Receiving and processing of grapes: flexibility, automation and a high respect of raw material
To deal with the improved production capacity, the youngest company of Tombacco Group has started with Enoveneta the development of the new receiving and processing grapes line, from both manual and mechanical harvest. Objective: working gently with different grapes varietals and different ripeness, having high efficency standards and low warehousing times.
It’s the 1919 when the Azienda Vinicola Tombacco moves its first steps into the enological sector. During the years the company, now Rinomata Cantina Tombacco, has seen three generations on the leadeship. The other two companies of the group are Azienda Agricola Trevisana in Paese (TV), and 47 Anno Domini. 47 Anno Domini started in 1998 in Roncade (TV) and takes its name from the near road, the ancient Claudia Augusta road, completed in the 47 AD.
Today the estate have 70 he of vineyards. The soil is fertile, clayish and rich in mineral salts, this particular condition gives wines structure and sweetness. The company gives a particular attention to this characteristic terroir, with a sustainable production. “Our vineyards – begins Giuliano Tombacco, owner of Tombacco Group with his sons Cristian and Andrea – are completely BIO from 7 years: the soil management aims to the mantaining of the orgainc composition. We use only fertilizers obtained from plants. We’ve also installed micro-irrigation plants in order to optimize the water consumption. Also, we’ve two solar plants, with a nominal power of 80 kW, that provide us the 80% of our energy needs”.
“47 Anno Domini born in a unique area – continue Tombacco – where we produce 16-18 thousand quintals of grapes with a total turnover of 1.8 millions of Euro yearly. Prosecco is our main product (wih the 60% of our production); we made it in all its types: Charmat and Champenoise method. Then we’ve the Pinot grigio (15% of our production), other traditional wines like Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and lastly autochthonous wines like Raboso and Pinot nero”.
During the years the winery has increased the daily grapes transformation rate, reaching over 3.000 quintals. This is one of the reasons why the company has invested into a complete grape receiving line that could meet the new production needs. In order to have a complete service, from the consulting to the technical assistance, they have reconfirmed Enoveneta as technologial partner for this supply.
Avant-garde technology
The winery invests continuously on innovation using avant-garde processes and machineries, in order to keeping up with the modern technologies. “In the last years – tells us Giuliano Tombacco – we’ve improved our vineyards’s capacity and because of that we’ve updated all the winery processes and structures. Our company is always growing and to support this growth we invest in new equipments. With Enoveneta we’ve studied the entire development of the grape receiving line, for both hand picked grapes and mechanical harvested grapes”.
“For the grape receiving – says Tombacco – we use a stainless steel conveyor hopper with a capacity of 250 quintals, suitable for dump truck discharge. Also, the hopper is equipped with a lobular pump with an hourly output of 400-500 quintals of grape. This pump has an electronic speed variator that allow to pump the product gently, keeping the production of lees very low. Then we’ve bought a destemmer-crusher (TOP-40) with an hourly output of 40 tons/h, suitable for different grape varietals and different harvest conditions, and two pneumatic presses of 100 and 150 quintals. These pneumatic presses with closed cylinder and draining channels, allow to softly press the grapes obtaining products with small amount of lees. The entire working process of the receiving line is automatic and it can be managed trhough a control panel”.
More speed and capacity, more quality
One of the advantages gather from the new receiving line is tied to the working speed and the resulting lowering of grape stationing time. “Until 3 years ago – tells us Tombacco – we had a smaller crushing plant that allowed us to process a small quantity of grapes: trailers risked to stay parked for 3-4 hours before crushing. With the new pump we can load a press in 20 minutes, and then work for the next load: this allow us to obtain high quality musts. Also, with the new grape receiving line we can process up to 4.000 quintals of grapes a day and in 5-6 days we can complete the work”.
Many advantages have been observed on mechanical performances and also on the quality of produced wines. Not only, also the maintenance of the production line is a very important factor. “The cleaning of the machines is completely automatic and this is a key feature for the quality of the final product, because a careful cleaning allow to avoid the formation of mildews and microogranisms” says Tombacco.
Lastly, an added value of the partnership with Enoveneta is about the after sale service, the consultancy and the assistance. “If we have a problem – concludes Tombacco – we just need to call them and a technician give us a solution in a short time. This is one of the reasons why of our partnership with Enoveneta lasts from years”.