125 Gateway Rd E Suite D, Napa, CA, United States of America, 94558
Feeds
amaea – Additive Free Molecular Imprinted Polymer for PVPP Replacement, Polyphenol Adjustment; Smoke Remediation and Pyrazine Adjustment
Let me introduce amaea, the latest addition to VA Filtration’s suite of services. amaea is an award-winning, molecular filtration technology known for its unrivalled selectivity - allowing winemakers to enhance product quality while preserving the integrity of their wines.
Using molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP), amaea targets and removes undesired molecules, without the need for fining agents, masking or excessive stripping. The result? Refined and more balanced wines.
Why winemakers are choosing amaea:
- Precise removal of unwanted compounds – from balancing bitterness to remediating smoke impacts and pyrazines
- Preserves varietal character and body
- Reduces waste by replacing single-use fining agents
- Saves time with rapid, real-time results
- Tailored solutions to achieve desired sensory outcomes
We are currently offering in-house bench trials, where my team is available to demonstrate how this breakthrough technology can benefit your winery.
Contact our team to book your trial today.
Regards,
Bryan Tudhope
Owner and Founder of VA Filtration
amaea’s alternative to PVPP for reducing bitterness
Take a deep dive into one of US’ leading winery’s assessment for using amaea’s molecular filtration technology over PVPP to reduce bitterness in hard-pressed white wines.
Giesen ushers in a new era of palate fining for their award-winning Merlot
To conduct palate fining of their category-leading 0% Merlot, NZ wine producer, Giesen replaced their use of gelatin with amaea's MIP technology, resulting in an additive-free, vegan friendly solution that provided tangible, operational gains.
Why winemakers are central to successful MIP applications
With the ability to tailor treatments with artisanal intent, winemakers are empowered to bring out the best in every wine using amaea’s highly selective technology. Discover how amaea’s MIPs work and the important role of winemakers to achieve ideal outcomes.
When would you use amaea’s technology?
amaea’s technology can be applied to balance or remediate wine sensory. Example applications include:
| Application | Target compound |
|---|---|
| Balancing astringency, bitterness & tannic characters | Polyphenols |
| Brettanomyces remediation | 4-ethylphenol (4-EP) 4-ethylguaiacol (4-EG) |
| Frost impact remediation | α-Terpeneol |
| Hard press palate fining | Polyphenols |
| Insect impact (herbaceous) remediation | trans-2-decenal |
| Pyrazine (green / vegetal) remediation | methoxypyrazines including 3-Isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine (IBMP) |
| Smoke impact remediation | Smoke marker compounds including: Guaiacol 4-methyl guaiacol Syringol ortho-, meta- & para-cresol, methylsyringol thiophenols |
VA Filtration amaea MIP molecular filtration technology Filtration Services
VA Filtration and amaea Set to Deliver Selective Technology Focused on Wine Sensory Quality
2 December 2024 – Californian wineries are set to gain access to an award-winning molecular filtration technology with industry specialists, VA Filtration announcing their latest partnership with amaea.
amaea’s technology has been uniquely designed to selectively capture target molecules from wine using a filtration process. This innovative method gives winemakers the ability to balance and remediate wine with newfound ease and precision.
Bryan Tudhope, Owner and Founder of VA Filtration said: “We are proud to partner with amaea to bring their ground-breaking technology to market. The selectivity and speed of the solution aligns with our focus to improve quality and add value. This makes it the perfect addition to our service portfolio.”
Jonathan Engle, Wine Industry Lead at amaea said: “amaea’s technology is powerful because of its unique, first-of-its-kind molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). Each MIP is a tiny, reusable bead imprinted with a specific target molecule. As wine flows through these beads, the target molecules are captured. With adjustable dose and flow rates, winemakers have the control to fine-tune the concentration of capture, allowing them to achieve their ideal sensory outcomes.”
