Category Archives: Technology

Wine Technology of the Future: System and Method for Pairing Food with Wine

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Becca| 2 Comments

 

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“Wine Technology of the Future” is a series on The Academic Wino that features new inventions and patents that attempt to make your wine experience easier and more enjoyable. Previously on this series, we’ve introduced the “self aerating wine bottle”; the “corkscrew with integral intelligent thermometer”; “wine dispensing and preservation device”; “multi-stream wine aerating device”; and most recently the “wine bag carrier”. Today’s invention is the “system and method for pairing food with wine”, invented by Eric S. Arsenault from Ann Arbor, Michigan. The patent was filed on May 24th, 2011, and was published on January 29th, 2013.

There has been a sort of tradition in the past few decades that certain wines must be paired with certain types of foods. For example: it is often said that one should serve red wine with red meat and white wine with fish. Of course, these “traditions” are relatively new with respect to the entire history of wine, as up until the most recent past all styles of wines were served during every course of the meal, and were chosen by a diner based upon the type of wine they wanted to drink, and not what someone told them they should drink based on the dish. As an aside: Tim Hanni has done a lot of research as well as published a book discussing the very concept of pairing wine “to the diner and not the dinner”, which is highly recommended reading for everyone (even if you’re a staunch critic of the concept!). Click here to read my review of that book.

…but I digress!…

Yours and my opinion of the concept of wine and food pairings aside, this “system and method for pairing food with wine” device is basically a computer system that lets you input the type of food you are planning to each, and presents to the user a recommendation of the type of wine they should consume with that dish based on an extensive database with wine information, as well as food information based on a menu from a restaurant.

Figure 3 from US Patent 8364545

Figure 3 from US Patent 8364545

Basically, what happens is that the customer sits down at a table in a restaurant and is given a tablet with the menu choices listed. The customer then selects what he/she would like to eat, and then the tablet “talks” to the main computer database via a wireless system (located someplace else inside the restaurant) and it comes back with a wine with the best “Pairing Compatibility Score”. It is assumed that the customer will then go ahead and order that particular wine, since according to the computer, it is the best wine to pair with that particular dish on the menu.

I have a couple of problems with the device: 1) what happens when the customer doesn’t like the kind of wine the computer recommends? Maybe they try it again and they get another unsatisfactory answer. What are they supposed to do now? Give up and drink cocktails? This goes back to the pairing to the “diner and not the dinner” idea that Tim Hanni has frequently preached, which stresses that one should really pick the wine that they like and not what someone tells them is the appropriate choice. Everyone has different tastes and sensitivities, so a device catering to only one type of taster is anything but efficient and an otherwise good idea.

Now, if this device were to determine the type of taster that was choosing their meals BEFORE calculating a “Pairing Compatiblity Score” and selecting the appropriate wine, that could potentially be much more effective and less likely to alienate those people who have different taste preferences that the designer of the machine. In fact, the author did mention later on in the patent that this could be an option programmed into the device, which I think should be first and foremost an absolute requirement, and not simply an afterthought that “maybe this could be an option” (of course, now I’m just being picky…).

My second problem with this device is that it’s kind of pointless and a waste of money. OK, maybe that’s a little too harsh, but really: the patent author talks about how wine is so complicated and that basically NO ONE is qualified to select the appropriate wine unless they are a certified sommelier (I’m serious: that’s how it reads). The author says that since paying a sommelier can be expensive, investing in this machine is the only option a restaurant has in order to select an appropriate bottle of wine for every diner. Whatever happened to basic wine training? Seriously, sure, wine can be complicated, but choosing wine for dinner doesn’t have to be and shouldn’t have to be for that matter. Just give the waiters and waitresses a basic training and wine and maybe not spend a small fortune to make the wine novice feel even more like a failure when it comes to their own ability to choose wine.

In regards to technology, this “system and method for pairing food with wine” is a neat little computer program that can calculate the “perfect” wine and food pairing based on very detailed information about the selection from the menu and the wines in the cellar. For gadgets sake, it is kind of cool and would be fun to play with. However, if I were a restaurant owner, I don’t think I would spend my money on something like this when some basic wine training for the staff could be just as effective.

What do you all think of this device? Am I crazy to think it’s kind of unnecessary? Have I gone off the deep end? Would you invest in this type of device if you owned a restaurant? What if they made an at-home version? Would you buy it? Please feel free to comment!

