Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/122527
WINEMAKING The machinery for mechanical systems like HVAC and the nitrogen generator are all above the cave. "I didn't want the noise," Brinkman says. When the owner is a software entrepreneur, you don't have to buy software off the shelf. Harvey was the lead developer for Lotus Approach, a database program, so he customized it for the winery. Brinkman says they're continually tweaking it. He describes being on the phone with Harvey and telling him that it would be great to have a column in the database that tracks changes in malic acid. Harvey, he says, made the change on the spot. And there are other signs of technology in the cave. There are two touchpads, one between the crush pad and tank room and one in the bottling room, that track temperature and humidity in the cave and display schematics of all the winery's mechanical systems. Workers also use a winery iPad outfitted with a waterproof sleeve to upload fermentation data. In the lab, there's a Foss WineScan, which allows Rhys to forgo having a lab tech. The machine allows instant, realtime analysis of the chemistry of the juice, the fermenting must and the dry wine, and the information drops easily into CAL I F O R NI A Sacramento Napa NV San Francisco San Jose Rhys Vineyards Paciļ¬c Ocean CALIFORNIA Monterey steve maller photo graphy The winery has 30 hose stations that Paso Robles have water, compressed air and nitrogen. "I didn't want to be able to go more than 50 feet without a hose station," Brinkman says. Water comes from a well and is Santa Barbara treated with reverse osmosis and ozone. Because conduits and plumbing are in the walls and under the floor of the cave, Brinkman says, "You've only got one shot" at getting things right. So he had to plan ahead for any expansion. (The winery can handle production of 10,000 cases, about double the current figure.) For example, the builders put glycol lines in the room now used for bottling, so it could eventually house about 30 fermentation tanks. the winery's database, Brinkman says. Microbial analysis, which is conducted by ETS Laboratories in St. Helena, Calif., is the only analysis that isn't performed in-house. Having so much technology increases efficiency, allowing Rhys to function with Rhys owner Kevin Harvey is a software entrepreneur and one of the founders of Benchmark Capital. P ro s p e ro E q u i p m e n t C o r p. h a s t h e s o l u t i o n s yo u n e e d fo r t h i s ye a r s b o t t l i n g a n d h a r ve s t s e a s o n s . C a l l t o d ay t o s p e a k t o a s a l e s re p re s e n t a t i ve . BOTTLING & PACKAGING CRUSHERS PRESSES TANKS PUMPS REFRIGERATIONS Th e W i n e r y S o l u t i o n FILTERS West Coast AWS/Prospero 7787 Bell Road Windsor, CA 95492 Phone: (707) 838-2812 Fax: (707) 838-3164 westcoast@prosperocorp.biz Finger Lakes P.E.C. Geneva 1902 Route 14N Geneva, NY 14456 Phone: (315) 719-0480 Fax: (315) 719-0481 geneva@prosperocorp.biz Main Office Prospero Equipment Corp. 123 Castleton Street Pleasantville, NY10570 Phone: (914) 769-6252 Fax: (914) 769-6786 info@prosperocorp.biz wine S & vine S M AY 20 13 51