Browsing by Author "Sheridan, Craig"

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    A critical process analysis of wine production to improve cost efficiency, wine quality and environmental performance
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2003-03) Sheridan, Craig; Bauer, Florian; Lorenzen, L.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Viticulture and Oenology. Institute for Wine Biotechnology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Wine cellars are diverse in terms of equipment types and process configurations. Whilst other food production processes have, in many cases, been properly analysed and modelled, this process diversity has resulted in an absence of process analyses in the wine industry. Each wine cellar is unique and represents a fully integrated agro-business, starting with a raw material (grapes) and extending to marketing and selling of the final product (wine). This makes the wine industry unique in this context. This study is the first attempt to analyse winemaking procedures in the form of a process audit. The study was approached in the following manner: • A questionnaire was developed to assess cellar configurations and conditions. This questionnaire was submitted to a statistically significant number of cellars, and a statistically significant number of questionnaires were returned. • The data collected from the questionnaire were statistically analysed and associations between equipment or procedures and wine faults were identified. • Three cellars were studied in depth. These three cellars had their processes audited and their effluent characterised. Additional data were obtained from current sampling projects and these data were analysed to complement the data obtained from the questionnaire • A preliminary input/output model was developed. The major results of this study are: • It was found that certain faults that appear in wine might be associated with equipment and/or process faults. These associations are statistically significant and they show that cellar hygiene is of critical importance when assessing these wine faults. The most important of these faults are VA, microbial contamination of the wine, sluggish and stuck fermentations. A risk hierarchy was derived to indicate which events are associated with others most strongly. • It was found that few wineries measure water consumption and even fewer wineries measure the quantity of effluent produced. • Correlations have been developed to predict winery parameters in terms of tons of grapes pressed per annum. These parameters include water and electricity consumed, wine produced and the quantity of effluent produced. Effluent characteristics have also been correlated to the tons of grapes pressed per annum. These characteristics include chemical oxygen demand, sodium absorption ratio and total dissolved solids in solution. Chemical oxygen demand was identified as the most important contributing factor in winery effluent. It was shown that all variables rise with an increase in cellar size, but the rise is not linear. This implies that large cellars have greater quantities of effluent of lower quality than small cellars. Most cellars have effluent concentrations that require some form of effluent treatment. The characterisation of effluent shows that the most widely used disposal practice is irrigation, and that the effluent disposed in this manner does not meet legislative requirements. • A preliminary input/output model was developed in order to enable wineries that have not measured the relevant parameters to predict the abovementioned variations. The resolution of these predictions is low but the model serves to provide an initial estimate if there are no data available. The model will give industrial averages for any given cellar size. • An economic balance was performed using this preliminary model. It was shown that if cellars were to lower the consumption of utilities and to reduce the strength of their effluent (using cleaner practices and not dilution) the reduction of operating costs could be reduced by 14% for smaller cellars to 17% for larger cellars. This study has shown that it is possible to make wine in a more environmentally friendly manner, producing better quality wines, without incurring extra costs.