Last updated on January 27th, 2021 at 08:11 am
Glycol Chillers for Wine
As civilization started to develop and humans evolved from hunter-gatherers to farmers, vineyards and winemaking became very prominent. The first vineyard is said to have been planted by Noah on Mount Ararat, where the ark supposedly came to rest.
Some believe that it was somewhere in Georgia, Armenia, and Eastern Turkey, where people made the first wines. Vinification then moved towards Egypt –passing through Canaan and ancient Israel, the world’s earliest great wine culture. The Greeks, Phoenicians, and Romans helped introduce this culture to Europe and North Africa, where wine became the mainstay of the economy.
Wine had many uses: it was used as a disinfectant, in cooking, as a dye, for digestion, and religious rituals. And people drank profuse amounts of wine –it was much safer than the water.
The people knew something about winemaking in those days. After treading the grapes with bare feet, the mash would pass through rudimentary filters of twigs and flow into a “yekev,” a deep hole in the ground that was the “winery,” where the grapes would start to ferment. The depth of this “well” kept the temperature constant, and in 3-5 days, they had wine!
Processing Temperatures for Winery Chillers
Today’s winery chillers are a far cry from the “yekev”. Through trial and error and scientific studies, we now know that the art of making good wine requires precise temperature control.
Wines are produced under the most precise conditions. Every wine type requires a unique processing temperature to achieve consistent quality of each batch and preserve aroma, color, and taste.
Controlling the processing temperatures inside the fermentation vats is critical to achieving the best wine — this is where the yeasts get converted to alcohol and where the flavors are developed. Less than ideal temperatures will produce inferior products.
The recommended temperatures are:
- White wines 45 – 60 °F (ca. 16 °C)
- Red wines 70 – 85 °F (ca. 29 °C)
At J.C. Younger, we use the best quality materials to design the vats and manufacturing process systems to create the most dependable industrial winery chillers with chiller rentals, remanufactured chillers, and chillers for sale available. With proper maintenance, our winery chillers will provide you many good years of service.
Glycol Winery Chillers
Winery chillers are designed as a “closed-loop tubing” system that is attached to the heat exchanger. Glycol (or propylene glycol) is an antifreeze that can chill to extremely low temperatures. Wineries typically use a mixture of water and glycol to cool the winemaking vats to achieve the right temperature for specific wines.
Propylene glycol has a lower toxicity than ethylene glycol. It offers good heat transfer qualities, low viscosity (which makes pumping easier), and is non-corrosive, making it the chemical of choice for many of these applications. Another benefit of propylene glycol is its availability and ease of production that makes it very affordable.
Industrial glycol winery chillers are designed to be low-temp chillers –they can reach sub-zero temperatures more efficiently and without freezing. The closed-loop system prevents corrosion from city water sources while providing lubrication for chiller pumps.
Choosing a Winery Chiller That is Right for You
A business should consider their needs carefully when acquiring a glycol chiller, not just their present needs but also their future needs. If they plan on robust growth within the next couple of years, then acquiring a larger chiller than their current needs call for may be a wise investment. Sizing your chiller appropriately should enable you to meet your business cooling needs for a long time to come.
Rent or Buy?
Buying a chiller may be cost-prohibitive for startups and small businesses. Renting a chiller until you can upgrade has its benefits—the biggest one is that you are not responsible for costly repairs. Also, you can ship the unit back before parts become obsolete. You even access to the manufacturer’s experts for technical help.
Reconditioned winery coolers are also an option, considering their price point.
Caring for the Equipment
Downtime can seriously disrupt your business –but machinery does break down. Some preventative maintenance goes a long way.
Routine maintenance would include:
- Change out the filters on a regular schedule
- Checking the glycol reservoirs
- Cleaning your units regularly
- Inspecting the condenser coils regularly
- Monitoring the ambient temperature
- Using the right cooling blend
We offer top quality Standard Winery Chillers, as well as Custom Chilling Units. With over 140 years of collective experience in the refrigeration industry, JCY Industrial Chiller‘sexpertise goes beyond other chiller manufacturers.
Our industrial package and light commercial chillers include chiller rentals for the temporary, long term, or emergency use for all types of applications. We also offer reconditioned units.
Our chillers are:
- Designed for dependable, reliable service
- No specialized or OEM components
- Industrial design and construction
- Each unit is custom-designed to the individual customer and application
- … Plus more!
By discussing a few simple ideas about your long-term plans we can save you time and money, and allow your winery to expand when you are ready. We can help you match a Winery Chilling unit to your present and future needs as your winery grows.
For a same-day quote, contact JYC Industrial Chillers today for the best winery process chiller for all your needs! We offer 24/7 technical support to assist with any of our products.
