Grape Washing
Purity and Quality. Grape Washing.
Research, curiosity, and experimentation, these are the driving forces behind Degli Azzoni Wines' continuous improvement, aimed at creating healthy, high-quality, and sustainable products.
Guided by this spirit of innovation, in 2021, the group completed a project dedicated to wine purity, safety, and the pleasure of drinking well by acquiring a machine for grape washing.
Our Wellness Treatment for Grapes
The experiment began with the 2021 harvest, applying grape washing to Ribona, a native Marche grape variety that gives life to some of our flagship wines.
The main goal of the washing and drying treatment is to ensure an even safer product with greater qualitative integrity for the consumer. This process removes dust and impurities that settle on the grape clusters, enhancing the quality and aroma of the wine.
Conti degli Azzoni is the third winery in Italy, and the first in the Marche region, to adopt the grape washing process. This innovation stems from our experience in producing derivatives of aromatic plants such as basil, where washing the raw material is a crucial step.
The Grape Washing Process
After manual harvesting and cooling in refrigerated storage, the grapes are placed on a conveyor belt that moves them directly into a soaking tank.
The washing process is carried out through an air-bubbling system, which creates controlled movement and flotation of the grape clusters, ensuring thorough cleaning without damaging the berries.
The air-bubbling system generates movement and controlled flotation of the grape clusters, preserving their integrity.
Calibrated, gentle air jets dry the grapes as they move along multi-level conveyor belts.
No waste water is repurposed for cleaning the winery and irrigation.
The drying process is performed using carefully calibrated air jets, applied on multi-level conveyor belts. This ensures that the must remains completely isolated from any residues of the washing water.
There are no drawbacks compared to traditional methods: the grape clusters remain intact and undamaged, no chemicals are used, only a gentle water wash and air drying, resulting in clean, residue-free grapes.
The final phase involves recovering the washing water, which is then used for winery cleaning and irrigation. We are already working on making the process even more efficient by implementing a filtration system that will allow the water to be reused for the washing cycle itself.