The Burgundy region of France is home to many famous wines made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. One of these is the Chablis, a white wine whose taste is characterized by the soil’s minerals where Chardonnay grapes are grown. Chablis has a longstanding history stemming back to the 12th century when Cistercian monks first began making wine in the region.
The Michel family of Louis Michel and Fils Vineyard understands the hard work that goes into producing high-quality Chablis. Since the 19th century, the Michel family has done everything form harvesting the Chardonnay grapes to bottling the final product. Today, the family makes over 150,000 bottles a year on their estate.
Their incredible operation wouldn’t be possible without the latest technology — an Atlas Copco Variable Speed Drive (VSD) compressor and onsite nitrogen generator to meet application demands. The compressed air is used throughout the winemaking process for bottling, labeling and attaching shrink capsules to the wine bottles.
During their compressor purchase, the vineyard also invested in an onsite nitrogen generator. The nitrogen is used right before the bottling process to expel carbon gases that have built up in the wine. During the bottling stage, the nitrogen pushes out the remaining oxygen from the empty bottles before the wine is bottled and corked.
The Atlas Copco installation keeps Louis Michel and Fils Vineyard abreast of the industry’s modern winemaking techniques with the system’s VSD technology. Now, the vineyard can control when the compressor and nitrogen system is operating to keep energy consumption at a minimum.
Interested in learning more about Atlas Copco’s state-of-the-art equipment for winemaking? Leave us a comment below, or reach out to a product expert.
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