“What makes amaea’s solution so compelling is its selectivity and tailorability. By targeting the removal of specific molecules—like the volatile phenols responsible for smoke impact or the phenols that cause excessive astringency—our approach reduces these unwanted markers while preserving the wine’s varietal character and body. This process allows the wines to soften, bringing forward fruit flavors and aromas, and ultimately enhances the quality of treated wines.”
Engle explains that amaea’s technology truly comes to life in the hands of winemakers: “The treatment rates are set by the winemakers themselves; they know best where the wine needs to be. VA Filtration has a strong, long-standing relationship with California’s winemakers, and through this partnership, we’re excited to bring this innovation directly to the experts.”
Since its launch in September 2023, amaea’s technology has been used to remediate over 1 million liters of smoke impacted wine. Their portfolio of applications has since expanded to include palate fining and the remediation of off-aromas presented by impacts such as pyrazines, frost and Brettanomyces.
About amaea Ltd.
amaea is leading the way as the world’s first innovator of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) technology for winemaking. Our reusable MIPs selectively capture target molecules from wine, empowering winemakers to tailor the sensory profile of their products with a low-impact solution. Available in Canada, the United States, and New Zealand, amaea’s applications are designed to remediate, enhance and balance wine’s sensory qualities.
Mobile Water Purification for Juice Addition
Have you ever considered the quality of the water being used at your facility for addition to juice during harvest? It may well be dechlorinated, but well and city water contains various levels of sodium, calcium, magnesium and other trace compounds that are typically not present in grape juice. If you’re trying to make the best quality product you can, why not add the best quality water you can. The breweries do it, the soft drink industry does it. Why aren’t the wineries doing it?
For harvest 2024, VA Filtration is offering mobile water purification that makes use of activated carbon and high rejection reverse osmosis. The system generates high quality water on site using your existing winery water and reduces the mineral content to a combined total of under 10 mg/l (the total dissolved solids of well and city water typically ranges from 80 mg/l to 600 mg/l).
We can generate up to 2,000 gph of water if necessary and we have smaller machines that can generate smaller volumes depending on your needs.
Pricing is reasonable and we are just a phone call away!
Low Brix, High Stakes: Cool Growing Season Solutions
What’s a winemaker to do when cool weather persists and Brix levels aren’t rising?
Spring rains delayed the grape harvest by nearly a month, jeopardizing grape maturity as summer closed and temperatures cooled. Many vineyards are seeing persistently low Brix levels, causing worries among winemakers that temperatures won’t rise enough for grapes to reach optimal sugar levels before harvest.
“Last year at this time, I was getting calls that juice had high VA [volatile acidity] levels,” says Bryan Tudhope, Founder and CEO of VA Filtration. “This year, they’re asking, ‘What are my options for fixing juice with low Brix levels? What can I do with high levels of Methoxypyrazines?’ These early calls are canaries in the coal mine. I expect the challenge for winemakers will be far-reaching unless we see sustained warmth through October.”
Calling the right moment to harvest is difficult, even in a typical year. In 2023, the deluge of spring rain followed by a wave of high heat and then early autumn rains in some areas resulted in a dilemma for winemakers. Should they harvest physiologically unripe grapes and risk methoxypyrazines’ green character dominating the wine? Should they wait a little longer and risk sugar levels going backward or early rains resulting in the fruit rotting?
Growers have been constantly adjusting their predictions for every vineyard microclimate as to whether the sugar levels will go up another 2 or 3 Brix or if it’s time to call for harvesting.
Winemaking Options for Low Sugar Levels.
“This year reminds me of 2011,” Tudhope notes. “It was also very cool, and the grapes would not hit the Brix level.” These conditions delayed harvest, but sunny days and high temperatures arrived in mid-September to speed up maturation and allow growers to begin harvesting. 2023 hasn’t been as kind so far this autumn in most areas.
Tudhope explains that there are two options for winemakers when the harvest comes in with low Brix levels.
The first is to concentrate the juice before starting fermentation. Concentration increases sugar levels through the removal of water via reverses osmosis (RO), but winemakers would have to pre-filter. This approach works well for white juice, which is easier to pre-filter to allow RO to work.
