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46 W i n e s & V i n e s J U LY 2 0 1 4 W ater is on everybody's mind these days. We all know it's a precious resource and one that we must conserve in our homes, in our vineyards and in our businesses. For wineries, where cleaning and sanitation are mission-criti- cal and non-negotiable, it's tough to ratio- nalize using less. We don't want to compromise cleanliness (and therefore quality), so coming up with ways to use less water in the winery can seem like a daunting task. The below tips and tricks are not a uni- versal checklist for every winemaker, as we all have different facilities, different practices and different needs. Some items are easy to implement (like pushing grape skins with a broom instead of a hose), and some are more expensive (like invest- ing in state-of-the-art "clean in place" tanks like the University of California, Davis, has just done). That being said, now is as good a time as any to craft a water-reducing plan at your own winery. Know your water usage baseline The old saying goes, "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it." This is absolutely true for water conservation; it's critical to know where your starting point is. It gen- erally takes about 6 gallons of water to make 1 gallon of wine (though estimates vary from as little as 2 gallons all the way up to 20). Many wineries have no idea where they fall along this spectrum, and performing some kind of a water audit— even if it's just to measure how much water you use to clean a typical tank or barrel—will help establish a baseline. Measuring your water consumption can start with installing flow meters to mea- sure usage at key points like on the crush pad, in the bottling room, at filtration and at barrel-washing stations. Measure cleaning cycle times to determine the min- imal time needed. By filling up that stain- less tub or drum, you'll get an idea how much wash water gets used when some- one cleans a pump and hose setup. Do the math to figure out how many gallons of water per length of hose it takes to fill that volume; extrapolate that volume through longer hose setups to get an idea of how much water your winery is using in longer-travel wine transfers. Then use your current usage to create a realistic target for reduction. At J. Lohr, with more than a decade of concerted effort, safety and environmental coordinator Jeff Zucker and his team were able to get their water consumption down to an impressive 1.1 gallons of water used per gallon of wine produced. This may not be achievable for all wineries (though 2-3 gallons has been cited as a feasible amount), so perhaps start with a small percentage as a reduction goal and go from there. Cleaning and sanitation: Start here first "Nearly all of the water used in a winery setting is from cleaning," says Dr. David Block, chair of the UC Davis Department of Viticulture & Enology. Every time you move a gallon of wine you must clean (or at least sanitize) the hoses, the pump and the receiving tank. This can employ 50 gallons of water or more—especially for large tanks, large-diameter hoses and long-distance hose setups. For this reason, much of the technology in use at and in development of the UC Davis LEED Platinum-certified Teaching and Research Winery and in the Jess S. Jackson Sustain- The Water-Wise Winemaker Tips, techniques and ideas for saving water in the cellar By Alison Crowe Highlights • The author, director of winemaking for Napa, Calif.-based Plata Wine Partners and winemaker for Garnet Vineyards, offers a list of tips and ideas to save water in the winery. • She advocates starting with accurate measurements of current water use, then focusing on cleaning processes to amass the most savings. • Learn ways to save water and money from pre-crush through bottling. 1 GaLLoN 1 GaLLoN 1 GaLLoN 1 GaLLoN 1 GaLLoN 1 GaLLoN = It takes about 6 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of wine, though figures vary by winery. 1 GaLLoN G R A P E G R O W I N G W I N E M A K I N G