The Sustainable Winemaking Practices at Lakeview Wine Co. in Niagara include an number of 'green' initiatives.
Description: One of many insulated wine tanks in Lakeview Wine Co's cellar.
Insulated Tanks Reduce Energy Consumption and Increased Efficiency of the Cooling System by 300%.
An energy audit was conducted within our winery in 2008. The energy audit clearly indicated the energy sinks (energy used inefficiently) in Retail, Administration and Production. A large sink was evident in our glycol jackets, used to maintain constant temperature during fermentation, and during cold stabilization. It was estimated that 50% of the energy was being lost to the environment. Thus, a proactive plan to insulate both indoor and outdoor tanks was implemented. We effectively raised our energy efficiency three-fold.
Lakeview Winemaking Facility Uses Low flow/No Flow Washroom Facilities to Reduce Water Consumption.
As the environmental sustainability of our industry continues to be on the forefront of both owners, operators and also the consumer, water consumption and also waste water treatment is one of the key environmental concerns. At the Lakeview Winemaking facility in NOTL, we have low flow/no flow washroom facilities that have reduced water consumption within the facility.
Description: STARS Electrodialysis System
STARS Electrodialysis System Reduces Electricity Use During Cold Stabilization of Wines.
Cold Stabilization is carried out to remove traces of tartaric acid, which is the most abundant natural grape acid found in wines. These acids are unstable at low temperatures and will form glass like crystals (known as wine diamonds – Potassium Tartrate (KHT)) in the bottles if not removed prior to bottling. These tartrate crystals can slowly reappear in the bottle over time.
Wineries will cold stabilize their wines prior to bottling to prevent this issue from occurring. Traditionally this occurs prior to bottling and requires cold temperatures to precipitate the natural acids (tartaric and malic acid) from wine. This requires an enormous amount of energy to cool wines down to -4 celcius for a period of time lasting as long as 3 weeks.
Lakeview Wine Co. has made a large investment in new technology known as STARS (Selective Tartrate Removal System) Electrodialysis (ED) system. In the STARS ED system, wine passes through anionic and cationic membranes and the potassium (K+) ions and the tartrate substrate (T-) ions are removed from the wine to a stable level that prevents precipitation. This process occurs in a single pass process results in a reduction of a wineries electrical usage by as much as 95%, while maintaining wine quality.
Description: Solar panels generate power from Lakeview Wine Co. rooftop.
Leased Solar Panels on 36,000 sq. foot Rooftop Surface Area.
Renewable energy is the buzz around town. With renewable energy programs and the increasingly efficient technology that is available, we have entered into a partnership with Dream Renewables to utilize our 36,000 square feet of available rooftop space for solar energy generation. The solar panel array has a capacity of 282 kilowatt peak output producing clean, renewable energy.
The benefits:
- Guaranteed long-term revenue for space that is never used.
- No capital investment or risk.
- Does not penetrate the rooftop, so neither obstructive nor intrusive.
- Specifically designed not to impact the esthetics of the building or property.
- Demonstrates Diamond’s environmental leadership.
Lakeview Wine Co. has served as the Chair of Sustainable Winemaking in Ontario; helping the Ontario Wine industry create the first Ontario Sustainable Winemaking manual where wineries can now be certified as adhering to sustainable winemaking practices.