Unfortunately, filtration is very difficult for red wines because they ferment on the skin. Winemakers could take a portion of the juice, filter it and try to concentrate that to a much, much higher Brix level. But the pressure and equipment required to accomplish this is very specialized, and it becomes so slow that it’s almost not worth it.
Instead, Tudhope recommends option two: Wait until the wine finishes fermentation. VA Filtration can then bring in its specialized equipment when it's dry and concentrate the wine using an ultra-filtration (UF) process. Although using RO would be ideal, this process and nanofiltration are not legal. UF is the only concentration technique that the TTB recognizes as a process to concentrate color in wine.
The UF process separates the wine into high-color and low-color fractions using membranes that separate the higher molecular weight at a 500 cut-off. Winemakers can then use the high-color fraction to achieve some of the flavors that may have been lacking in the thinner juice. Winemakers can run a bench test to predetermine the fractions needed to attain the desired alcohol level. The 5%–15% lost to the low-color fraction can run with the lees or into a separate program.
Addressing Alcohol Content and Green Taint
While winemakers can manage the flavor and mouth feel with concentration trials, they may also need to make adjustments to the alcohol content by adding high-proof spirits. Tudhope advises using a neutral distillate instead of adding a high-sugar grape juice concentrate on the front end for higher end wines. VA Filtration offers high-proof grape spirits for wineries.
A possible challenge is the presence of methoxypyrazine-type aromas that originate from the underripe fruit and can overpower the other flavors. VA Filtration can effectively eliminate these aromas as well as other undesirable compounds without affecting the positive attributes of the wine, usually in one or two cycles.
Tudhope adds, “A year like this brings out the best in winemakers! The quality needs to match other vintages, even though you have year to year weather variances. Winemakers need to dig deep into their toolbox to make the best wine they can. We can provide some of those tools.”
Younger winemakers may be facing these complex decisions for the first time, and even experienced winemakers may need expert help. Tudhope and VA Filtration are there to provide that expertise. You can reach him at bryan@vafiltration.com or visit VA Filtration at WIN Expo booth 513.
| Send Me Info |
Hope for Stuck Fermentations in the Challenging 2022 Harvest Season
The historically high heat spike in early September resulted in an unusually high level of dehydrated fruit in what was otherwise looking to be a bumper crop in Northern California. Estimates indicate the raisening of 20%-30% of the grapes, which means 20% or 30% lower tonnage. This accelerated raisening led many wineries and vineyard managers to harvest early to avoid the rain.
"If it should have been 22-26 Brix and now it's over 30 Brix, that's a big difference, and there are reports of juice reaching 40 Brix or more, with VA's over 1 g/l," says Bryan Tudhope, Founder and CEO of VA Filtration. "People are coming to me asking, 'How are we getting vinegar in our grapes?"
Tudhope adds, "I can't explain how, but I can say that excess vinegar in the actual fruit out on the vine is unusual. Fruit typically comes in at 0.2 g/l or less; instead, it's at 0.8 g/l or more. We've never seen levels this high before. Winemakers used to seeing a pH of 3.4-3.8 are now routinely seeing levels of 3.9 and higher, and this is likely to continue as the drought progresses."
These extreme temperatures, combined with drought, are very stressful for the vineyards. Crops coming in with very high vinegar and sugar levels is a tricky combination that requires rehydrating the juice to reduce the sugar levels so it will ferment. But the high vinegar levels, even with dilution, can lead to stuck fermentations.
There are no current filtration methods for reducing VA in unfermented juice. Rehydrating the juice to a more acceptable 26 brix will reduce the VA if it is high. Starting the ferment at that point and getting it at least 75% or more of the way through will reduce the sugar level to the point that allows VA reduction to take place.
