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54 W i n e s & V i n e s O C T O B e R 2 0 1 4 down through the central shaft to the bar- rel cave. The wine lines are paired with compressed air and nitrogen lines that also run through the barrel room to facili- tate wine movements there. "We fill a bar- rel in about two minutes," Cronje said of the gravity system. "You know, a lot of people say gravity is gentle, but I couldn't buy a pump that could pump the wine that quick." Barrels are stacked on custom racks, emptied with Rack-it-Teer racking wands and cleaned with Gamajet's all-in-one sys- tem that enables workers to clean and rinse the barrels without moving them. Cronje is still deciding what barrels are best suited for the estate grapes, but he knows he plans to use all French oak and mainly neutral barrels. "This year we kind of experimented more than before just because we had to buy a lot more oak," he said. Challenging cave project The 135-foot-long barrel cave was one of the more complex elements of the winery project. "Initially we looked at cut and cover—and it was a more economical way to do it—but the county had some issues with what they considered sensitive habitat," Murphy said. "So originally the plan was to drill, then we went to cut and cover, then the county said well you need to probably drill it because of the impact it would have." In addition to the back and forth with the county, Murphy said the property pre- sented a bit of a challenge because of the loose, sandy soils. When the final decision came to go forward with drilling the cave, contractor Magorian Mine Services had to use a unique method of stabilizing the cave walls as they drilled into the base of the hill. Before cutting into the hill, workers would inject a mixture of grout and con- crete into the area around the cave to rein- force the walls. "The cave complex initially was probably twice as large as it is now," Murphy says. "The initial design and pro- gramming phase of (the cave) was kind of pie in the sky, just do whatever you think would be the coolest, and then you get a reality check when you get the budget." Murphy declined to disclose exactly how much his family has spent on the winery, but he did say it came close to their initial budget forecasts. "All in all, I think we were pretty happy with where we estimated to be and where we ended up," he said. The winery went through multiple design iterations as Murphy and Cronje worked with the architect and then Sum- mit Engineering on workflow, layout and where to place necessary infrastructure. NV CALIFORNIA Pacific Ocean Presqu'ile Winery Santa Barbara Paso Robles San Luis Obispo Santa Maria C a l i F o r n i a The winemaking team, from left, includes Jonathan Murphy, Matt Murphy and Dieter Cronje. Promote your wines to leading Zinfandel enthusiasts and extend your winery's relationship in the market. Join Us! We are champions of Zinfandel— America's Heritage Wine Become part of our proud legacy zinfandel.org • 530-274-4900 Zinfandel Advocates & Producers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. ZAP is dedicated to advancing public knowledge of and appreciation for American Zinfandel and its unique place in our culture and history. You know how good your Zinfandel is... G R A P E G R O W I N G W I N E M A K I N G TECHNICAL REVIEW