Cellar Dweller
Mobile wine services company Cellar Dweller is now offering a state of the art alternative to cold stabilization for wine makers.
The Okanagan Falls-based company is already well known for its mobile filtration services, used by about 50 wineries in the Okanagan Valley. Now, owners Robert Kwakernaak and Lesia Wood have purchased Reverse Osmosis and STARS (Selective Tartrate Removal System) equipment from Winesecrets, which is focusing on its operations in California.
Winemaker Rob Summers of Hester Creek is a huge fan of the STARS system, and says its one every winery should consider.
STARS is an alternative to the more traditional method of cold stabilization
“I’ve been using STARS for 12 years now, and I absolutely love the technology,” Summers says.
“The main reason is it’s much gentler on my wines. For whites that means it’s going to better preserve the aromatics which is obviously really important, while if you cold stabilize the reds you risk losing some colour.”
Reverse osmosis is most commonly used to reduce the alcohol levels, which can produce a significantly better product, and to fix issues such as volatile acidity.
Cellar Dweller only opened for business two years ago to provide mobile filtration services, but have rapidly added both clients and services. They started with a small crossflow filtration unit in 2011, and then added the larger Pall Oenoflow system in 2013.
“Customers are impressed by the speed and ease of filtration, and the reduced wine loss with Crossflow when compared to DE or depth filter sheets,” says Kwakernaak.
In mid-2013 Cellar Dweller added a mobile Rotary Vacuum Drum Filter service, which allows wineries to recover white juice lees and red wine fermentation lees.
Summers says the company’s mobile wine services are something any new winemaker should take into account when designing a winery.
“Just the cost of a STARS alone is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, so having this mobile service can add up to a huge capital cost savings when you are planning out a new winery,” he said.
Cellar Dweller has also grown in terms of its staff, with four experienced operators who all have cellar and vineyard experience.