Green Initiatives

Diamond Estates’ Sustainable Winemaking Practices

EastDell Estates Winery

• BIOBED Filtration Treats Process Water from Winery Production Facility
  Diamond Estates currently operates three biobed filtration systems through our EastDell Estates location, which have been approved by the Ministry of Environment (MOE). Each filtration area is created with four cells, four feet in depth containing a combination of sand, gravel, and wood chips. Wastewater slowly percolates through these cell layers working to filter naturally. Maintenance consists of regular pump checks and changeovers through the different seasons. Operational costs are significantly less than regular filtration pumps, saving approximately three times more energy than energy-efficient, electrically powered pumps.
   
• Treated Water is Recycled for use in Toilets
   
• Rainwater Collected from the VIEW Restaurant is Re-used for Watering Gardens
  The large expanse of roof on the restaurant allows us to recycle the water into the gardens. The water off the roof is diverted into two large non-usable wine poly tanks. These are connected via a manifold at the bottom consisting of two valves and filters. The water passes from the eaves trough through a screen in the top of the tank which prevents mosquitoes from laying eggs. As the tank fills, the valves can be opened, which supplies water to a pump. This pump then feeds the water up to a manifold system in the garden, where three valves are located. A different garden gets watered, depending on which valve is opened. This is not a highly sophisticated system with timers etc., but a manual system that gets turned on during dry spells.
   
• Insulated Tanks Reduce Energy Consumption and Increased Efficiency of the Cooling System by 300%
  Six years have passed since we first conducted an energy audit within our various wineries (Lakeview Cellars and EastDell Estates). 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. This energy conservation practice is also followed at our Diamond Estates Winery Facility.
   
• VIEW Restaurant Chef Thomas King Re-Use/s Recycles Organics Back Into Winery Herb Garden
  The VIEW Restaurant recycles all materials as far as plastics, paper, cardboard, glass and re-uses/composts all food items. Food scraps are collected and taken to a compost pile, which is used in the vineyards and tops up the kitchens garden. The gardens are organically grown, weeded and watered daily and, when ready to pick, become menu items in the restaurant.

  This year we are growing a lot of "golden bunch tomatoes", "grape tomatoes", "jalapeño peppers" and "cherry hot peppers". We also are trying something new this year with growing pumpkins and butternut squash.

• Diamond Estates 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 Diamond Estates Winemaking facility in NOTL, we have low flow/no flow washroom facilities that have reduced water consumption within the facility.
   
• Pigging System is Being Repaired to Reduce Our Water Usage by 50% During Harvest Peak Season
  The hygienic pigging system is an effective tool in the reduction of water usage and resulting waste water required to adequately clean the processing equipment during our peak harvest period. The use of the pigging system to evacuate the production line eliminates the need for a lengthy water flush, significantly reducing the usage of water. The reduction of cleaning times, associated waste and corresponding reduction in waste water removal and treatment reduces the company’s direct and indirect carbon footprint.
   
• 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. However, cold stabilization requires a large amount of energy over a long period of time. Traditional Cold Stabilization involves the chilling of wine below -2oC prior to bottling for a period of 3 to 5 weeks. The crystallized tartrates would precipitate in the tanks and be removal by filtration. Diamond Estates Winery had made a large investment in New Technology known as the STARS (Selective Tartrate Removal System) Electrodialysis (ED) system. In the STARS ED system, the wine passes through an electric field and separates the ions on anionic and cationic membranes and removes them from the wine. This process effectively prevents further unstable precipitation. The electrodialysis is significantly more energy efficient than traditional cold stabilization, completing the process of cold stabilization with just 2.0 Watts/Liter of electricity used versus 300 Watts/Liter used for traditional cold stabilization. The STARS system can reduce a winery’s electrical use by as much as 95% and wine quality is preserved in a single pass process (Canadian Wine Secrets Inc.)
   
• Leased Solar Panels on 36,000 ft2 Rooftop Surface Area
  Renewable energy is the buzz around town. With renewable energy programs and the increasingly efficient technology that is available, we have begun investigating utilizing our 35,000 ft2 of available rooftop space for solar energy generation. A rooftop lease program will benefit us with supplemental revenue while transforming our vacant rooftop into an important asset. The rooftop space will be leased to a tenant who will install and operate a solar panel array to produce clean, renewable energy. The estimated solar panel array will have a capacity of 282 kilowatt peak output. The benefits:

1. guaranteed long-term revenue for space that is never used;
2. no capital investment or risk;
3. does not penetrate the rooftop, so neither obstructive nor intrusive;
4. specifically designed not to impact the esthetics of the building or property;
5. demonstrates Diamond’s environmental leadership.

Diamond Estates V.P. Winemaking, Tom Green served as the past 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 practises.