April 02 2008 / Fuel ethanol
|
![]() | |
![]() | |
Scott Whitworth (right), Novozymes Customer Solutions Scientist, worked together with Leon Gerry, Operations Manager at Dakota Ethanol, to increase the plant’s DE levels and optimize the enzyme dosage during the trial. |
How to make red wine that consumers prefer
|
With the enzyme Vinozym® Vintage FCE, it is easier to release the juice and tannins from the grape and increase the colour of red wine. |
![]() | |
These tanks hold 2 hl and there are 40 at the Wine Experimental Cellar near Bordeaux. |
She has been with Novozymes since 1989, working initially in Switzerland on application development and marketing for the wine industry. In 2001 she moved back to Bordeaux, where Novozymes now has its operational staff working on wine enzymes, including Rose-Marie Canal, Rémi LévFque and Bertrand Garrigues. Rémi and Bertrand are responsible for marketing and sales worldwide in the wine industry and they communicate with distributors.
![]() | |
Redder red wines
The primary enzyme that has been tested is the extraction enzyme Vinozym® Vintage FCE, launched in 2002. "Extraction enzymes for treating the crushed grapes represent the largest single market for our wine enzymes," comments Rémi LévFque.
In 2002 the first trials in the WEC proved that it was possible to extract more colour and more tannins with new Vinozym Vintage FCE while increasing yields of free-run wine. In 2003 the effect of mechanical action during extraction and prefermentation was tested.
What consumers want
In 2004 the goal was to produce a red wine for the premium segment of the market with the help of enzymes and adaptations of the winemaking process.
"Wine consumption has always been high in traditional European markets but now wine is becoming more and more popular elsewhere in the world. Wine consumers are demanding more premium wines ranging in price from EUR 3 to EUR 6; this segment is growing," says Rémi.
To identify the best type of red wine for meeting the requirements of the premium segment, a tasting of wines produced by estates or wine merchants was organised by Novozymes and Lamothe-Abiet. The answer was a non-woody wine bottled the year after fermentation (in May/June in the Northern Hemisphere) and sold within two years at a price of around EUR 6. The desired wine should have a smooth and elegant tannin structure due to a moderate extraction. In the case of premium red wines, the consumer prefers a subtle, fruity wine that is not too astringent. The question Rose-Marie asked in 2004 as she was processing the grapes in the winery was: "How can enzymes help to make this type of wine?"
"Many of the premium red wines produced are too concentrated," Rose-Marie Canal comments. "These wines suffer from over-extraction."
The right amount of tannins
Rose-Marie also points out that there is no need to go to a high temperature at the end of maceration to extract more tannins because enzymes allow the tannins to be extracted easily at the beginning. "Consumers today don't like the taste of a red wine made with high extraction, especially in the premium segment. Consumers want more fruity, subtle red wine, but they also want structure. They want some body in the wine, and this can be achieved with enzymes."
The concentration of tannins can vary depending on winemaking practices. The use of Vinozym Vintage FCE - a cell wall-degrading enzyme - in a proper process allows the nece ssary concentration of tannins to be obtained.
When using enzymes, Rose-Marie Canal recommends avoiding an extended macera-tion time, reducing mechanical action (pumping over and punching down), and lowering the temperature towards the end of the extraction process.
![]() | |
The Novozymes wine team is searching for a way to make a more subtle, more colourful and fruitier red wine. From the left: Rémi LévFque, Rose-Marie Canal and Bertrand Garrigues. |
Taste panel
March 17, 2005 was the day of the second
tasting of the 2004 vintage from the Wine Experimental Cellar. Expert tasters were invited to give their verdict on the young wine. They tasted wines made in an identi-cal way from identical grapes, with the only difference being treatment with the enzyme Vinozym Vintage FCE. "They confirmed that the treated wines have more colour and a good structure," says Rose-Marie Canal.
The results differed according to the grape variety, but the panel generally preferred the enzyme-treated wine at this stage in its development. The Merlot enzyme-treated wine had more aroma and a more persistent flavour than the control wine. The Cabernet Sauvignon enzyme-treated wine was judged to be of a higher quality both in terms of aroma and structure. Rose-Marie Canal comments, "Our experience is that the enzyme-treated wines last longer, so we will look at these wines again in a year's time."
There has been great interest in the process to make more subtle, fruitier, smoother red wines. For those who are interested, all the research and evaluation work is carefully documented week by week during the harvest in a newsletter called The WEC Weekly. Winemakers and oenologists can follow step by step from when the grapes are crushed until when the wines are ready.
