Methods and Apparatus for Multidimensionally Moving Solid, Liquid and Gas Components During Fermentation

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are disclosed for the multidimensional movement of solid, gas and liquid components during fermentation according to a customized schedule to produce alcoholic beverages.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for multidimensionally moving a solid component, a liquid component, and a gas component, the gas and solid components rising above the liquid component during a fermentation, the apparatus comprising:
 a rigid shaft having a first end and a second end; wherein the shaft is configured to be positioned above the solid component in a substantially vertical orientation relative to the solid component, the shaft configured to be operational in a first downward motion followed by a spinning motion;   a first agitation blade attached to the shaft at a first location between the first end and the second end, the first blade disposed at a first oblique angle relative to the shaft;   the blade configured to initially contact the solid component to at least partially submerge the solid component during the downward motion and subsequent spinning motion to mix the solid and liquid components together and liberate the gas component into a surrounding environment.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the shaft and blade are comprised of an inert material; and further comprising a first plate releasably attached to the first blade; the plate comprised of either a noble metal or an oxidative metal. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the oxidative metal is copper, brass or bronze and the noble metal is silver. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the blade is adjustably or removably attached to the shaft. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the blade is disposed at a first oblique angle to the shaft of between about 25 degrees and about 85 degrees. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the spinning motion of the shaft is in a clockwise direction, a counter-clockwise direction or alternating combinations thereof at either a constant spinning speed or alternating spinning speeds. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the spinning motion of the shaft has a minimum speed of between about 10 rpm and 50 rpm and a maximum speed of between about 500 rpm and 1000 rpm. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a second agitation blade attached to the shaft at a second location between the first end and the second end, the second blade disposed at a second oblique angle to the shaft; and a second plate releasably attached to the second blade; wherein the second agitation blade is circumferentially offset from or circumferentially aligned with the first agitation blade. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of agitation blades axially offset on the shaft from the first agitation blade. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an attachment mechanism disposed on the first end of the shaft, the attachment mechanism being circumferentially aligned with the first agitation blade; and wherein the second end of the shaft is pointed.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the attachment mechanism is a handle to assist with manual manipulation of the apparatus. 
     
     
         12 . An apparatus for use by a winemaker to manage a primary fermentation to create a wine, the fermentation including a pomace floating above a must, the apparatus comprising:
 a rigid shaft having a first end and a second end;   
       a blade affixed between the first end and the second end of the shaft, the blade disposed at an oblique angle to the shaft; whereby the shaft is configured to be positioned in a substantially vertical orientation over a vessel containing the pomace and the must, and to be operational in a first downward direction, a subsequent rotational direction and a reciprocal upward direction; wherein the blade is configured to contact the pomace and at least partially submerge and relocate at least a portion of the pomace during the downward, rotational and upward directions to multidimensionally mix a portion of the pomace with the must. 
     
     
         13 . A method of regulating parameters in a cap material and a juice during a primary fermentation of an alcoholic beverage to optimize attributes and mitigate undesirable matter, the method comprising the steps of:
 providing a mixing apparatus for use during the fermentation, the apparatus comprising:
 a) a rigid shaft having a first end and a second end; and 
 b) an agitation blade affixed to the shaft at a location between the first end and the second end, the agitation blade disposed at an oblique angle relative to the shaft; 
 positioning the rigid shaft of the apparatus in an substantially vertical orientation above a vessel, the vessel containing the cap material and the juice; 
 extending the apparatus downward to a predetermined depth in the vessel; wherein the blade contacts the cap material and optionally spins about a vertical axis of the shaft for a predetermined duration of time at a predetermined speed to relocate at least a portion of the cap material under the juice and release a gas; 
 retracting the apparatus upward after the optional spinning time duration has ended so as to cause the blade to rise at least partially above the cap material; 
 repeating a number of the extending, optional spinning, and retracting steps, whereby the apparatus produces a reciprocal motion to repeatedly mix the cap material with the juice; 
 repositioning the shaft of the apparatus to another location over the vessel; and 
 repeating the positioning, extending, optionally spinning, retracting and repositioning steps according to a predetermined schedule to regulate predetermined parameters during the primary fermentation of the beverage and thereby optimize the attributes and mitigate the undesirable matter. 
   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the apparatus comprises a plurality of agitation blades; the shape of each blade being the same shape or a different shape from another blade; the oblique angle of each blade being individually adjustable relative to the shaft; and the location of each blade being individually adjustable along the shaft between the first end and the second end of the shaft; and further comprises a plate releasably attached to the blade; wherein the plate has an optimized surface area that includes a metal. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the attributes include organoleptic characteristics selected from the group consisting of aroma, mouthfeel and taste. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the schedule includes at least one variable selected from the group consisting of: a) the location of the shaft of the apparatus above the vessel relative to the cap; b) the vertical height of the plate above the cap; c) the depth the apparatus is extended downward into the vessel; d) the duration of time the blade contacts the cap material; e) the optional spinning duration, direction, and speed; f) the number the extending and retracting steps are repeated; and g) the horizontal location the shaft of the apparatus is repositioned over the vessel after step f) is conducted. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 monitoring the primary fermentation to determine the presence of undesirable matter; and   modifying the predetermined schedule based on the presence of undesirable matter.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 selecting a copper plate when the monitoring step confirms the presence of a reduced sulfur compound; and   testing the level of copper in the juice during the fermentation and after the fermentation.   
     
