Abstract:
Abstract: A method of storing and dispensing wine comprising locating a flexible bladder ( 50 ) within a walled container such as a oak barrel ( 20 ) with the bladder in fluid communication with an aperture ( 28 ) positioned adjacent one edge of a wall of the container; orientating the container so that the aperture ( 28 ) is at the top of the container; filling the flexible bladder with wine via the aperture ( 28 ); sealing the aperture ( 28 ) with a tap ( 71 ); expelling the air from within the bladder via the tap using a vacuum pump ( 77 ); inverting the container so that the tap is at the bottom of the container; and drawing off the wine from the tap. The barrel ( 20 ) is supported on means such as a trestle ( 11 ) which has roller bearings ( 15 ) to facilitate free axial rotation of the barrel.

Description:
[0001]     This invention relates to a method of storing and dispensing wine and a storage and dispensing system.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The correct storage and means of dispensing wine has been a problem the world over.  
         [0003]     When wine is exposed to air it oxidises with the oxygen in air reacting with the sulfur that is present in the wine to produce sulphates and sulphurdioxide that substantially reduce and impairs the quality and taste of the wine. Thus, in the manufacture and storage of wine there is a continual need to prevent oxidisation. This is a particular problem with bottles or large containers of wine that are not consumed immediately and are often left standing at a partially empty state where the wine can react with the air that is in the container. The storage of wine in bulk is a problem and often results in considerably wastage frequently caused by oxidisation.  
         [0004]     One popular solution to this problem is the wine cask in which a flexible bag or bladder is used to house the wine and as the wine is consumed the bag or bladder collapses effectively ensuring that there is no air within the bag or bladder to cause oxidisation.  
         [0005]     It is these issues that have brought about the present invention.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of storing and dispensing wine comprising locating a flexible bladder within a walled container with the bladder in fluid communication with an aperture positioned adjacent one edge of a wall of the container; orientating the container so that the aperture is at the top of the container; filling the flexible bladder with wine via the aperture; sealing the aperture with a tap; expelling the air from within the bladder via the tap; inverting the container so that the tap is at the bottom of the container; and drawing off the wine from the tap.  
         [0007]     Preferably, the flexible bladder is positioned in a container of circular cross section that can be rotated to place the aperture at the top and bottom positions.  
         [0008]     Preferably, a vacuum pump is used to expel the air from the flexible bladder.  
         [0009]     In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a wine storage and dispensing system comprising a walled container with an aperture adjacent one edge of a wall of the container, a fluid coupling located within the aperture with an inner end arranged to be attached to a flexible bladder located in the container and an outer end arranged to be coupled to a tap to close off the aperture when closed and allow the wine to be drawn off when open, and means to support the container in either an upright position with the aperture at the top of the container to facilitate filling of the container or an inverted position with the aperture at the bottom of the container to facilitate drawing off of the wine.  
         [0010]     Preferably, the container is of circular cross section so that it is rotated from the upright to the inverted position.  
         [0011]     In a preferred embodiment the container is a wooden wine barrel with a removable front face to which the flexible bladder is attached with the inlet/outlet aperture being positioned adjacent the edge of the face and supporting a fluid coupling.  
         [0012]     In the preferred embodiment the fluid coupling is adapted to receive a variety of couplings to effect filling, evacuation of the air and dispensing of the wine. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a end elevation of a wine barrel supported on a trestle in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of the barrel and trestle,  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a detailed view of the area within the circle A on  FIG. 2 ,  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a end elevational view of the barrel inverted for filling,  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a end elevational view of the barrel when ready to dispense wine,  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is an exploded cross sectional view that illustrates the connection of a bladder to the front face of the barrel,  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  is a side elevational view of a tap assembly for connection to a vacuum pump,  
         [0021]      FIG. 8  is a plan view of a filling adapter coupled to a feed pipe, and  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  is a cross sectional view of the rear of the barrel illustrating the support of the barrel. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0023]     The device  10  for storing and dispensing wine as illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprises a barrel  20  containing a bladder  50  and supported on a trestle  11 . The oak wine barrel  20  of traditional style is adapted to be supported upon an adjustable trestle  11  so that the height of the barrel can vary from 300 mm to 1000 mm. In the preferred embodiment the illustrated wine barrel  20  has a capacity of 225 L.  
         [0024]     As shown in FIGS.  1  to  5 , the wine barrel  20  has a conventional casing of circular cross section reinforced by spaced steel hoops  21 . The barrel is closed at one end  22  but the forward end including a chime hoop  23 , a wooden rim  24  and end face  25  is designed to be hinged from the remainder of the barrel to provide access to the interior. As shown in  FIG. 3 , a suitable hinge  26  and latching mechanism (not shown) is provided which may be concealed so that the removability of the front face  25  is not obvious. Alternatively the front face of the barrel is designed to slide off the main body of the barrel. The barrel  20  has a horizontal internal floor  29  shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0025]     The front face  25  of the barrel has an aperture  28  positioned adjacent the periphery and this aperture supports a cylindrical sleeve  60  and female metal coupling known as a cam lock  30 . As shown in  FIG. 6  the stainless steel cylindrical sleeve  60  is externally threaded at one end  61  to terminate in an unthreaded shank  62  at the other extends amongst the aperture  28  and is held against the inner wall of the front face  25  of the barrel by a lock nut  64 . The unthreaded end  60  of the sleeve is arranged to be a sliding fit within the projecting fitting  52  of the bladder  50 . A worm drive clamp  65  or other clamping mechanism is then positioned around the fitting  52  of the bladder to clamp the projection onto the end of the sleeve  60 . The cam lock  30  has an internally threaded end that is arranged to be a screw fit on the end  61  of the sleeve  60  to firmly clamp the cam lock against the front face of the barrel against the lock nut  64 . In this manner the bladder  50  is firmly and positively secured to the aperture  28  in the front face  25  of the barrel  20 . The bladder is positioned on the interior of the barrel on the internal floor  29  and is designed to accommodate 200 L of wine. The cam lock  30  coupling can be a snap fit coupling that allows axial rotation of the components thereby allowing the cam lock to rotate relative to the bladder to ensure that the bladder is not twisted on filling.  
