The painstaking process of going from grape to bottle depends on a myriad of critical factors, not the least of which involves the quality of the water used to clean and sanitize the production and bottling line equipment necessary to winemaking facilities.

City water sources often contain chlorine and other taint precursors, which can directly affect the resulting quality of wine by allowing microorganisms and other agents into wine filtration systems before wines go to bottle.

Scott Laboratories, the leading supplier for the North American wine and specialty beverage industry, has introduced the ScottCart Aqua water filtration system: a simple, highly effective way to ensure taint, particle and microbe-free water for applications throughout the wine and beverage production process.

ScottCart Aqua works with an all-in-one cartridge filtration kit that purifies water through three easy steps:

• A 30” Clarify Carbon cartridge to remove toxins, heavy metals, taste, color, chlorine, fluoride and more
• A 20” Purify PP cartridge to polish the water to a bright, solid-free state, removing any visual solids and reducing the larger microorganism population
• A 20” Finish PP to provide the final polish and deliver a microorganism-reduced, solid-free finish

According to Maria Peterson, Scott Labs’ Technical Filtration Specialist, this three-step water filtration kit provides a “multi-pronged approach to having better water whenever and wherever you want it in your facility.”

“You don’t want to load up your production and bottling line facilities with microorganisms before the wine even gets there,” Peterson points out. “Using this system does the heavy lifting you need to remove stuff you don’t want to have the wine dissolve for you. If the water isn’t up to standard and isn’t pre-filtered, it can clog bottling filters before you even introduce the wine.”

Ashton Lough, Winemaker at The Winery at Bull Run and Three Creeks Winery, and Cidermaker at Whistle Pig Cidery in Virginia, is a long-time enthusiast of Scott Labs as well as a recent purchaser of the ScottCart Aqua system. He vouches for the quality of the individual components in the overall system design.

“ScottCart Aqua contains the highest-grade stainless steel available, which has a high tolerance to acids and bases, so it doesn’t pit,” Lough testifies. “Pitting can collect biomaterial that can get you when you least expect it."

“It’s obvious that Scott Labs paid attention to detail and talked to winemakers during the design process. No tools are required. It rolls right up, some of the components are spring-loaded, so it’s quick and easy to install and you’re ready to go.”

The ScottCart Aqua system is composed of a Housing Kit, which includes a complete set of stainless-steel housings, valves and pressure gauge combinations, connectors, stands and brackets.

It is intended for use with the ScottCart Aqua Cartridge Kit, containing one each of the double-open ended filtration cartridges. Scott Labs recommends that the cartridges be changed out every three months for maximum purification performance. With a subscribe & save option, winemakers can set it and forget it with new cartridges automatically delivered to their doorstep when it’s time to make the switch.

“Many wineries, breweries, distillers, and more don’t test water because they don’t know what to test for,” comments Peterson. “ScottCart Aqua removes those questions and variables from the equation for small to medium producers.”

By hooking up directly to your facility’s water station, this first-of-its-kind system requires minimal footprint at maximum value to help ensure the highest quality end-result for winemakers, brewers, distillers, and beyond.

For more information and to order online, go to: scottcart aqua | Scott Laboratories.

water filtration ScottCart Aqua