Source: United States Patent 8364545: “System and method for pairing food with wine”. Accessed online 3/19/13 http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8364545.html

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Wine Technology of the Future: Wine Bag Carrier

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Becca| 2 Comments

 

“Wine Technology of the Future” is a series on The Academic Wino that features new inventions and patents that attempt to make your wine experience easier and more enjoyable.  Previously on this series, we’ve introduced the “self aerating wine bottle”; the “corkscrew with integral intelligent thermometer”; “wine dispensing and preservation device”; and most recently the “multi-stream wine aerating device”.  Today’s invention is the “Wine Bag Carrier” invented by Jerry Griffith from Loudon, TN.  The patent was filed on March 16th, 2012 and was published on October 11th, 2012.

According to the inventor, this wine bag carrier was invented as an alternative to the current bag-in-box wine packaging.  Specifically first, the author noted that the cardboard box that holds the plastic bag of wine inside is bulky and the same size regardless of whether or not the bag inside was full or empty.  He cites that this is an issue for those lacking refrigerator space.  Second, the author cites the wine bag carrier was invented to act as a literal carrier of wine from place to place.  The bag could be worn on one’s shoulders for convenient travel and use in a variety of places.

Figure 2 from US Patent 0255971

Figure 2 from US Patent 0255971

The patent’s design indicates that the bag is insulated, thereby allowing the carrier to be transported out and about and still maintain the coolness of the wine inside.  Just think—you can be our own personal travelling bar whenever you wished!  The design of the bag is also such that as the wine is consumed, the sides of the bag may compress (unlike a cardboard box) allowing a greater utilization of space in one’s refrigerator.  By compressing the bag, getting the last little bit of wine at the bottom of the bag is much easier to remove than it is when it is contained in the incompressible cardboard box.

I’m not going to lie; this invention is really straight forward and simple.  It’s not a fancy complicated aerator or wine preservation device: it’s a bag.  Simple concepts sometimes make great designs!

The wine bag carrier is designed to be insulated, with a bottom and two insulated sides.  On one of the sides, there is an opening designed to fit the tap of the bag containing the wine.  The inventor noted that the size of the bag is large enough to fit the standard wine-in-box-sized plastic wine bag.  The bag is also outfitted with a messenger bag-style strap that one can easily wear around one’s shoulders.  In addition, the bag is equip with a tap that protrudes from the side of the bag for easy pouring and is protected when not in use by a circular flange (i.e. a little cap).

Figures 4 and 5 from US Patent 0255971

Figures 4 and 5 from US Patent 0255971

What do you do when you’ve finished the bag of wine?  The wine bag carrier is designed to unzip from one size in order to remove the empty bag and replace it with a full bag of wine.  One would think having this cloth wine bag carrier would result in a decrease in waste due to not having the cardboard box housing the bag, however, since stores don’t sell the plastic bags of wine separate from the cardboard boxes, one would have to purchase a box of wine and then remove the bag from the cardboard to place in the cloth wine bag carrier.  The cardboard box is then still waste and the cloth wine bag carrier hasn’t reduced the waste at all.  If one were to sell the plastic bag of wine without the cardboard box, then the amount of waste produced could be reduced.

This could be a fun accessory and conversation piece for parties, picnics, sporting events, or any other get together that involves people getting together to enjoy a bit of the grape and each others’ company.  In all honesty, it’s probably not something I would purchase for myself, but I think it certainly has its’ place in the economy.  This product reminds me of the product already on the market, the “Menu Baggy Winecoat” (click for a description), though the wine bag carrier looks to be a little easier to carry due to its strap across the shoulders/back instead of the clutch-like handle on the Winecoat.

What do you all think of this invention?  Is it something you could see yourself purchasing and using?  Please feel free to leave your comments!

Patent Source: United States Patent Application Publication Number: US 2012/0255971 A1; http://patents.com/us-20120255971.html

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Wireless Sensor Bung: A Novel Technology for Monitoring Malolactic Fermentation Progress and Completion in Wine

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Becca| Leave a comment

 

Malolactic fermentation is a common process that occurs after primary alcoholic fermentation is complete. Occurring in most red wines and some white wines (including Chardonnay and sparkling wines), it functions to reduce the acidity of the wine by converting L-malic acid to L-lactic acid with a carbon dioxide by-product.  Malolactic fermentation ultimately increases the complexity of the finished wine, as well as provides microbial stability.

If malolactic fermentation does not come to completion, lactic acid bacteria can remain in the wine and cause several problems, including the production of unwanted volatile compounds that introduce undesirable flavors and aromas to the wine (including, but not limited to, mousiness and bitterness) as well as the production of biogenic amines that can be harmful to human health when ingested.

