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FreeK+ Ion Transfer
This new system uses advanced cation transfer technology to effectively remove potassium, rendering must and wine effectively tartrate stable. Calcium and other metal cations, such as copper and iron, can also be reduced.
FreeK+ is highly efficient, often requiring just ten percent of the total volume of must or wine to be treated to gain effective results. For example, when used to reduce metal cations to gain tartrate stability, FreeK+ will effectively:
- Remove 95% of ionic Potassium…
- Remove 60% of ionic Calcium…
- Remove 40% of other metal cations, such as Copper and Iron…
However, FreeK+ is an extremely versatile technology able to be used in a wide range of winemaking applications, not limited to simply rendering wine stable. It can also be used to effectively adjust pH and TA in both must and wines, offering a very practical tool to ensure optimum reactive potential during winemaking and for polishing the balance and mouth-feel in wines at later stages.
Treating just 10 percent of the total must or wine volume can result in a reduction in pH of 0.15 and an increase in TA of around 0.5 g/L; treating 20 percent of total volume would correspondingly double these adjustments.
But that’s not all. By combining the Freek+ unit with a separate HL2 unit, Vintech Pacific gain the ability to manipulate anions too, thereby allowing our customers to reduce potentially oxidizable polyphenols (mainly catechins), ensuring a colour decrease in must without adversely altering its organoleptic qualities.
Similarly, excessive sulphur and sulphides can be removed. Again, often just ten percent of the total volume of must or wine will require treatment to gain effective results for the entire volume.