Luke will be speaking in Session 8. Solving problems with technology. Click here to see more.
Abstract
The modern winemaker has many levers they can pull to impact the final quality of their wine.
In the final stages before packaging, one could argue that dissolved gas management is one of the most critical to ensure finished wine quality remains high. The balance of Dissolved Oxygen, Dissolved Carbon Dioxide and Dissolved Nitrogen is fundamental to longevity and customer appreciation.
Luke will discuss the application of a hydrophobic gas transfer membrane to wine prior to packaging utilising control systems to achieve the right dissolved gas specification. Looking at examples at a production scale where degassing and carbonating via membrane can be done efficiently and saving significant time and effort.
Combining the technology of gas transfer membranes with process control automation, it takes the application to a level where it can be incorporated with other operations to deliver fast and accurate adjustment while minimising time effort and financial costs.
Biography
Luke is the General Services and Engineering Manager at Yalumba Family Winemakers. He is also Deputy President and a Director of the Winery Engineering Association. Luke is a Chemical Engineer and holds a Graduate Diploma in Oenology. He has 17 years’ experience in the wine industry.
In that time, Luke has been involved in projects focusing on filtration and dissolved gas management and control in wines. He has a strong belief in the application of process sensors to wine to better understand and automate functions for consistency and quality. Key projects include the implementation of Lees Crossflow Filtration to replace RDV earth filters, design and installation of an inline bottling filtration and control system and the application of a gas contact membrane system for dissolved gas management prior to bottling.
Luke has a keen interest in the automation of data and information gathering, optimising business processes and information flow for better decision making.