Ion Exchange Column

[Benson]

I have been searching for information on ion exchange processes to lower acidity in my wine. Ion exchange columns are mentioned in a lot of books but very little info is given. I have one older book "Modern Winemaking" by Philip Jackisch that describes a method that uses a resin called Dowex A-7D. I'm assuming that this is a Dow Chemical product but I can't find anything about it on the Internet.

Has anyone here had experience with Ion Exchange methods for adjusting TA in wine? Does anyone know if there is a substitute for Dowex A-7D. I'd really like to give this a try but I've come to an end to what I can find on the subject.

I'd appreciate any help.

Robert

 

[winemaker_3352]

Welcome aboard!!

That is a good question - i did some reading about this - and it is a fairly new process that has developed. I don't have it now - but there was an article i read about this - had a lot of benefits over cold stabilizing - but the equipment was way more $$ than a $55 deep freezer and $50 refrigerator thermostat to override the temp.

I will try to find that article and post back.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Here are a few articles that i have come across:

http://www.practicalwinery.com/sepoct08/page1.htm

http://www.allbusiness.com/medicine-health/medical-treatments-procedures-dialysis/13310229-1.html

 

[AlFulchino]

interesting..especially the second article

 

[winemaker_3352]

interesting..especially the second article

Yeah - i thought so too. It would be cool to experiment with that - youtube actually has some homemade electordialysis gadgets for filtering water - could probably use the same method for wine.

That will be a later project - when and if i ever have time to waste

 

[AlFulchino]

"That will be a later project - when and if i ever have time to waste "

i hear ya of course for me to cold stabilize, it means one thing...pump my wine to tanks outside my building or just open the winery door...but aside from that, the article did mention that THEIR technique did seem to supply sensory benefits as well as actual substantive changes to the building blocks of the wine itself

 

[winemaker_3352]

"That will be a later project - when and if i ever have time to waste "

i hear ya of course for me to cold stabilize, it means one thing...pump my wine to tanks outside my building or just open the winery door...but aside from that, the article did mention that THEIR technique did seem to supply sensory benefits as well as actual substantive changes to the building blocks of the wine itself

Yup - i do think it would be beneficial. It is definitely on the back burner for things to do..

 

[Benson]

Thanks everyone. In my searching, I did discover the electrodialysis articles but those methods are just beyond anything my small efforts could afford.

My problem is that I'm attempting to make drinkable wine from a poor grape variety. I live in south Texas and have a variety called Champanel. We have rampant Pierce's disease here coupled with very high pH soils (8.0). Just about the only variety that will grow is Champanel which has a character much like our native Mustang grapes.

Champanel has super high acid levels even if harvested late. My 2010 harvest ended up with a TA of 18g/L. Cold stabilization helps a little but can’t correct this problem. Philip Jackisch (Modern Winemaking 1985) describes a technique to correct TA using a simple ion exchange column that can be home made. He suggest using a 1.5 in by 36 in glass column and filling it with an ion exchange resin called Dowex A-7D mixed with water. The column is then rinsed with a 1 % solution of sodium hydroxide to convert the resin to hydroxyl form. You take half your wine, pour it through the column until it is completely deacidified. Then mix the deacidified wine back with the untreated half thus reducing the TA by half. If I could accomplish this, I’d have my wine down to around 7g/L, just where I want it. The problem is that Dowex A-7D does not seem to be available anymore.

What I am hoping is that some of you may have had experience with the process. Is Jackisch really off base here and that’s why I can’t find any recent info about the method?

Robert

 

[winemaker_3352]

Yeah - it is pretty $$ to do that. However - if you like to tinker - here is a youtube link that builds a homemade electodialysis machine.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDMWxhote_w&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDMWxhote_w&feature=related[/ame]

 

[AlFulchino]

what can be found on you tube never ceases to amaze me

 

[JohnT]

I do not see how you can control this process to arrive at a desired acid level.


Why not simply use potassiumbicarbonate to reduce your acid level?

 

[winemaker_3352]

I do not see how you can control this process to arrive at a desired acid level.


Why not simply use potassiumbicarbonate to reduce your acid level?

Yeah - i don't know. I haven't done that much research into it yet. For now I am just doing cold stabilization - although i am not adding the k-bicarbonate.

 

[Shirley Xue]

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