GOB2-LQ-ONLINE

Faniel & Fils
Champagne
Faniel & Fils
Nanotechnology
Revolutionises Riddling
Deborah Parker Wong
Champagne Faniel & Fils is produced by Jacques, Brigitte
and their son Mathieu, in Cormoyeux, a small village in the
Marne Valley between Epernay and Reims. They are Recoltant
Manipulant, (RM) meaning they have their own vineyard, own
winery and sell their own Champagne.
Darko Makovec
There’s no mistaking a gyropalette at
work but you’ll need a scanning electron
microscope to see the iron nanoparticles that
have the potential to make it obsolete.
By Deborah Parker Wong, AIWS
Arthur O’Connor
Their range of Champagne includes:
Agapane Brut / Demi Sec: A blend of Pinot Meunier and Pinot
Noir, this is a fresh and fruity Champagne.
Oriane Brut: This Champagne has aromas of apricot and almond.
Perlane: Tasty and crisp, dominated by notes of strawberry with
refreshing bubbles.
Appogia: 100% Chardonnay, this Blanc de Blancs has aromas of
dried fruit, apples, pears and hazelnut.
Ratafia: A Pinot meunier Champagne
@ChampagneFaniel
www.champagne-faniel.fr
Jacques, Brigitte
and their son
Mathieu
A team of biochemists working in conjunction with a
nanotechnology researcher have introduced a riddling
technique that uses nanoparticles and a magnet to riddle a
bottle of sparkling wine in approximately fifteen minutes.
Biochemical engineer and Professor Dr. Marin Berovic and his
team at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and nanotechnology
researcher Professor Dr. Darko Makovec, who heads the Jozef
Stefan Institute’s Department for Materials Synthesis, developed
an elegant and inexpensive method of bonding silica-coated
nanoparticles of iron oxide to yeast cells (a mass ratio of 1:10)
and then using a strong permanent magnet to sediment the spent
magnetized yeast cells.
“The method itself is 4,000 times faster than classical hand
remuage,” said Berovic who is currently a visiting professor
at the University Catolica de Santiago, Chile. The speed and
efficiency of the process which has already been widely studied
and applied in biotechnology and water purification relies on the
absorption of super paramagnetic amino-functionalized iron oxide
maghemite nanoparticles onto both Saccaromyces cerevisiase and
Saccharamyces bayanus yeast cells.
In a three-part process, iron oxide nanoparticles are coated with
silica which is grown around them in
a thin, protective layer. Molecules
providing surface amino groups are
grafted onto the positively-charged
nanoparticles which are then
introduced to the yeast cell culture. The
nanoparticles bond to the negativelycharged
yeast cell membranes and
are dispersed as the yeast cells divide
and then cluster together after
fermentation. Once spent, the yeast
cells are separated from the wine using
a strong magnet at the neck of the
bottle (see Fig.1).
The study points out that the level of iron present in the finished
wine fell below the 10.00 mg/L range allowed by the European
Union in white wine at 8.30 +/-1.6 mg/L Fe3+. Although iron
oxide nanoparticles are considered non-toxic and they have
been approved for use in living medical applications, standard
winemaking chemistry identifies unstable levels of iron at above
6 mg/L in white wine which can result in white iron phosphate
deposits or iron casse. Researchers have yet to determine if the iron
ions in the finished wine are the result of nanoparticles that remain
after separation or were partially dissolved during the process.
Arthur O’Connor who directs winemaking for the
CordoniuRaventos Group, the parent company of Cava category
leader Cordoniu, and is president of Artesa Winery in Sonoma,
Calif., said, “We’ve spent years and years figuring out which yeasts
give us the best results.” O’Connor is currently using a proprietary
form of agglomerated yeast in conjunction with a special
gyropalette that has reduced riddling time to about one hour.
While yeast trials have been costly and time consuming for
CordoniuRaventos, the company continues to be an early adopter,
“We follow current research and treat new ideas very seriously,” he
said. “In addition to riddling, there also seems to be considerable
potential for using magnetized metal and electromagnetic fields in
developing new methods for sterile filtration and color extraction in
still wines.”
The sensory evaluation of magnetic-yeast fermented wines could
well be an arbiter of success. Sensory evaluation revealed that
magnetized-yeast fermentation slightly increased the intensity of
aromatic compounds and mouth feel in finished wines with apple,
citrus fruits, pear and honey-melon flavors being more apparent to
tasters. Color intensity, body structure and CO2 bubble texture
were deemed identical to the high quality sparkling control wines.
The technology which has been published in its entirety in the
March 2014 edition of the Biochemical Engineering Journal is
patented in Slovenia and is now making its way through the EU
patent process. Adoption by the sparkling wine industry would
enable many producers to leapfrog several generations of yeast
technology and forgo use of the gyropalette forever.
64 65