PVPP: What Are The Alternatives?

Faced with a drastic rise in the price of PVPP and increasingly uncertain availability, the use of this fining agent, which until now had been indispensable in the winemaking process, is beginning to be questioned. IOC has been involved for many years in finding alternatives to PVPP in wine making and now has concrete solutions to move away from this fining agent.

an important tool: oenological chitosan

Since 2009, IOC’s R&D department has been working on developing new fining agents based on the unique properties of oenological chitosans of fungal origin. This derivative of chitin from the fungus “Aspergillus niger”, is a natural biopolymer of the polysaccharide family, like cellulose or starch. There are various types of chitosans, depending on their chemical configuration and molecular weight. Some of them are developed for their fining properties.

The proven fining properties of chitosan are as follows:

qi fine and no[ox], solutions adapted as alternatives to pvpp in wine

Qi Fine as an alternative of PVPP in wine production

IOC’s Qi Fine formula, composed of chitosan and pea protein, demonstrates a similar ability as PVPP to reduce colour intensity, with a 37% reduction in the processing dose. At slightly lower (35 g/hL) doses, it is more effective.

Qi No[Ox] is also a strong alternative to PVPP in wine making. The presence of bentonite makes it more suitable for use on wine, allowing for better sedimentation of the product. It also has slightly lower chitosan content than Qi Fine. Therefore, Qi Fine will be more interesting for use on must, thanks in particular to the anti-radical properties of chitosan.

economically speaking, how does it look?

These alternatives, in addition to having proven technological advantages, are now more economical solutions at the recommended doses compared with PVPP. Processing with Qi No[Ox] at the same dose provides a saving of almost 7%, while Qi Fine savings up to 27% are possible with Qi Fine at the tested dose.