WINETECH Technical Yearbook 2021

PRACTICAL IN THE CELLAR | MAY 2021

The sanitation of cellar floors

CHARL THERON: Private consultant KEYWORDS: Sanitation, cellar floors.

“YOU CANNOT MANAGE what you do not measure and you cannot measure what you do not monitor.” Cellar floors should actually be seen as cellar equipment. Contrary to other cellar equipment they are not only used seasonally, but required for all actions in one way or another. Like other cellar equipment, it is essential to maintain cellar floors. The continuous sanitation thereof is consequently essential to limit the potential contamination of juice and wine. Apart from cellar drains, cellar floors are the main source of contamination in cellars. The efficiency of sanitation can only be monitored if certain measurements are applied. This can be done by implementing an ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) protocol, which can confirm the presence of viable organisms by utilising bioluminescence technology. During harvest the contamination potential is the highest, seeing that there may not

Cellar hygiene is a required practice.

WINETECH TECHNICAL YEARBOOK 2021 | 156