Australia has become a major player in the wine business, ranking as the fifth largest wine producer in 2016, with 13 million hectolitres. Vineyards now make up approximately 115,880 hectares of land. While the production of wine is a multi-step process with many stages and equipment, you may be surprised to know of the role pumps play in getting the finished product to consumers. Pumps are necessary for the transfer, filtration, and bottling process among others. Allied Pumps recently completed a project for Naturaliste Vintners, which already had several of our pumps on premise and were pleased with their efficiency. So, when they wanted to increase product, they turned to us for help.
The history of pumps in wine making goes back to the use of flexible impeller and piston pumps. Impellers were initially used for smaller wineries while pistons were part of the high-end production process. However, both of these pumps had shortcomings. The flexible impellers could not move solids, which meant they weren’t sufficient in the must-transfer segment. They also could not run while dry or they would suffer overheating, which would damage the pump and wine. Pistons had the ability to transfer with low-shear attributes, but they were deemed a safety issue and could be subject to leaking.
The modern pumps used in winemaking have overcome these limitations. They now have the ability to be shear-sensitive, which means it must transport the liquid without upsetting its current state, as this could alter the product. There is also the need for deadhead functionality, wherein the pumping could start and stop without heating the wine, which would impact its integrity. Wine requires a much different process and careful consideration when compared to most any other liquid that pumps transfer. Finally, the pumps must have strong suction lift.
Naturaliste Vintners is a custom crush winery located in Western Australia. It has produced award-winning wines and embraces modern approaches to delivering the best wines for their clients. They are a vine to wine operations with skilled wine makers leading the way.
To increase production, we worked with Naturaliste Vintners to deliver an optimal solution. This included the use of helical impeller pumps, designed to pump products that contain solids and require special care. Helical rotor pumps use a single threaded rotor turning inside a double threaded shaped rubber stator. They are known to be durable with minimal wear and achieve zero leakage. We installed three Inoxpa 3” Helical Impeller Pumps without VSD. These were coupled to 2.2 KW motors, mounted to stainless steel trolleys with 3” BSM to 2” tri-clover reducers on the suction and delivery, as well as CMG motors and 2 to 200-minute timers. By adding this additional pumping equipment, Naturaliste Vintners is able to expand its capacity and produce more world-class wines for wine lovers here and abroad.
Allied Pumps was glad to be a partner to Naturaliste Vintners, providing them with a robust solution. We’ve been specialising in innovative pumping, storage and treatment solutions for over 25 years. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you, contact us today.
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