As a potent oxidant with fast acting properties, ozonated water is used for barrel washing in wineries. The use of ozone prevents organic buildup which normally undercut the durability of the barrels, and helps to enhance the longevity of these essential vessels.

Depending on the level of contamination of the barrel, a 2.5 ppm ozone concentration can be used for 2 minutes or 5 minutes on new or severely contaminated barrel respectively. The ozonated water treatment usually follows the flushing of these vessels with hot water.

Wineries can save considerable amounts of capital on the high cost of replacing contaminated wine barrels by embracing ozone washing and sanitation. Most ozone system installations by Integra Water Technologies create short break-even periods while yielding a high return on investment (ROI).

Stainless steel wine tanks may remain empty for several days or weeks following their initial sanitization. Today, most wineries rinse all their stainless-steel vessels with aqueous ozone right before filling them with wine to guarantee maximum sanitization.

Given its effectiveness and safety profile, ozone is a natural choice for wineries as far as the sanitation of process machines is concerned. CIP sanitization is the step in the winemaking process where the risk of contamination is at its highest. CIP involves cleaning and sanitizing piping, pump systems, tanks, filters, hoses, bottling lines and more. Treating and transferring the wine through these stages requires a high level of care to mitigate the risk of contamination. The use of ozonated water reduces the risk of contamination during this process. As a result, wineries can save time and labor costs, while improving worker safety by replacing chemical sanitization agents with aqueous ozone.

Wine making involves the use of complex systems and elaborate processes that create a lot of room for surface contamination. It is critical to routinely sanitize the broad range of surfaces and equipment to control cross contamination and unwanted microbes. Ozone has proven to be the most effective agent for sanitizing crushing and de-stemming machines, harvest bins, conveyors and even floors.

Ozonated water is sprayed on the various surfaces comprising of stainless-steel, concrete floors and walls, drains, and plastic containers in the processing facility with 2 ppm of dissolved ozone for disinfection.

One of the biggest advantages of using ozone in this process is its ability to readily oxidize microbes on these surfaces once they are spray-washed.

This process typically involves using hand-held spray guns and hoses that are located throughout the wine processing area to apply ozonated water to target surfaces.