November 30, 2023
Climate Adaptation: Equans France’s C3R Unit Opens New Horizons for Small Wineries
On Tuesday, November 28, during SITEVI, the international trade show for the wine, wine, fruit, and olive sectors, Bernard Gros, Wine Project Manager at Axima Réfrigération France (ARF), a division of Equans France, presented ARF’s new solution designed to help small vineyards adapt to climate change: the Rapid Grape Cooling Unit, also known as C3R. Suitable for a wide variety of grape varieties, it cools whole grapes in record time to prevent harvest temperatures from affecting the quality of the harvested grapes and the subsequent winemaking process.
With scorching heat and early harvests reported as early as mid-August—a month before the traditional September harvest period—climate change is presenting unprecedented challenges for winemakers, who are forced to adapt to avoid compromising the quality of their wine. Among these challenges, given the extremely high temperatures recorded in recent years, controlling the temperature of the grapes has become essential to prevent premature fermentation, as well as unwanted pre-fermentation changes.
In this context, Axima Réfrigération, a division of Equans France, has developed a new solution, the C3R chamber, which enables rapid cooling of grapes in record time (1,000 kg of grapes cooled by 1°C in less than five minutes) without increasing the size or energy consumption of the refrigeration systems. By comparison, traditional methods for cooling grapes took between eight and ten hours to achieve similar results and lower the temperature of the grapes.
This solution was designed to cool the grapes directly as soon as they are harvested and placed in crates. The objective of this cooling cell is twofold: to cool a substantial quantity of grapes in the shortest possible time, but above all to preserve the intrinsic quality of the freshly harvested grapes by locking in their chemical properties and structure as quickly as possible through cooling.
A Solution Tailored to Small-Scale Winegrowers: Feedback from an Independent Winemaker Who Tested the System
Suitable for a wide variety of grape varieties, the C3R unit is designed to meet the operational needs of a 10-hectare vineyard. For example, this corresponds to 90% of vineyards in Burgundy. Its added value lies in a new harvesting method, which involves spreading out the arrival of the grapes—collected in smaller batches— to cool them as they arrive, rather than waiting to have very large quantities before initiating a cooling process once or twice a day
at most. This method allows the grapes and whole grape berries to be cooled not only more quickly but also sooner after harvest, while reducing the power and size of the equipment needed for cooling.
Thus, in 2022 at the Domaine de CARDON in Burgundy, when the temperature of the grapes exceeded 30°C by late morning, this process lowered the temperature of the berries by more than 20°C in a matter of tens of minutes, and did so continuously. During the trial, about ten batches of 800 kg were cooled in this manner. The use of the C3R cell prevented any risk of the harvest deteriorating and stabilized the temperature of the vats at around 8°C–10°C—an essential condition for maximizing the fruit’s aromatic potential. The risk of alcoholic fermentation starting was also eliminated thanks to the uniform temperature of the wine batches.
Also energy-efficient, the C3R unit from Axima Réfrigération France cools the grapes directly in the cold storage room, bypassing the usual intermediate steps (pumps, heat exchangers, etc.), thereby minimizing energy loss.
Among the recommended practices to maximize its performance, manual grape harvesting—a practice that has increased by 20% to 30% over the past 10 years—helps prevent the grapes from being crushed. Preserved entirely with their skins and pulp intact, the grapes thus retain all their aromatic properties. The transfer of color from the grape skins to the juice—a crucial step in rosé wine production—is also kept to a minimum.
“ To make good wine, you need good grapes! That is the philosophy of our vineyard. The quality of our wines is the result of meticulous work, from pruning the vines in winter to the harvest in late summer. With climate change and all its consequences, the C3R team helps us maintain a controlled production volume each year and improve quality. ”
“ Cool quickly, cool early, but also cool in compliance with environmental standards and as efficiently as possible: the importance of cooling continues to grow within the wine industry. Committed to working alongside winemakers, Axima Réfrigération France takes pride in combining ever-greater pragmatism, common sense, and a spirit of service to help promote this exceptional industry. ”