Conditions like these are when Tudhope's company, VA Filtration, gets involved, using its nanofiltration technology to help winemakers avoid or restart stuck fermentations. The pressure-driven membrane process addresses volatile acidity (VA) by removing acetic acid and Ethyl Acetate (EA) in a water/alcohol stream called permeate while holding back the desirable acids, then re-combining the treated water/alcohol stream with the wine.
VA Filtration is a global filtration technology leader in the US and Chile, with more than 20 years of experience in the wine and cider industry. Its patented mobile filtration results from constant innovation in the membrane technology field and allows the team to move quickly to help winemakers improve wine quality and add value by removing alcohol, undesirable compounds, turbidity, and taints on site.
When he's called to a winery to help with a high VA in the juice, Tudhope tells winemakers that it isn't the end of the world. His advice is, "don't ignore it because it won't go away, and don't dump your fruit on the floor, because you can still make wine out of it. We want winemakers to know that if you get a stuck ferment there are processes for getting it started again."
A winemaker with a stuck ferment must determine whether the problem is high vinegar, high alcohol and/or high pH before VA Filtration can help get it restarted. While it's difficult to recommend a set protocol for this process since winemakers have their own ideas about how to do things, settling the stuck wine is the first and most critical step. Dirty wine with RS won't go through the filtration membranes, so winemakers need to press it off and let it sit for at least a day or two to bring the turbidity down to a manageable threshold for VA reduction or alcohol reduction to happen. Once the VA and/or alcohol levels have been reduced sufficiently, the restart process can be implemented.
2022 is another challenging year for wineries, which is becoming the norm as misfortunes of nature like smoke taint from wildfires, worsening drought, inopportune heat waves and cold snaps confront them. In these difficult circumstances, VA Filtration's exceptional ability to help winemakers deal with VA reduction, smoke taint removal, stuck fermentations, pH adjustment and other issues makes it a vital partner.
For more information or help with stuck fermentations, contact bryan@vafiltration.com or visit VA Filtration at WIN Expo booth 513 to discuss your challenges and your options for solving them.
| Send Me Info |
VA Filtration Nanofiltration Stuck Fermentation Mobile Filtration
High VA in juice and how to deal with it
Harvest 2022 is upon us. The heat wave caused a lot of problems in the vineyards. There are reports of juice reaching 40 Brix or more, with VA’s already above 1 g/l. We have prepared answers to some typically asked questions related to these challenging conditions:
How do I treat high VA juice?
You unfortunately can’t. The operating pressure required to generate permeate through our process is too high for the machinery to handle. You do have options though!
What are my options if I can’t reduce the VA in the juice?
You water back to an acceptable sugar level.
Typically, high VA numbers are associated with dehydrated juice. Any juice with a brix level of more than 26 is effectively dehydrated juice. The best solution for reducing the VA prior to fermentation is to rehydrate (add water). You need to add water to the juice until you reach a comfortable brix level. This will typically dilute your VA to an acceptable level to allow you to start the fermentation.
What if my VA is still high in the juice after water addition?
As long as the VA is below 1 g/l, the ferment should start. It might get stuck at some point, but typically this is when at least 80% or more of the glucose/fructose has been converted to ethanol, water, and CO2. At that point, call us and we will be able to drop the VA and guide you through the restart process.
How do I remove added water after fermentation?
Once the fermentation has completed, VA Filtration USA has options to legally concentrate the wine. We can remove a portion of the added water or all of it. Your choice. Trials are available to determine the ideal water removal.
What happens if my fermentation gets stuck?
Typically, ferments stick when VA numbers or alcohol levels climb too high. We have over 20 years of experience dealing with VA reduction on stuck ferments. Our recommended protocol works extremely well. Call us!
What about high TA and high pH?
High pH can cause fermentation issues as well as microbial issues during storage or ageing of the wine. VA Filtration can reduce the pH of the wine or juice without affecting the existing acidity. TA levels may change once the pH has been reduced due to equilibrium chemistry but there is no removal of any acid related compounds during the pH reduction process. If reducing pH of the juice, filtration of a portion of the juice is required prior to the pH reduction process.
