Definition: Heat exchanger

A device used to regulate the temperature (lowering or raising) of a liquid, particularly wine in a vat. Modern stainless steel wine vats are now equipped with a circulation system in the form of a large coil or flag in which a liquid circulates, controlled for each vat by an electronic panel that regulates the precise temperature of the volume contained in each one. In general, the contents of tanks undergoing alcoholic fermentation are cooled, and then heated to activate malolactic fermentation. In the past, cold water was simply poured over the outside of the tanks, without any means of precisely controlling the temperature inside the container.