Key Technology VitiSort red wine grape sorter

Key Technology’s VitiSort is designed for sorting red wine grapes. The compact system combines a patent-pending mechanical MOG (material other than grape) removal shaker and optical sorting with an integral juice recovery system.

Suitable for wineries producing 5000 to 50,000 cases per year, the sorter sorts up to 4.5 metric tons of red grapes per hour. The system removes any unwanted objects such as insects, skins, raisins, shot berries, stem jacks, petioles, leaves and other MOG from the product flow, which enables the winery to better control the quality of must going to their fermentation tanks.

The machine is compact and mobile, and has been designed to easily roll into position under the destemmer so fruit automatically flows from one machine to the other. The two-stage Vitisort includes a mechanical MOG removal system followed by an optical sorter.

Compared to sorters with horizontal belts, the VitiSort inspects product on a vertical plane, simplifying the operation while achieving the same results, the company claims. The elimination of belts improves sanitation.

According to the company, the sorter improves the consistency of MOG removal compared to manual inspection, reducing labour costs. It is claimed to do the work of 12 people or more. Yield loss is reportedly 2 to 4%, depending on the grape variety and the effectiveness of the destemmer.

The colour touch-screen control panel has a graphical user interface where the winemaker can adjust the sort parameters to remove more or less MOG to suit requirements. Product settings can be stored and retrieved. Open access to the MOG collection area eases its removal while stainless steel construction eases sanitation.