VA elevated VA high VA juice high VA grape juice stuck fermentation
Laboratory scale alcohol reduction unit
VA Filtration USA has developed an alcohol Sweetspot trial unit (DA-MC-1) for use in laboratory settings. Capable of removing up to 1 proof gallon per hour of alcohol, it is designed for removing alcohol from small volumes of wine very accurately. Requiring 110V, the unit is easy to use and is ideal for wineries looking to complete alcohol Sweetspot trials in house or for reducing alcohol on single barrel lots. It can adjust the alcohol on a single barrel of wine by 0.75% alcohol points in 1 hour.
We offer these DA-MC-1 systems for rental or purchase.
Smoke Taint 2020 - Advances in treatment - ARC Process
VA Filtration offers a brand-new process for the reduction of smoke taint from wine (ARC Process), removing not only the free taint creating the smoke aromatics, but also the bound taint from affected wine, eliminating the “rebound” effect.
VA Filtration currently holds US Patents* for free taint removal, as well as the nanofiltration-based processing of VA reduction. VA Filtration’s most recently developed three-pronged ARC Process has been operational since the start of 2020 and has been tracking for bounce back of taint in the wine treated to date. Currently, we have not seen any return of the taint. Using a combination of proprietary MWCO membrane elements and adsorption columns, the process can reduce the glycosides significantly per filtration pass. The following example analysis of a heavily tainted Syrah from 2017 Mendocino fires processed using the ARC Process indicates the new level of reduction achieved in two passes through the system (all analysis performed by the AWRI):
Compound / Before (ug/l) / After (ug/l)
4-Methylguaiacol / 3 / <1
Guaiacol / 21 /6
0-Cresol / 1 / <1
p-Cresol / 4 / 1
m-Cresol / 5 / <1
Syringol / 26 / 7
Methyl Syringol / 1 / <1
Syringol Gentiobioside / 10 / 3
Methylsyringol Gentiobioside / 1 / <1
Phenol Rutinoside / 106 / 50
Cresol Rutinoside / 71 / 34
Guaiacol Rutinoside / 90 / 45
Methylguaiacol Rutinoside / 49 /20
The glycosides (Gentiobiosides and rutinosides) are the analyzable culprits of the bound taint. The ARC process lowers their levels significantly at each pass through the process. (As a benchmark, non-tainted oaked cabernet sauvignon shows the following peak baseline numbers as provided by the AWRI baseline survey for Australian Cabernet Sauvignon wines):
Syringol Gentiobioside 4.5
Methylsyringol gentiobioside 1.1
Phenol Rutinoside 4
Cresol Rutinoside 4
Guaiacol Rutinoside 7
Methylguaiacol rutinoside 4
With the ARC Process, the wine undergoes an on-premise, three step procedure. To start the process, your wine goes into a membrane system, which separates the liquid into two parts, a retentate stream and a permeate stream. It is the permeate stream which contains both the bound and the free form of the smoke compounds. The permeate stream is then sent through an adsorption column, where the free form of the smoke aromatics are reduced. The same permeate stream then goes into a secondary treatment column, where the bound form of the smoke taint is reduced (glycosides & rutinosides). Depending on the level of taint, our experts can recommend the number of passes which will give you the best results for your product. Wine with lesser taint may undergo fewer passes through the system, while wines with heavier taint may need up to four passes or more. Each client only need contract for the number of passes that suit the level of taint.
Capable of processing 1500 gallons per hour, VA Filtration has the bandwidth to process anywhere from one barrel to large amounts. Trial tests are available on amounts from one gallon up, but results are more conclusive the larger the trial sample, providing a great benchmark for testing.
VA Filtration is a mobile wine service and equipment manufacturing company, with patented procedures. VA Filtration specializes in all forms of membrane processing systems. Contact us to schedule a discrete discussion on how we can help you present your best wine.
Smoke taint smoke taint removal glycosides guaiacol 4-methylguaiacol syringol cresol wild fire smoke remediation
What offensive compounds is VA Filtration USA capable of removing from wine?
