THE CHALLENGE
Vintner Jamie Macfarlane began his wine-making career in 1982, working in several of France’s famous wine regions before returning home to Canada to create and market the first Ice Wine from Niagara, Ontario.
A successful career in the industry followed, including twenty years at two of Canada’s largest wineries, but Jamie’s passion for producing only the highest quality ice wine never left. In pursuit of that passion, Jamie established The Ice House Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake in 2005. High quality wine making demands that every step of the process is performed without compromise. To that end, Jamie set out to source a high-quality filtration system.
THE NEED
Because ice wine has higher viscosity than conventional wines, Jamie knew he needed a filtration system powerful enough to handle the difference. Consistent and profitable production of ice wine is challenging; a reliable filtration system would help minimize liquid transfer loss, but equally important was finding a partner who was flexible and could adapt to any circumstance.
“Clive’s knowledge of the filtration system and remarkable support for implementation, are reasons we trust our business to Wajax. His technical expertise and perpetual willingness to understand our business operations have been critical in identifying solutions to optimize our process.” – Jamie Macfarlane, Vintner and Owner of The Ice House Winery
THE WAJAX SOLUTION
Clive King, Wajax Manager – Process Filtration, introduced Jamie to the 3M filtration system, a product that he successfully implemented it at several of the wineries where he worked previously.
When Jamie opened The Ice House Winery, the ease-of-use, compact design and high-flow capabilities of the 3M filtration system made it an easy choice for his business.
Wajax delivered many 3M filtration systems to The Ice House Winery over the years, ensuring that each one was quickly and properly installed. 3M’s Zeta Plus technology is an important asset for environmental control, which helps to mitigate potential costly loss of product.
Beyond providing the right filtration for Jamie’s operations, Wajax’s expert technicians were available around the clock to address and resolve common issues like protein instability and microbial interferences. Given the sensitivity of filtration systems, Jamie felt reassured that his team of Wajax experts would be quick to address any issues should they arise.
THE IMPACT
The combination of the right filtration system and ongoing service support gave Jamie the confidence to focus on his craft of making award-winning ice wine.
The 3M filtration system helped minimize liquid loss and optimized the production process, resulting in a cost-effective and dependable operational system to help The Ice House Winery grow and thrive.
Since 1985, Jamie has known that he could count on Wajax on good times and in bad.
