Judd’s Hill Cuts Tank Cleaning Water Use by 66 Percent

A member of the Judd's Hill cellar team prepares the Destainex solution for tank cleaning.

It’s hard to imagine getting fired up about tank and bottling line cleaning. But Eric Lyman, winemaker for Judd’s Hill, is genuinely excited about a new biodegradable cleaning product developed specifically for the wine industry: Destainex LF. The product, produced by Scott Labs, saves time, water and energy, improves safety and leads to less wear and tear on equipment.

Judd’s Hill is one of the first wineries in Napa Valley to use Destainex LF and they haven’t seen any downside. Many wineries have standard operating procedures for cleaning making change to established practices difficult. Nichola Hall with Scott Labs says, “The people that use [Destainex] love it. The challenge is getting folks to switch over.” Napa Green staff met with Eric and his crew to see why they’re such big proponents of this product.

Eric notes the product saves time: “We’ve eliminated two major cleaning steps: citric and rinse. Our team is saving a ton of time because of this. We also have one less solution to prepare.” With Destainex there is just one single-pass rinse for the tanks.

"We were using 40-50 gallons per rinse, times three rounds. Now we’re down to just 40-50 gallons total. We’re saving water and energy."
Eric Lyman
Winemaker, Judd’s Hill

Tanks require 15 minutes of contact with the product and there can be tank-to-tank reuse if temperature and pH are maintained. “We use pH strips as a simple check for neutralization. It doesn’t have to be an expensive piece of equipment,” says Eric. To clean the bottling line, they run it for 15 minutes, stop, let it the product sit, and run the line for another 10 minutes.

Additionally, Eric has found costs to be comparable due to time savings. He also notes, “There’s less wear and tear on equipment, using pumps, etc., which means less maintenance.” The product is also safer for his team, eliminating risk of citric burns.

Eric says, “We conserve as much as we can.” For Judd’s Hill, the benefits of Destainex make sense.

About napa green

Napa Green is a global leader in sustainable winegrowing, setting the highest bar for sustainability and climate action in the wine industry. Napa Green facilitates systematic soil to bottle certification for wineries and vineyards, and provides the resources, tools and connections to continuously level up leadership. In 2021, Napa Green was the first sustainable winegrowing program in the world to redevelop Vineyard certification standards to focus on climate action, regenerative carbon farming, and social equity. In 2022, Napa Green and community partners launched the first of its kind, six-event RISE Climate & Wine Symposium (formerly THRIVES) with over 65 leading speakers and 40 “Sustainable Services & Solutions” partners and sponsors.

more climate smart musings

featured

subscribe

* indicates required
I am interested in hearing about:

Intuit Mailchimp

six pillars