Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/417249
50 W i n e s & V i n e s D e C e M B e R 2 0 1 4 understand the wine business. They not only can help you anticipate needs, but they also help keep your eye on the bottom line. Consultants How much do you know about architec- ture and engineering? If your answer is "not much," you're probably going to have to hire professionals in those fields. You'll need an architect if you're doing any construction that requires city or county permits. Sure, it's helpful if your architect has previously designed winer- ies, but it's probably more important that he/she has a good relationship with the city planners who dole out permits. (The same goes for your contractor.) We got lucky. Neither our architect, Fred Hyer, nor our contractor, Michael Feiner, had ever built a winery. But they are both good at what they do, and they under- stand how city government works. They listened to us describe our requirements and added their expertise to the equation. We got through the permit process rea- sonably quickly, and we managed (basi- cally) to finish the production area and much of the rest of the winery in time for harvest—give or take a week or two! We also got some serious assistance late in the game from mechanical engineer Chuck Magers, who was recommended to us after we realized we understood very little about how our glycol chiller worked and how to install it. We also were deficient in a number of other related areas, such as CO 2 detection and night cooling. Chuck's advice and calculations were invaluable. Installing key winemaking equipment One thing equipment reps/salespeople rarely talk about is the cost of installing the equipment they sell you. A new glycol chiller, depending on its size, might cost $20,000 to $30,000. A new, small com- pressor will set you back a little more than $10,000. Installation, however, requires more than a 480-volt plug. We got one bid for installing our Pro-Chiller refrigeration that was higher than the cost of the chiller! The same thing happened with our compressor. Eventually, we finally did these installations with our plumber and the help of our consulting engineer. It was a bit cheaper than some of the lower bids we received, yet still expensive. On the plus side, after doing the work ourselves, we had a better understanding of what we had purchased. Unless you're equipped to do them your- self, add 20% to 30% for installations. Insulation If your winery is in a cave or a thick cement building, you might be able to get off lightly here. But our metal building (even in chilly Berkeley) soaks up a lot of heat. I had no idea winery insulation would cost so much more than the insula- tion in my house. Ultimately, we went with (x-cell) foam spray for both our roof and ceiling. Bids varied wildly. We went for the lowest bid: about $4 per square foot. Roof The ceiling in our warehouse already had fiberglass insulation. I figured that was good enough, but then we discovered that the roof had enough leaks to warrant sig- nificant repairs. So we decided to install an external 2-inch insulation on top of the metal roof as well. What's another $30,000? It'll keep the winery cooler and help us save on heating/cooling costs (I hope). Drains Old urban industrial warehouses weren't typically built with trench drains. We tore out half the concrete floor to create a slope for water to run off where the tanks Half the concrete floor needed to be torn out to create a slope for the drains. Drains are made of ductile iron piping. Razor wire was installed at the rear of the urban winery, where it borders public land. G R A P E G R O W I N G W I N E M A K I N G TECHNICAL REVIEW