing on supermarket shelves.
Our client’s chiller kept a series of jacketed vessels cool. These vessels housed the wine whilst it was being processed. The chiller had previously struggled to cope with the load required during the busy harvest season. When the chiller completely failed, suddenly the success of their entire harvest was at risk.
Solution
One call to our hire desk, and the team quickly despatched 2 x 40kW Aqua Pro hire chillers to site, along with an engineer to take care of installation and commissioning ASAP. For additonal peace of mind, the chiller system had built-in redundancy.
“Time really was of the essence with this job” explains Aqua Hire Engineer, Ben. “The wine harvest is a manic period for everyone involved and every second counts. All the hard work of a successful growing season can go out the window so quickly if there’s any delays with processing the grapes. A good – or bad – harvest can make or break a vineyard, so they need a temperature control partner who really understands the challenges they face and can provide a chiller hire service to match.”
Results
With the hire chiller up and running the same day, the winery team worked overtime to make up lost time and to keep the harvest on track. We subsequently supplied them with a new, permanent replacement chiller, and they’ve also taken up a Planned Preventative Maintenance plan with Aqua. That means their new Aqua Pro chiller will be looked after all year round, so it will take next year’s harvest in its stride, much to the relief of everyone involved!
We’ll also be on hand to support our client at a strategic level, ensuring that their cooling is at the right capacity for planned growth, giving them the option to purchase or hire additional equipment as and when required.
Another option some of our winery customers take up is our free contingency planning service. From a site visit, we establish exactly what you’ll need should your existing cooling system fail. Think of it like a free insurance plan. If the worse happens and your equipment fails, we know in advance exactly what you need and the quickest way to deliver it to site, making the process as seamless as possible.
If you’re a vineyard or winery looking for temperature control support, chat with the team on 0333 004 4433.