As a result of these negative implications of lactic acid bacteria remaining in wine, it is of utmost importance that the progress of malolactic fermentation be monitored and determined when it has been completed.  Current methods of monitoring malolactic fermentation include paper chromatography, thin layer

Traditional paper chromatography for monitoring malolactic fermentation progress.By Agne27 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Traditional paper chromatography for monitoring malolactic fermentation progress.
By Agne27 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

chromatography, HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography), and enzymatic chromatography.  One issue with these methods is that they take time and sometimes significant resources in terms of money and space in the winery to perform.

A novel method for monitoring malolactic fermentation in wine is presented today in this article and is tested by the authors of the study for its effectiveness and accuracy in determining the progress and completion of malolactic fermentation.  Specifically, a wireless real-time system dubbed the “Wireless Sensor Bung” system is presented to show that it can function to remotely monitor the parameters in wine and to determine if malolactic fermentation has been completed in a more cost-effective and timely manner.

Methods

Wireless Sensor Bung

See Figure 1 for a illustration of the Wireless Sensor Bung

The Wireless Sensor Bung consists of a sensor node that is kept in the silicone bung of a wine barrel as well as a receiving base station.  The sensor node is made up of a sensor probe with both analog and digital channels in order to connect various sensors for data collection, as well as a radio for wireless data transfer.  Other sensors on the node measure both temperature and pH.

The base station for the Wireless Sensor Bung is set up with a coordinator device that serves to “talk” between the sensor node and the computer program that is collecting the data received by the node.  In order to achieve this communication, the base station is equip with a USB connection for back-and-forth between the station and the computer.

Figure 1 from Di Gennaro et al, 2012

Figure 1 from Di Gennaro et al, 2012

A unique software management program is installed on the laboratory computer in order to receive and analyze the data transmitted through the sensor node and the base station.  Data can be both stored and also measured in real-time.

Functionally, the sensor probe measures the wine parameters, then the data is sent via radio signal to the base station. The data is then transferred to a remote server and the data then analyzed using the computer software management program.

Testing the Wireless Sensor Bung

The Wireless Sensor Bung was tested in 2011 at the Azienda Agricola Comparini winery in Empoli, Tuscany, Italy.  The base station was placed behind a cellar wall in order to determine if there may be issues with interference due to the architecture of the cellar.

The sensor node was placed into a 225L Bordeaux-style barrique/barrel of Sangiovese red wine.  To determine reliability and accuracy, the sensor was set to acquire data every 5 seconds.  The authors stressed it is not necessary in real world situations to have data collect this frequently, but was chosen in this case for testing the reliability and accuracy of the system.

To determine the accuracy of the data being collected by the Wireless Sensor Bung, wine was also sampled from the barrels and tested using traditional chromatography methods.  For each wine sample, the following were analyzed: lactic acid bacteria population, L-malic acid, L-lactic acid, and pH.

Results

  • During the calibration process, the Wireless Sensor Bung showed high precision and response stability of the sensor node.
  • By setting the data acquisition time at 5 seconds, the device lasted 8 days before the battery dropped to a level that interrupted data collection.
    • A total of 17,280 observations per day were collected at this rate (wine temperature and pH) and were subsequently averaged for a daily value.
    • In “normal” situations (i.e. in the real world at the winery), the authors stressed only 4 values per day need be collected.  This would allow up to 75 days of data collection on one battery charge.
  • Data collected using the Wireless Sensor Bung and the traditional chromatography methods were very similar.
    • The only difference was that the correlation between pH and malic acid concentration was higher using the Wireless Sensor Bung than using the traditional method.
      • This indicates the Wireless Sensor Bung could be superior to traditional methods.

Conclusions

This study examined a novel method for analyzing the progress and completion of malolactic fermentation in an Italian red wine, and showed that using a wireless real time monitoring system (i.e. the Wireless Sensor Bung) may be a good, if not superior, alternative to the traditional monitoring systems, in that the data collected are accurate and show great stability in terms of data collection and power supply.

The authors indicated that this Wireless Sensor Bung system could be

By Tomascastelazo (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

By Tomascastelazo (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

extrapolated to include monitoring of up to 250 barrels with just one system, which would significantly reduce time and money costs for monitoring the status and completion of malolactic fermentation.  They also discussed how by using both analog and digital channels in the hardware, other types of sensors could be easily integrated thus creating a complex system of monitoring and analyzing the wine in the barrels that would save even more time and resources.

