Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/437909
January 2015 Wines&Vines 53 grapegrowing InstrumentatIon and equIpment The four companies that specialize in instru- mentation cover a wide array of equipment and software to run this equip- ment. Orange Enterprises is a primary supplier of handheld devices, printers and scanners; these devices can interact with software from other companies. Software is what drives these digital tools can be used to help with their payroll and monitoring of employees and production. California-based Davis In- strument and Nuance of On- t a r i o a r e a l s o p a r t o f t h e instrument-based sector. These companies distribute agricultural weather equipment to help moni- tor crop status. This type of soft- ware collects weather data for analysis and can transmit notifi- cations directly to a smartphone, making immediate action possi- ble. Their systems can take advantage of solar power to run the instrumentation for local operations of the weather station. The software uses data loggers to collect data over time. It then helps to analyze the trends to improve the vineyard management. These systems can reduce the amount of pesticide applied in the vineyard because they recommend the correct material and ideal times based on prediction software. Nuance is a distributor of weather equip- ment and other types of equipment for the wine industry, while Davis is a manufacturer with expertise in automotive, marine and weather equipment. Spectrum Technologies, on the other hand, manufactures and distributes weather- monitoring equipment and also includes infor- mation about nutrient management, soil and water. The weather-monitoring equipment covers the gamut from full weather stations down to individual weather elements such as light, temperature, etc. Spectrum has equip- ment to test for plant and soil nutrients and determine other soil and water parameters. They also write software to service their equipment. WInery-centrIc vIneyard operatIons Vintners Advantage, Orion, Wine Management Systems and Winemak- ers Database are all high-quality com- panies with integrated software that starts in the vineyard. However, the software that these companies have developed for the vineyard is written from an outsider's (i.e. the winery) viewpoint rather than from the vine- yard side. Their pricing schemes and detail don't provide enough informa- tion for grapegrowers. If your winery needs vineyard data to help produce make better wine, then these packages have what you need. Vintners Advantage Vineyard Module According to the Vintners Advantage website, vineyard blocks can be defined by the viticul- turist or winemaker in just about any way they deem necessary. Blocks can contain soil, prun- ing, trellis, irrigation, varietal, rootstock, and pesticide and disease information. Vineyard information is tracked and can be made avail- able to the winery or grower. Obviously yield information can be tracked by block. The vine- yard module features soil characteristics, his- torical lab tests, vineyard activity pricing pro-rated by block size or actual cost and reporting. The module permits online entry of weigh tag data for all types of inputs such as grapes (and other fruit), wine or juice. The module has field tags for contracts, tonnage, carrier, date and chemistry details that can be cap- tured. Much of the information is integrated into "grower payments" and "work orders," providing factual data and payment informa- tion. Finally, field sampling can be used to determine when crush should start for a par- ticular lot, and the harvest schedule can be organized for the grower's delivery date and crush volumes. Orion Wine Software Vineyard Module Orion's Vineyard Management module tracks the vineyard information and activities down to the sub-block level. The software allows entry for all vineyard activities and can sched- ule and track them. The results when entered provide a complete history of block, sub-block or vineyard. The module is integrated with Blend Winery Management software and pro- vides a complete picture of the vineyard activi- ties and how those decisions affect the final wine. Wine Management Systems Vineyard Module The grower and vineyard-management module provides wineries easy access to current and historical vineyard and fruit data, helping vint- ners stay on the same page with growers and their own estate vineyard management. The module provides grower information including a free version for beginners For those who don't have any vineyard programs to help manage data, Grow Smarter is a good way to get started because it's free. By investing a bit of sweat equity, you can begin to collect the data in one place that will help you make better decisions about growing grapes. The site is intuitive and easy to customize for your vineyard. It took me less than an hour to set up all that I needed to begin recordkeeping. It uses drop-down menus that contain many familiar terms you are probably already using. All the user has to do is select items from the lists and begin collecting and uploading data from a computer to the com- pany's Cloud Server. According to Miguel Guevera, the creator of Grow Smarter, there will always be a free ver- sion of the site, but he solicits help in suggesting elements that would be useful in the soft- ware. Some of the more sophisticated features may be in the next version. However, in addi- tion to the free version, the company is developing a fee-based program with more detailed features. They plan to release this updated software before the next harvest season begins. Davis instruments' specialty is weather equipment. orange enterprises is a large supplier of hand- held devices. orion's blend Winery Management package con- tains spaces to input vineyard information.