Poly-Natural: Cutting plastic waste under the vines
When you think about the sheer numbers of plastic ‘bread bag’ clips, metal twisty ties and cane clips littering vineyards, it is a worrying thought.
“I believe as amaea’s technology develops it has the potential to replace some traditional wine production techniques and the reliance on additives,” says Giesen Winemaker Duncan Shouler, who spoke about the technology at WinePro in Blenheim in June. “Technologies like amaea’s are not only necessary, but are an exciting evolution of wine production methodologies.”
The technology was founded in 2011, but in 2020 amaea partnered with a large US-based wine company to address the impacts of wildfire smoke on high value wines, kickstarting large-scale filtration applications of its MIP technology.
Last year Giesen used amaea in lieu of gelatine to palate fine the zero alcohol 2023 Hawke’s Bay Merlot, using the MIPs after light filtration and before de-alcoholisation. “Typically, when you remove alcohol from wine, certain traits and characteristics start to stand out,” Duncan says. “For our Merlots, the tannins become prominent, and the warmth and sweetness are lost.” Fining with gelatine is effective at softening phenolic content, but isn’t vegan friendly, has a carbon cost due to agents being imported from Europe, and isn’t entirely selective, “which means it removes more than is intended”.
The technology behind amaea can be more selective, “to achieve desired results while keeping in place the attributes you want to keep”, Duncan adds. “Using amaea technology the Merlot got to where it needed to be. The wine softened and the perceived sweetness increased to achieve the ideal palate and mouthfeel.” Giesen will continue to trial the technology, looking at different applications, he says. “Polyphenol fining using MIPs is a great tool, but there is great potential for the technology to be used for applications such as protein fining, which could be a real game changer for the industry.”
Jonathan Engle, Industry Lead for amaea, says the technology has been developed with winemakers. “We have heard the challenges faced around changing consumer considerations, sustainability and climate change, and are proud to present a solution designed to help meet those needs. The selective and subtractive nature of our regenerable MIPs supports winemakers to bring out the best of their wines using an efficient, low impact production practice.”