     
         19 . A method of regulating parameters in a cap material and a juice while facilitating gas release during a primary fermentation of an alcoholic beverage to optimize attributes and mitigate undesirable matter, the method comprising the steps of:
 providing a multidimensional mixing apparatus for use during the fermentation, the apparatus comprising:
 a) a rigid shaft having a first end and a second end; and 
 b) an agitation blade affixed to the shaft at a location between the first end and the second end, the agitation blade disposed at an oblique angle relative to the shaft; 
 selecting one or more varietals; 
 identifying one or more vintages; 
 measuring one or more parameters; 
 choosing a desired wine style; 
 generating a predetermined schedule according to the selecting, identifying, measuring, and choosing steps; 
 implementing the schedule near a beginning of the fermentation by using the mixing apparatus according to the schedule; 
 monitoring the fermentation to determine the presence of undesirable matter; and 
 modifying the schedule if the presence of undesirable matter is detected during the monitoring step to regulate the parameters during the fermentation of the beverage and thereby optimize the attributes and mitigate the undesirable matter. 
   
     
     
         20 . A method of managing a primary fermentation to create a wine while mitigating the deleterious effects of undesirable matter, the fermentation including a cap material floating above a juice, the method comprising the steps of:
 providing a mixing apparatus for use during the fermentation, the apparatus comprising:
 a) a rigid shaft having a first end and a second end, an attachment mechanism attached at the first end; and 
 b) a blade adjustably affixed to the rigid shaft at a location between the first end and the second end, the blade adjustably disposed at an angle of between about 25 and 85 degrees relative to the shaft; wherein the shape of the blade is a regular polygon; 
   positioning the shaft of the apparatus in an substantially vertical orientation above an open-top fermentation vessel, the vessel containing the cap material and the juice;   extending the apparatus downward to a predetermined depth in the vessel; wherein the blade and plate contact the cap material for a first predetermined duration of time and spinning the blade about a vertical axis of the shaft for a second predetermined duration of time, direction and speed to relocate a portion of the cap material and the juice;   retracting the apparatus upward in a reciprocating motion so as to cause the blade to rise at least partially above the cap material after the spinning has stopped;   repeating a number of the extending, spinning, and retracting steps, whereby the apparatus repeatedly submerges and relocates portions of the cap material under the juice;   repositioning the shaft of the apparatus to another location above the vessel;   repeating the positioning, extending, spinning, retracting and repositioning steps according to a predetermined schedule; wherein the predetermined schedule includes at least one variable selected from the group consisting of: a) the horizontal location of the shaft of the apparatus above the vessel relative to the cap; b) the vertical height of the plate above the cap; c) the depth the apparatus is extended downward into the vessel; d) the duration of time the blade contacts the cap material; e) the spinning duration, direction, and speed; f) the number the extending and retracting steps are repeated; and g) the horizontal location the shaft of the apparatus is repositioned over the vessel after step f) is conducted;   monitoring the primary fermentation for the presence of undesirable matter; and   modifying the predetermined schedule and using the apparatus accordingly in the event undesirable matter presents during the monitoring step so as to mitigate the deleterious effects of the undesirable matter during the wine creation.