This system should be tested using other wines to ensure the results are consistent regardless of the type of wine being crafted.  If it proves to be consistent from wine to wine and from winery to winery, the Wireless Sensor Bung could be a good investment in terms of both time and financial resources for the individual players in the wine industry.

Source:  Di Gennaro, S.F., Matese, A., Primicerio, J., Genesio, L., Sabatini, F., Di Blasi, S., and Vaccari, F.P. 2012. Wireless real-time monitoring of malolactic fermentation in wine barrels: the Wireless Sensor Bung system. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research. doi: 10.1111/ajgw.12006

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Wine Technology of the Future: Multi-Stream Wine Aerating Device

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Becca| 1 Comment

“Wine Technology of the Future” is a series on The Academic Wino that features new inventions and patents that attempt to make your wine experience easier and more enjoyable.  Previously on this series, we’ve introduced the “self aerating wine bottle”; the “corkscrew with integral intelligent thermometer”; and most recently the “wine dispensing and preservation device”.  Today’s invention is the “multi-stream wine aerating device” created by Skip A. Lei from Portland, Oregon.  The patent for this device was filed on April 14th, 2011 and the patent application was published on October 18th, 2012.

The “multi-stream wine aerating device” was invented to serve as a low-price wine aerator to allow wine to breathe prior to consuming.  Many wines, particularly many red wines, need to “breathe” prior to consumption.  By exposing the wine to air, it allows the wine to “open up” and show general aromatic and sensory balancing and improvement.  Depending upon the wine, this process can vary quite a bit in the length of time needed for proper breathing.   Younger red wines tend to require longer breathing time than older wines, as they typically have tighter tannins (i.e. a structural compound that affects the mouthfeel and other aspects of the sensory profile of the wine) and need more time to soften and mellow out.

Figure 1 from US Patent 20120261844

Figure 1 from US Patent 20120261844

As any wine lover knows, there are many gadgets out there to help speed along this breathing process.  Regardless of the device (i.e. decanters, the Vinturi aerator, etc), the ultimate goal and function of these inventions are to increase the surface area of the wine in order to increase and maximize the amount of wine surface area that is in contact with the air.  The more air contact a wine gets, the faster it can breathe, and the sooner it will be ready to drink.

The purpose of the “multi-stream aerating device” is really no different than all the other aerating and “breathing” devices in that it functions to increase the surface area of the wine in order to increase the wine-to-air ratio and allow the wine to breathe at a much faster rate than if it were just sitting in the bottle.  The difference between this device and all other aerating devices is in the way it achieves this goal.

The inventor describes the device as either being a stopper (think: cork-like), a screwed on device, or fitting onto the edge of a pour spout such as with bag-in-box wines.  Within the device, at least 3 tubes are embedded inside the stopper to allow wine to pass through multiple channels in a smooth fashion, and not by the “Venturi effect”.

Figure 2 from US Patent 20120261844

Figure 2 from US Patent 20120261844

As an aside: the “Venturi effect” functions to pull a fluid from a larger tunnel through a smaller tunnel, resulting in a vortex-like motion and significant increase in fluid speed through the tunnels.  Some have found that this harsh movement on wine damaging some of the more delicate flavors and aroma on the wine.

By putting the device in/on the bottle of wine and then pouring the wine into your glass as if you were pouring the wine from the bottle without the device, the wine will split into 3 (or more) streams thereby increasing the surface area of the wine in order to maximize air contact and breathability.  Each of the tunnels is a uniform diameter in order to avoid the “Venturi effect”.  To get a visual of what this actually looks like, check out the accompanying figures throughout this short post!

Figure 3 from US Patent 20120261844 - Attachment for Bag-in-Box

Figure 3 from US Patent 20120261844 – Attachment for Bag-in-Box

In summary, this device should  increase the wine-to-air ratio and move the wine through the tunnels in a gentle fashion such that the wine is able to “breathe” and open up much faster than if it were just sitting in the bottle.  The gentle nature of the wine flowing through the tunnels, as opposed to being “pulled” through the tunnel in the so called “Venturi effect” protects the wine from the potentially damaging effect of the “raging river Venturi effect” on the delicate aromatics of the wine.

What do you all think of this aerator?  Would you use this aerator instead of your current aerator (if you have one)?  What would you name the device?  Would you buy this device?

Please feel free to leave your comments!

Source: US Patent 20120261844 http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2012/0261844.html

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