Paul Baggio

It was 25 years ago when our Managing Director, Paul Baggio, first introduced ceramic cross-flow membrane technology to Australia. The initial machines installed at Australian Vintage Limited (AVL) and Yalumba in 2001 were procured for processing and filtering wines and juices. At the time, this was considered groundbreaking technology—something that would go on to revolutionise wine filtration and solids/lees recovery.
Fast forward to 2025, and we now stand at the frontier of a new… Show more

It was 25 years ago when our Managing Director, Paul Baggio, first introduced ceramic cross-flow membrane technology to Australia. The initial machines installed at Australian Vintage Limited (AVL) and Yalumba in 2001 were procured for processing and filtering wines and juices. At the time, this was considered groundbreaking technology—something that would go on to revolutionise wine filtration and solids/lees recovery.
Fast forward to 2025, and we now stand at the frontier of a new generation of membrane technologies. These technologies are being rapidly adopted for wine and juice separation, clarification, stabilisation, and quality enhancement—while also significantly reducing the cost of vinification. Speaking to Grapegrower & Winemaker, managing director at FB Propak Paul Baggio explains the latest developments in filtration technologies. Show less

Flash extraction, now widely called ‘flash détente’ or ‘flash release’ in English, was developed by the INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) at the Pech Rouge research station, near Narbonne in the south of France during the 1990s. The system was developed in order to reduce the skin contact time for red ferments streamline the processing of red fruit, and to potentially improve wine quality. This technique is also particularly relevant after a vin- tage such as 2011 as it can… Show more

Flash extraction, now widely called ‘flash détente’ or ‘flash release’ in English, was developed by the INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) at the Pech Rouge research station, near Narbonne in the south of France during the 1990s. The system was developed in order to reduce the skin contact time for red ferments streamline the processing of red fruit, and to potentially improve wine quality. This technique is also particularly relevant after a vin- tage such as 2011 as it can be used to handle ‘problem’ fruit. Della Tof- fola have been manufacturing this type of thermovinification system (now branded BioThermo) for 15 years with installations in Europe, California, South Africa, Argentina and China. In Australia a 20T per hour system was installed at Australia Vintage in the Riverland in 2001. Over 60 systems have been installed worldwide; the systems range in capacities from 1.5 to 60T per hour with most being between 5 and 30T per hour. Show less