(By Tim Treadgold, 16 November 2009)

An Australian company's technology fixes flaws in grapes. Will purists approve?

Taking alcohol out of wine seems a bit like taking the fun out of a day at the beach--and certainly very un-Australian. But that is how Memstar, a Melbourne business, is making money. Memstar uses high-tech membranes (hence the first part of its name) to remove unwanted elements in wine, right down to the molecular level. Removing alcohol is the major use of the technology, but with a switch in the process other unwanted elements can be removed, including smoke taint from forest fires. Both problems, rising alcohol levels in wine caused by excess sugar in grapes, and smoke from such fires, have been blamed on a warming climate.

Memstar has appointed WineSecrets, North America’s leading provider of wine filtration solutions, as its licensee and distributor in the USA. Winesecrets will provide mobile alcohol adjustment using Memstar’s patented evaporative perstraction technology, as well as sales of Memstar’s alcohol adjustment equipment, for wineries in North America.

Wayne Shub, Memstar Managing Director, said, “Memstar’s AA process is now a leading alcohol adjustment technology in almost every recognised winemaking country in the world. We are impressed with WineSecrets’ professional and extensive operations and see this partnership as a great fit.”

“We are pleased to be able to offer options and solutions for the needs of the wine industry,” stated Eric Dahlberg, President of WineSecrets. “We feel the partnership of outstanding service with innovative, new and applied technologies, and convenience of choice is what the industry both expects and deserves. We feel fortunate to be able to provide Memstar’s cutting edge technology to wineries throughout North America.”

This partnership adds to WineSecrets’ current lineup of available technologies, including Electrodialysis, Reverse Osmosis, Cross Flow Filtration and Ultrafiltration. For more information, North American clients should contact WineSecrets at 888-656-5553, or visit their website at www.winesecrets.com


Domingo Rodriguez, WineSecrets Co-Owner and General Manager, and Wayne Shub, Memstar Managing Director, shake on the partnership between their two companies. A Memstar unit is behind them

The recent fires in and around Victoria have thrown vintage plans into chaos. Now that the immediate fire danger has passed, many growers and winemakers are disturbed by the risk of smoke taint. Timely harvest decisions are being delayed while grapes are analysed and in many cases, fruit is being rejected on the basis of fear and poor information.

• Saves wine
• Saves energy
• Saves time

Electrodialysis (ED) is a viable and proven alternative to conventional cold stabilisation that is greatly reducing winemakers’ energy consumption and wine losses. ED is a rapid in-line process which replaces the method of cold storage and tartrate lees disposal.

With climate change predictions indicating more bushfires in future the Australian wine industry is worried it may literally go 'up in smoke'. Wineries around the world have only recently woken up to the damaging effect of bushfire smoke on their vintages. Fires in Victoria a couple of years ago cost the industry more than a $100-million.