"The WEC is the tool we use to document product claims under winery conditions. By teaming up with Novozymes, customers will get precise information on product application according to the desired wine. This information is useful for improving production and wine quality," says Rémi LévFque.
Though the WEC is located in Bordeaux, similar results have been obtained on other grape varieties in other wine districts and countries. Based on the winery trials, Novozymes is now able to give qualified practical advice not just on the use of enzymes, but on process adaptations to make the wine that the market wants.
increasing food and alternative fuels demand
When industry and nature thrive together…
White Biotechnology is an emerging field within modern biotechnology that serves industry. It uses living cells like moulds, yeasts or bacteria, as well as enzymes to produce goods and services.
Living cells can be used as they are or improved to work as "cell factories" to produce enzymes for industry.
Living cells can also be used to make antibiotics, vitamins, vaccines and proteins for medical use.
Eco-efficient enzymes…
Enzymes are a part of life and present in all living beings. Whenever a substance is transformed into another, nature uses enzymes to speed up the process.
As an alternative to some chemical processes to make products, enzymes offer a biological route and often cleaner solution for industry.
Eco-efficient, enzymes consume less water, raw materials and energy. Environmental impact is minimized while better products are offered at lower cost.
For example, using enzymes in washing powder allows difficult stains to be removed at lower temperatures, saving on the use of energy and reducing the impact on the environment.
Biological versus traditional processing
Benign biomass …
Substances made from renewable raw materials - or biomass - are another example of white biotech.
Biomass like starch, cellulose, vegetable oils and agricultural waste are used to produce chemicals, bio-degradable plastics, pesticides, new fibers and biofuels among other things. The processes manufacturing them all use enzymes.
Ethanol, for example, a renewable fuel made out of biomass, has great potential to replace fossil fuels. This will have a neutral impact on greenhouse gas emissions, and can contribute to reducing global warming.
White Biotech benefits …
White Biotech can help to ensure that the future of coming generations is not compromised by today’s environmental problems.
It can realize substantial gains for both environment, consumers and industry.
White Biotech can:
• Reduce pollution and waste
• Decrease the use of energy, raw materials and water
• Lead to better quality food products
• Create new materials and biofuels from waste
• Provide an alternative to some chemical processes.
Examples of white biotechnology in action
For more information on white biotech ....
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Industrial biotechnology (known mainly in Europe as white biotechnology) is the application of biotechnology for industrial purposes, including manufacturing, alternative energy (or "bioenergy"), and biomaterials. It includes the practice of using cells or components of cells like enzymes to generate industrially useful products. The Economist speculated (as cited in the Economist article listed in the "References" section) industrial biotechnology might significantly impact the chemical industry. The Economist also suggested it can enable economies to become less dependent on fossil fuels.
The industrial biotechnology community generally accepts an informal divide between industrial and pharmaceutical biotechnology. An example would be that of companies growing fungus to produce antibiotics, e.g. penicillin from the penicillium fungi. One view holds that this is industrial production; the other viewpoint is that such would not strictly lie within the domain of pure industrial production, given its inclusion within medical biotechnology.
This may be better understood in calling to mind the classification by the U.S. biotechnology lobby group, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) of three "waves" of biotechnology. The first wave, Green Biotechnology, refers to agricultural biotechnology. The second wave, Red Biotechnology, refers to pharmaceutical and medical biotechnology. The third wave, White Biotechnology, refers to industrial biotechnology. In actuality, each of the waves may overlap. Industrial biotechnology, particularly the development of large-scale bioenergy refineries, will likely involve dedicated genetically modified crops as well as the large-scale bioprocessing and fermentation as is used in some pharmaceutical production.
Genencor International, Novozymes and Diversa are examples of companies that specialize in industrial biotechnology, with particular focuses on specially designed enzymes to catalyze industrially relevant chemical reactions.
A significant problem in industrial biotechnology is waste production. A cell may be used to generate desirable carbon dioxide, other cells, and other molecules. It will use energy to accomplish its industrial purpose. Yet it will also use some energy to generate waste (like acetic acid) instead of the desired product or products. Decreasing waste production is a significant goal in industrial biotechnology. Metabolic engineering may help reach that goal.
Industrial Biotechnology is a peer-reviewed research and trade news journal covering this area. Other relevant research publications include Biomass and Bioenergy and the Journal of Industrial Microbiology.