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The beginning of the end of PVPP in winemaking

You might have heard the phrase ‘fantastic plastic’ somewhere. Don’t agree with this sentiment? Look around you and chances are that you’ll immediately spot at least 10 to 20 items made of plastic. Unless you’re somewhere on a hunting trip, in which case you’ll immediately spot at least one Toyota bakkie.


Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone – hard to say rapidly, but effective fining tool

Plastic is light, durable, strong, and cheap. Qualities making it both useful and harmful. Unfortunately, Mother Nature eventually gets stuck with this stuff that is very hard to destroy and that can thus be found pretty much anywhere on earth. Much fuss is being made in the wine industry about sustainability and going green. For this reason, some parties are starting to make a big stink about PVPP use in cellars, as it ultimately adds to our plastic polluted planet problem. Phew!  

All things considered, PVPP really is a pretty decent fining product. It’s insoluble (an important point, unless you feel that you need more plastic in your diet) and acts like a protein by binding to phenolic compounds associated with pinking, browning, and bitterness phenomena. Notably, the use of PVPP on juice or wine, and its effect on positive aroma components, is widely accepted, particularly when added at the juice stage. Earlier in other words. It’s an ‘early bird catches the phenols’ type of thing, you know. But that bird needs a planet to live on and not a giant ball of plastic.


PVPP replacement has never sounded so sexy

By now you’re probably wondering if Laffort has developed a new ‘planet friendlier’ fining product, sans PVPP. Indeed, we have. Two of them. They are OENOFINE® PINK and OENOFINE® NATURE.


OENOFINE® PINK

  • Consists of inactivated yeasts, patatin, oenological carbon, and sodium bentonite.
  • Suitable for must, during fermentation and white wine.
  • Stabilisation of the hue of fermenting must and elimination of pinking in white wine.
  • Rapid settling of must and white wine.
  • Removal of aromas associated with rot.
  • Alternative to PVPP.

Trials have shown that OENOFINE® PINK is more effective than PVPP, at the same dosage, for hue stabilisation and protection of oxidation in rosé must. Too lazy to read all of that? Click here for a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-8HoUoRdc0).


OENOFINE® NATURE

  • Consists of inactivated yeasts, vegetable proteins (patatin & pea), and calcium bentonite.
  • Fining of must and wine.
  • The vegetable proteins are strongly reactive with phenolic compounds.
  • The inactivated yeast treats bitterness.
  • Natural calcium bentonite with strong settling properties to aid racking.
  • Protection against oxidation and hue stability.
  • Alternative to PVPP.

Trials have shown that OENOFINE® NATURE provides a similar fining action to PVPP by reacting with components responsible for oxidation and bitterness. In addition, it also causes a significant reduction in the modified clogging index (ICM) due to its reactivity with phenolic compounds. If you want to try something new fining wise, but are not that fond of using carbon in your wine, maybe consider using OENOFINE® NATURE. Still feeling lazy? Click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P6OrRkLylE.

Our new fining products can thus not only act as PVPP replacements, but are also capable of achieving more than just good old PVPP on its own. In the coming months much more will be said about these products. So, Greenies, Mother Nature, Winemakers, and all that are reading this blog – eat, drink and be merry! For this is a step in the right direction. Maybe just one small step, but a step nonetheless.

And speaking of one small step … For those that believe in the moon landing, did you know that plastic can even be found on the moon? How lunatic. 


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