centrifugation, winemaking operation of clarification using a centrifuge. In the past this has been used to clarify white grape juice before fermentation, but the process is relatively expensive and slow. It is more effective when used to clarify new wines because of the greater difference in density between the yeast cells and the liquid than between the grape solids and the liquid.
While the force used in natural clarification is gravity, the centrifugal force used in centrifugation is 5,000 to 10,000 times greater and requires large amounts of electrical power and expensive specialist equipment to process only relatively small amounts of wine per hour.
