Laboratory device for the evaluation of selective vegetal fibres

Abstract

Abstract. Protection of the vineyard against diseases and pests may lead to pesticide residues in the wine. Traces of these active substances, even at concentrations below the legal limits, alarm the consumers and can compromise the potential to sale wines to some markets. A new oenological practice based on the use of selective vegetal fibres for the reduction of pesticide residues in wine is under evaluation by the International Organization of Vine and Wine. This technology, implemented on wine during filtration, is very effective for certain substances and impacts only little the wine quality. A laboratory pilot filtration device has been developed in order to confirm the efficiency of this treatment and its impact on the wine quality before its large-scale use in industrial conditions. This simple device is made of a peristaltic pump and a laboratory filter holder. Several wines with different fibre doses and filtration speeds can be rapidly tested, at bottle scale (75 cl). This pilot filtration device would be a quick and easy tool for the winemakers to evaluate the impact of a filtration on their wines using selective vegetal fibres in terms of efficiency to reduce the pesticide residues, chemical composition and of sensory quality.