A new precision wine technology has changed how winemakers address quality challenges and recover value from fault-affected and heavily phenolic wines.
Amaea, a New Zealand developer of custom-engineered molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), has gained industry validation for its novel molecular filtration technology, which enables precision wine remediation and palate fining.
From premium winemakers in New Zealand to top-tier producers in California, amaea’s selective, sustainable filtration solution, launched in late 2023, is being used to remediate and enhance wine quality.
The proprietary MIP beads, imprinted with billions of binding sites, selectively target and capture unwanted molecules, such as pyrazines, ethyl phenols, and phenolic compounds responsible for sensory profiles, and remove them while preserving the wine’s essential varietal character, colour, and flavour.
“Winemakers face real challenges when unwanted characteristics or impacts appear in their wines that traditional methods cannot resolve,” said Amaea CEO Aiden Tapping.
“Our molecular filtration solution gives them control to target and remove the compounds responsible for undesirable sensory profiles, without stripping away desirable characters. This recovers value, saves wine from being downgraded or discarded, and ultimately protects brand integrity.”
Wines tainted by “off aromas,” such as those caused by stink bugs or pyrazines, as well as wines that require significant bitterness management, pose a major financial challenge for producers globally.
Over the past year, amaea RMx technology for remediating ‘off’ aromas and wines impacted by frost, pyrazines, Brettanomyces, MOG and other challenges, and amaea PFx technology for palate fining, have supported over 50 unique producers in treating more than 400,000 gallons/ 1.5 million liters of wine, helping them recover an estimated USD 3.5 million/ NZD 6.2 million in wine value in the past 12 months.
“It’s fantastic to see the consistent validation from the industry, highlighting the versatility and value of our technology. We’ve focused on giving some of the top winemakers the confidence to try our technology, even on small volumes,” added Tapping.
“Now, on the back of customer success, we’re gearing up for an increase in the volume of wines treated by both existing and new customers as our technology gains market traction.”
In late 2023, amaea launched amaea VPx, its smoke remediation solution, which uses tailored MIPs in a one-pass filtration system. To extend its position as a next-generation partner for quality-focused winemakers, amaea’s MIP solutions, already commercially used in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand, will launch in Australia later this year with a future focus on Europe.