For the past 20 years, VA Filtration USA has been diligently pursuing the reduction and removal of offending compounds from wine. The number of compounds we are capable of reducing or removing has grown extensive and includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Acetic Acid (VA)
- Ethyl Acetate
- 4-ethyl phenol (Brett)
- 4-ethyl guaiacol (Brett)
- Ethanol (Alcohol reduction)
- Smoke taint (free and bound form)
- TCA
- Mercaptans
- Sulfides
- Disulfides
- Pyrazines
- Eucalyptol
- Rose taint
- Heavy metals including zinc and copper
- Water
- Bitter tannins
- Color
All the above compounds can be removed AT YOUR WINERY using our fleet of mobile treatment systems. If you have an offensive aroma or taste in your wine, give us a call. We have many smaller systems capable of running trials. We are fairly certain that with the correct membrane/secondary treatment stage we will be able to reduce the compound.
We also offer mobile crossflow and lees filtration services.
New Crossflow Membrane Technology - Liqui-Silc - Silicon Carbide
VA Filtration is excited to announce the roll-out of our new crossflow membrane technology - Silicon Carbide (Liqui-SilcTM)! Unlike other materials that are currently used in crossflow machines, the benefit of using Silicon Carbide is incredible! It's everything a winemaker is looking for when searching for a crossflow system. The benefits of the membrane technology are simply amazing:
- Extreme chemical resistance - Can tolerate pH conditions from 0-14.
- Completely inert material - no polymer or aluminum present in the structure.
- Long membrane life - we estimate 15 years.
- Fast cleaning cycles
- Minimal water hold-up during start-up - no dilution
- Thermal shock resistant - no cracking of breaking of material when exposed to 150F differential temperature.
- High porosity - reduced pressure drop through the membrane wall.
- Flow channels available in 2mm and 3mm sizes.
- Low water use for cleaning due to fast rinse times.
- Low fouling rates
VA Filtration USA offers a range of Liqui-Silc systems depending on your budget, All systems are fully automated but vary depending on required features from simplified automated systems to advanced systems for wineries that filter large volumes.
We are currently offering free demo's to all prospective customers. If you are looking for a crossflow unit, this is a technology you do not want to miss!
Give us a call today!
About
VA Filtration is a global mobile wine service company. We have developed and continue to develop a range of process equipment for the specific removal of taints from wine including VA reduction, 4EP/4EG reduction, smoke and other taint reduction, lees filtration, crossflow filtration and TCA/TBA reduction. We also offer an alcohol reduction facility where we use reverse osmosis and vacuum distillation for ethanol reduction purposes in wine. Our ultrafiltration systems are unsurpassed in that we have multiple molecular weight cut-offs to suit any project. Why not test it out using our SWEETSPOTTER.
At VA Filtration we don't just offer mobile services. We also design and manufacture all our own equipment as well as equipment for sale in American Canyon. We are the only wine related company in America, and perhaps the world that designs, manufactures and operates all of its own process equipment. When you purchase from us, you know that you are purchasing a tried and tested piece of equipment.
Our alcohol reduction service has two machines available for mobile and in-house alcohol reduction needs. We also generate and sell High Proof ethanol.
At VA Filtration we are continually dreaming of new ways to aid the winemaker and our success is your success!
Contact
Contact List
| Title | Name | Phone | Extension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr | Bryan Tudhope | bryan@vafiltration.com | 7075522616 | 101 |
| Mr | Rick Oberlin | roberlin@vafiltration.com | 7075522616 | 104 |
| Mr | Chris Koegeleberg | chris@vafiltration.com | 7077040592 | |
| Mr | Kyle Crowley | kcrowley@vafiltration.com | 7075522616 | 105 |
Location List
| Locations | Address | State | Country | Zip Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VA Filtration U.S.A. | 125 Gateway Rd E Suite D, Napa | CA | United States of America | 94558 |
List of Locations
Profile Picture