DRY ICE IN THE ENOGASTRONOMIC INDUSTRY
The use of dry ice in the wine industry has acquired a certain relevance since it is a food additive, it has a constant – 80°C temperature, and it is specifically useful to be employed as a cold source to control the vinification temperature.
It can be used as follows:
– On grapes during transport from the vineyard to the wine cellar,
– During the destemming and crushing processes,
– To cool down must,
– To have carbonic maceration.
It is used in pellets that are moved in a specific packaging that allows it to be used even a long time after being produced.
During grape harvest, the main application for it is cooling the grape bunches from the vineyards to the cellar.
In the cellar, it is employed during multiple vinification phases whenever it is needed to control or lower the temperature.
Thanks to the use of dry ice, every grape grain keeps its properties from the moment it is harvested all the way to the must maceration.
The low temperature allows for the crushing of the grains’ skins, which contain aromatic substances that usually get lost during the vinification phases, resulting in stronger aromas and brighter colours.
In order to avoid the early degradation of the harvest, it is possible to employ a cooling in the vineyard method which implies continuously cooling the grapes without stressing them.
The high temperatures reached in the last few years have considerably increased the risks of beginning fermentation inside the bucket trucks.
During the transportation of the grapes, dry ice cooling prevents the acceleration of enzyme activity that normally happens when the grapes are moved into the containers inside the truck.
The cold allows for the must to absorb many aromas, and, in turn, the must produces a wine rich in primary aromas. The wines produced with this type of maceration have more intense and complex aromas.
In the winemaking industry, dry ice is also starting to be employed for the regeneration and sanitization of barriques.
Dry ice has acquired a key role with its extraordinary ability to cool things down. Its application is simple and flexible, and its investing costs are low.