throughput while doing an
excellent job removing MOG,
compared to double sorting
manually.”
Sorting up to five tons (4.5
metric tons) of red grapes
per hour, VitiSort is ideal for
wineries producing 5,000
to 50,000 cases per year. It
separates unwanted objects
such as insects, skins, raisins,
shot berries, stem jacks,
petioles, leaves, and other
MOG from the good grapes,
enabling Chappellet to better
control the quality of the must
going into their fermentation
tanks.
“VitiSort allows us to elevate the
quality of all of our lots. With it,
we can bring a B+ lot up to an
A. We can take something that
may have just missed the mark,
take the MOG out, and decrease
the chance that the wine is rustic
instead of refined,” says Phillip
Titus, winemaker at Chappellet.
“Five years ago, this kind of
technology seemed ahead of its
time. Now it’s highly desirable. I
believe we will all be using this
kind of technology as the wine
industry modernises.
“During crush, we typically run
10 hours a day, six days a week.
After production, we clean each
machine. It takes less than
30 minutes for one person to
thoroughly clean VitiSort, which
is about half the time it takes to
clean other optical sorters,” says
Docher. “It’s a very well designed
machine with no moving parts so
there is virtually no maintenance
required.
“With VitiSort, we can make a
decision about how much MOG
to remove, and then do it. With
it, medium-size wineries have
similar high tech optical sorting
equipment that had previously
been so expensive only the large
wineries could afford it,” says
Docher. “This is the first optical
sorter that actually does what we
need it to do. It helps us make the
best wines from the best grapes.”
For more information on these
products or any in the Heat and
Control range,
visit www.heatandcontrol.com or
email info@heatandcontrol.com.
Alternatively, stay up to date via
social media – Twitter, Facebook,
LinkedIn or YouTube – search
Heat and Control.
mechanical
MOG (material
other than grape)
removal shaker and
optical sorter, with an
integral juice recovery system.
Recognised as a pioneer in the
Napa Valley, Chappellet Vineyard
and Winery is highly respected
for its compelling Cabernet
Sauvignon and other ultrapremium
wines. Their pioneering
spirit and dedication to quality
led Chappellet to be among the
first to install VitiSort, the optical
sorter for wine grapes from
Key Technology – exclusively
distributed in New Zealand by
Heat and Control.
The compact, two-stage system
combines a patent-pending
mechanical MOG removal shaker
and optical sorter with an integral
juice recovery system. As the
most affordable optical sorting
system on the market, VitiSort
helps maximise quality while
minimising labour.
“We considered optical sorters
from three suppliers. We used one
on a trial basis for a short time in
2013 and then used Key’s VitiSort
on a trial basis for the 2014 crush
before we decided to purchase
it,” says Daniel Docher, assistant
winemaker at Chappellet. “VitiSort
is about half the cost of the other
two, and it performs beautifully.
It’s allowed us to increase our
ACHIEVE
NEW LEVELS
OF PERFORMANCE
For more than 70 years, food
processors around the world have
relied on Key Technology’s innovative
sorting, process and conveying
technologies to increase product
quality, efficiency and yield.
The OPTYX® sorting platforms are characterised by
exceptional colour, shape, size and texture recognition.
High resolution Vis/IR, Tri-chromatic, or UV cameras and
IR or Fluo lasers ensure even the subtlest defects are
identified and targeted for removal increasing quality.
Discover more at www.key.net
SORTING | PROCESSING | CONVEYING
EXCLUSIVE SUPPLIER OF KEY TECHNOLOGY
Heat and Control New Zealand
NZ +64 9 274 4182
info@heatandcontrol.com | www.heatandcontrol.com
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