         [0026]     The interior of the barrel supports the flexible bladder  50  that is made of metal foil, plastics or rubber, the bladder  50  has a single opening  51  sealed to a plastics fitting  52  with a ribbed exterior  53 . The bladder  50  with the projecting plastics fitting  52  is a commercially available product and is thus not described in further detail.  
         [0027]     The supporting trestle  11  for the wine barrel has a pair of spaced arcuate bearing surfaces  12  and  13 , each of which supports spaced roller bearings  15  that take the load of the barrel. The roller bearings  15  allow the barrel  20  to rotate about its longitudinal axis on the trestle whilst still taking the load of the barrel. With a large and comparatively heavy barrel  20  there is a need for bearing support to facilitate rotatability. However it is understood that with a smaller and lighter barrel it will be possible to simply lift the barrel and effect the rotation. As shown in  FIG. 2  the barrel  20  is supported at two axially spaced locations.  FIG. 9  shows the rear support for the barrel  20 . A pair of blocks  90 ,  91  with arcuate bearing surfaces  92 ,  93  are hinged to on base block  95  via a hinge  96 . Springs  97 ,  98  are located beneath each block  90 ,  91  to urge the block upwardly. The blocks  90 ,  91  engage the underside of the barrel  20  via bearings  15 . When the barrel is full the weight of the wine causes the blocks  90 ,  91  to compress the springs  97 ,  98 . As the barrel empties the springs urge the blocks  90 ,  91  upwards to cause the barrel to tilt forward thereby ensuring that all the contents escape the front aperture  28 .  
         [0028]     To fill the barrel with wine the front face  25  of the barrel  20  is removed and attached to the bag bladder  50  which is positioned within the interior of the barrel  20 . The front face  25  is repositioned on the end of the barrel  20  and the barrel  20  is turned so that the female coupling  30  is in the highest position shown in  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , a male coupling  80  of a feed line from a source of wine with a shut-off valve  81  and handle  82  is then sealingly inserted against the female socket  30  of the cam lock and wine is pumped or gravity fed from the external source via a clear hose  83  directly into the barrel  20  until the bladder  50  contains the correct quantity of 200 L of wine.  
         [0029]     The male coupling and shut off valve  80 ,  81  is then removed from the female cam lock  30  and replaced by a tap assembly  70  shown in  FIG. 7  that has a male projection  72  that is snap fitted into the female cam lock  30 . The assembly  70  has a main body containing a tap valve (not shown) controlled by a tap handle  71 . An outlet aperture  74  is positioned at the end of a downwardly projecting outlet  73 . An adaptor  75  is threadedly located in the outlet aperture  74 . The adaptor  75  can be replaced by an end coupling  79  which is positioned on the end of a narrow tube  76  which is coupled to a vacuum pump  77 . Thus, once the bladder  50  is full of wine the vacuum pump  77  can be operated to remove via the tube  76  whatever air there is between the top of the wine and the interior of the bladder. The tube  76  is of transparent plastics so that it provides a visual indication of passage of wine confirming that all the air has been removed. When the air has been removed the tap is turned off.  
         [0030]     It is understood that it is possible to couple the same line  76  to a source of CO 2  and a small amount of CO 2  can be injected into the bladder if it is deemed necessary by turning the tap on, injecting the CO 2  and then turning the tap off. The barrel is then turned through 180° so that the cam lock  30  and top assembly  70  are at the base of the barrel as shown in  FIGS. 1, 2  and  5 .  
         [0031]     The tap  71  can then be turned on to allow the wine to escape from the barrel via the aperture  74  due to gravity. Since there is no air in the bladder as the wine is consumed the bladder collapses until the bladder becomes empty. Preferably, at this stage the front cover is removed, the bladder is removed from the coupling and a replacement bladder is positioned on the coupling. The operation is then repeated, the barrel is refilled, the air removed and CO 2  is inserted as desired. It is however possible to simply refill the bladder.  
         [0032]     This system provides a very effective way of storing wine without the likelihood of oxidisation. The wine can be dispensed periodically without the danger of ingress off air and the whole assembly is located in an aesthetically pleasing barrel and is gravity fed to not require ancillary equipment such as pumps or pressurised dispensing lines. The storage and dispensing system described above can be supplied as a kit which would include the barrel, some bladders, a tap assembly and an adjustable trestle. The kit could also include a wheeled trolley which carries the electric pump and vacuum pump. The trolley can support a large container of wine so that the trolley can be wheeled to the barrel to facilitate refilling of the barrel using the pump and vacuum pump.  
         [0033]     Although in the preferred embodiment the storage device is housed within a oak barrel it is understood that many other types of containers can be used. It is important however that the container has a single inlet/outlet aperture near one edge of the container and that the container can be inverted for filling purposes. It is further understood that the size and capacity of the container can vary from a very small quantity such as 10 L up to a large storage facility of say 1000 L.