How Does it Work?

The grape juice or wine to be treated is recirculated at high pressure through a reverse osmosis system which separates the juice or wine into two flows - permeate and concentrate.

• Permeate the low molecular weight stream passing through a semi permeable membrane

• Concentrate the bulk juice or wine stream which is retained by the membrane and contains almost all of the vinous components

The permeate stream generated comprises essentially water, in the case of juice, and water plus alcohol in the case of wine. Because almost all of the vinous components remain in the concentrate, the juice or wine becomes more concentrated if the permeate being processed is not recombined but simply put aside or discarded.

Typically, winemakers notice a significant improvement in wine quality with the removal of 10% to 20% of the original volume as permeate. This is a simple, quick and reversible technique.

Winemakers' Questions concerning Memstar processes