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solution) sink to the bottom and are fed off, while unripe berries, raisins and any debris that fl oats fl ows off the top as waste. Not only is the fruit cleaner, which reduces ef- forts in the cellar, but winemakers now have the ability to sort out the best-quality fruit for their higher-value wines and achieve better press wines in the bargain. La Tribaie was developed by Amos Dis- tribution and Triviti in Beaune, France, and though it is not yet being used in the U.S., it is available through RLS Equipment. www.RLSEquipment.com An Eye for an Eye Automated optical sorting has been used in the processed food industry for more than ten years, but it has only recently been adapted, by well-known manufacturer Bu- cher Vaslin, for use in sorting wine grapes. The company, whose main manufacturing facility is located near Angers, in the Loire Valley, developed the Vistalys Delta R2, a sleek, stand-alone unit that uses computer imaging and forced air to sort whole berries from damaged fruit and debris. De-stemmed berries are fed in to the R2 on a textured conveyor belt that is designed to hold the fruit in place. The belt passes over an electric blue light emitting diode (LED) panel that allows each berry to be imaged by a video camera and analyzed for quality. Debris and damaged fruit are blown off by high-pressure air valves as the fruit makes its way off the machine. The Vistalys R2 is currently being used to improve wine quality at Château Grand Corbin-Despagne, a Saint-Emilion grand cru with Merlot and Cabernet Franc vine- yards that neighbor Pomerol, and at Casa Lapostolle's Clos Apalta winery in Chile's Colchagua Valley. It will be trialed by KLR Machines for the fi rst time in Northern Cali- fornia during the 2009 vintage. www.klrmachines.com The Big Chill When Mother Nature freezes late-harvest grapes, the fortunate result is ice wine; but when winemakers at Château Cos d'Estournel in Saint-Estèphe and at Clos Apalta turn down the temperature on their fruit, it's for an entirely different reason. Paris-based Air Liquide, the world's largest supplier of industrial gases, has adapted a tunnel freezing system, the aptly-named Himalaya, for processing wine grapes. The Himalaya uses liquid nitrogen to quick- freeze the fruit (at Cos d'Estournel to a rock solid -40 degrees C) as it travels down the tunnel on its way to being de-stemmed and sorted. Andrea León Iriarte, winemaker for La- postolle, uses both the tunnel freezer (she chills fruit to 2 degrees C) to prevent juicing during hand de-stemming and the Vistalys R2 for sorting at Clos Apalta. "This combina- tion of technologies works well for us," she says, "we recently tested the Vistalys and liked the way it performed, so we will be using it." One of the biggest advantages cited with the tunnel freezer at Cos d'Estournel was a 60 percent reduction in the use of sulfur, in addition to the benefi ts of virtually no juic- ing during processing and a jump-start on cold soaking. The rub here is that technolo- gies like the Himalaya are regional solutions used in France and countries outside the U.S. Air Liquide's domestic headquarters, based in Houston, Texas, is developing alter- nate solutions for the U.S. market. august 2009 / the tasting panel / 75 The Himalaya tunnel freezer uses liquid nitrogen to freeze whole clusters. www.klrmachines.com tion of technologies works well for us," she says, "we recently tested the Vistalys and liked the way it performed, so we will be using it." the tunnel freezer at Cos d'Estournel was a 60 percent reduction in the use of sulfur, in addition to the benefi ts of virtually no juic- ing during processing and a jump-start on cold soaking. The rub here is that technolo- gies like the Himalaya are regional solutions used in France and countries outside the U.S. Air Liquide's domestic headquarters, based in Houston, Texas, is developing alter- nate solutions for the U.S. market. The Himalaya tunnel freezer uses liquid nitrogen to freeze whole clusters. Air Liquide's Himalaya (shown here at Chile's Casa Lapostolle) dramatically reduces use of sulfur and facilitates cold soaking. PHOTO: JOSEPH PHILLIPS, MS