Posted by Cole-Parmer on March 11, 2010
| Dom Carisetti and Patrice DeMay have over 50 years experience in the professional winemaking industry. They operate the Chateau Renaissance Wine Cellars in upstate New York. The wine industry is currently using mostly stainless steel tanks which can be very expensive. |
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They set out to find a suitable solution to reduce price and looked into polyethylene tanks. Dom says “For $10,000 we equipped our winery with nearly 30,000 gallons of cooperage which also included the delivery price to the winery, for the same price we could only purchase a few stainless steel tanks totaling 5,000 gallons of cooperage. We chose Snyder tanks because they are well built and rugged compared to other plastic tanks we evaluated.”Another problem they had at the Chateau Renaissance Wine Cellars was space. They wanted to find a way to utilize their space in a better manner to eliminate building multiple buildings to do the same thing. In the fall they ferment most of their juice and have the tanks inside. In the spring, when they bottle most of their wines, they send the tanks outside once they are empty. This gives them a large room in the cellar to do winery events for their customers. Since the tanks are lighter than stainless steel tanks they are much more portable. One person can move the 500 to 1100 gallon tanks and two people can move the 2500 gallon tanks.
| Cleaning the tanks is also a simple task. Initially, Dom thought the absence of a bottom manway would be a problem. However, Dom says “for the price of a bottom manway on a stainless steel tank, that you may only use a few times a year, the price isn’t worth it.” |
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Here’s how they handle the cleaning. They do a lot of whole fresh fruit (other than grapes) that they crush into the tanks. The fruit ferments on the pulp. “After fermentation we rack the wine into clean tanks and merely tip the tanks over and scoop out the pulp (pomace). This takes 15 minutes with another 10 minutes to wash out the tank with hot water and a splash of bleach (chlorine)”. They also use a 6 foot stainless 2” pipe attached to their wine hose and pump to draw out the bottom wash liquid.
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Some people are concerned about flavor pick up from the plastic. Dom says “There is absolutely no flavor pick up. If there were our customers would tell us. Last year we produced 3500 cases of wine for our first year of business, including wine for 6 other wineries. No one had any complaints. Of about 10,000 visitors to our winery last year only a handful commented on the tanks in a negative manner. Once we told them of the benefits of the tanks they became converts to plastic.” |
| In summary, polyethylene tanks can give wineries savings in tank costs over stainless steel and the portability can reduce the number of buildings required. Snyder’s high density linear polyethylene tanks are also molded from 100% FDA approved materials and are safe for storage of food products. |
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Complete Selection of Cone Bottom Tanks
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Complete Selection of Polyethylene Tanks
Published with permission from Snyder Industries Inc.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Chateau Renaissance Wine Cellars, ferment tank, ferment tanks, fermentation, fermentation tank, fermentation tanks, plastic tank, plastic tanks, polyethylene tanks, Snyder tanks, stainless steel tanks, wine, wine tank, wine tanks, winemaking, winemaking industry, winery | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Cole-Parmer on November 18, 2009
To recognize the transmission of the 2009 H1N1 flu virus across the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 6 in June and, since then, the virus has continued to spread.
For workplace settings, the spreading virus threatens to interrupt business, create a loss in production, and debilitate the workforce due to many employees falling ill at the same time. As the flu season moves into the winter months and holiday gatherings bring staff members into closer contact, the potential for greater transmission—and more absences—increases.
Typical H1N1 flu symptoms include fever or chills, cough or sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, tiredness, diarrhea, or vomiting. The 2009 H1N1 flu, like the seasonal flu, may worsen underlying chronic medical conditions.
According to Janet Napolitano, United States Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, preparedness is the best antidote to public health threats such as H1N1, especially in the workplace. To safeguard your staff, consider the following strategies:
Safety
- Provide resources that promote hygiene, including hand sanitizers, disinfectants, disposable towels, and more, that work to keep surfaces clean.
- Review policies for sick leave and communicate the policies to employees. Emphasize flexibility, allowing workers who have the flu to stay home and away from other workers. Also, plan to have workers stay home if they are caring for a sick family member.
- Consider telecommuting as an option for employees who are equipped to continue their work from home.
Business Operations
- Prepare business continuity plans to cope with absences and maintain productivity. Some health officials may advise “social distancing,” or increasing the physical space between people to decrease frequency of contact and stem the spread of the virus.
- Identify key roles required to maintain operations and key communicators for assignments and functions that may need to be filled by backup personnel. Also, select a staff member to assist those who may become ill.
- Establish an emergency communications plan to put into effect if needed. This should include a list of who is responsible for communicating business status updates both internally and externally.
General Communications
- Keep employees informed about how to prevent the spread of the virus, what symptoms to look for, and how to protect themselves. Encourage workers to get the seasonal flu vaccine and the 2009 H1N1 vaccine when available.
- Share policies and plans with employees so they are aware of your expectations. Prepare ways to communicate with employees who do not speak English or those with disabilities.
Staff members can take an active role in maintaining their health by washing their hands frequently (with soap for 20 seconds or with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer), avoiding touching their nose, mouth, and eyes, and covering their coughs and sneezes with tissues. In addition, keeping work surfaces, including telephones and computers, clean and avoiding using coworkers’ phones and computers will help prevent the spread of the virus. Of course, a healthy lifestyle including proper diet, rest, exercise, and relaxation is a significant catalyst to maintaining overall health.
Check out all of these cool safety preparedness products from Cole-Parmer
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: bird flu, h1n1, h1n1 virus, influenza, safety, safety preparedness, swine flu | Leave a Comment »
